I don’t see Vern’s name anywhere . . . . .
Make reading “Houston Cougars in the 1960’s” a prerequisite to earn a vote . . . . .
Wonder how Shead’s 3’s would have accumulated had he looked to shoot instead of looking for assists. My short memory tells me that Shead only began to look for his shot towards the end of his last year here.
Vern was my hs gym coach for one year. Let’s just say that Vern and disciplinarian were never used in the same sentence
Shead was a leader. He was an excellent penetrating guard who wasn’t the guy you would have shooting from beyond the arc for the win.
Not many true point guards aren’t considered long range bombers.
For you youngsters, “Vern” is referring to Vern Lewis, Coach Lewis’ son who was on the basketball squad as a 12th man, similar to Ryan Elvin, but without Elvin’s fan following.
Jarreau was a one of kind defender and was a guy who could shut down any twos or threes… what I said about Shead was related to stopping the ball.
If you are asking who I would rather have as my PG it is Shead without hesitation.
Jarreau could have just as easily been given the defensive accolades as Shead or Jojo.
Vern Lewis was not our 12th man.
During 1968 March Madness our starting PG, George Reynolds, was declared ineligible. Vern Lewis then took his place and started our March Madness games.
Never let the facts get in the way of a good analogy.
Starters off the top of my head
G: Shead
G: Argue all you want between Sasser, Dejon, Grimes, Birdsong, etc
F/C: Olajuwon
F/C: Drexler
F/C: Hayes
There are a few names without recency bias that I would consider along with Drexler, Olajuwon, Hayes, Birdsong
Lou Dunbar averaged 23pts per game
Rob Williams still one of the all time best guards 21pts per game
I’ll throw in Ken Spain since he went to the same HS as me and was the center on the Elvin Hayes teams.
We can easily name a Top 2: Big E and Dream.
After that we have an embarrassment of riches for the other 3 spots.
What a nice situation!
Honestly, top three, I think Clyde is making it on everybody’s list.
Some would put Dwight Davis over Clyde. He averaged 24 ppg and 12 rebounds. He was a prolific shot blocker, but they didn’t keep that stat in the early 70s. Like Clyde he was 2nd team AP All-American along with Bob McAdoo and Henry Bibby. Davis was the overall third pick in the NBA draft.
I just wanted to mention that it is amazing the both Clyde and Dwight were products of Houston Independent School District (HISD). Dwight played at Worthing and Clyde played at Sterling.
Think about the local talent of the Phi Slama Jama teams:
Rob Williams - Houston Milby
Reid Gettys - Houston Memorial
Alvin Franklin - La Marque
Michael Young - Houston Yates
Clyde Drexler - Houston Sterling
Larry Micheaux - Houston Worthing
Rickie Winslow - Houston Yates
Greg Anderson - Houston Worthing
Eric Dickens - Houston Madison
Hakeem Olajuwon - Houston Nigeria
The game has definitely changed since PSJ. I doubt we will ever see such a Houston area dominated team again.