When He Was Running Floor, His Skills Weren’t Jerry-Built

Jack Ramsay, former NBA coach and general manager, recalling the many skills of Jerry West to Ken Wheeler of the Oregonian:

“People forget how magnificent West was. He was everything. He could handle the ball, back you down and shoot jumpers over you. He could put it on the floor and either score or make the pass. He was everywhere on defense, and he could run the break.

“He was the only man I’ve seen who would allow his man to get a half step in front of him, then when the man pulled up to shoot the jumper, take the ball out of his hand.

“I can still see the guy following through with the shooting motion and be amazed he still did not have the ball.”

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Trivia time: What is the largest crowd to watch a regular-season Division I college basketball game?

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Mr. Personality: Patrick Reusse in the Star Tribune of Minneapolis: “Yes, it is true that on his bad days, [Christian] Laettner had the personality of ‘Halloween’ murderer Michael Myers.

“But remember, on his good days, Laettner could be as charming as ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’s’ Freddy Krueger.”

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Add Laettner: His response on being traded to Atlanta: “I guess they just got sick of my mouth. I would always say something once a year, usually it was midseason, when I got sick oflosing.”

Only once?

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Penny-pincher: Donyell Marshall of the Golden State Warriors has a nine-year, $42-million contract, but he is hardly a spendthrift.

Ric Bucher of the San Jose Mercury News reported that Marshall was recently in the lobby of a hotel in Dallas talking to his girlfriend in the Bay Area.

Asked why he wasn’t making the call from his room, Marshall said: “They charge you 50 cents to make a credit card call from your room.”

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Wait a minute: Michael Stember, a senior at Sacramento Jesuit High who finished fourth in the mile at the recent L.A. Invitational at the Sports Arena, is being compared to Jim Ryun at a similar stage of development.

Stember has a best outdoor mile time of 4 minutes 4 seconds. Ryun, as a junior at Wichita East High in 1964, ran 3:59 and made the Olympic team.

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Dallas Far West? Mike Fisher in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “After overspending for quality guys Russell Maryland and Larry Brown, the Oakland Raiders’ new motto should be ‘Commitment to Ex-Cowboys.’ ”

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Trivia answer: On Jan. 20, 1990, the Louisiana State-Notre Dame game attracted a crowd of 68,112 at the Superdome in New Orleans. LSU won, 87-64.

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Quotebook: Bernie Lincicome in the Chicago Tribune: “Deion Sanders should call a press conference to announce he will not be bowling this weekend.”