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I got to meet Wes.  What a great ballplayer/ good guy/ loyal...a rock!!!!!!    That man had the strongest butt in the history of professional basketball.  He used it well.

Moses Malone was also good w/ his butt.  he invented the "ass-shove" and it made him an all time all pro.  Adrian Dantley probably perfected butt-pinning twirl around the defender offense.

But Wes's was probably the all around best.  here is to Wes, the Bullets and this years team.   And Earl.  He was a wonder to behold.

Wes Unseld was perhaps the best outlet passer in the history of the game. And, from what I remember, he was regarded as "the man in the NBA people would least want to get into a fight with."

At 6'7", he was the shortest center in the NBA, and wore a permanent scowl on his face. He'd often jaw at the officials while running down the court, but I don't really remember him losing his temper or getting into a fight (who on earth would fight him?) - I also can't remember ever seeing him smile.

In the 1968-1969 season, he not only won the Rookie Of The Year award, but also the award for League MVP - the only other player in history to do this was Wilt Chamberlain. Looking back, it's hard to believe Unseld was ever MVP, but that's because his playing style was so unglamorous, and he did all the dirty work that had to be done, but that flashy players so rarely do - Unseld was the antithesis of flashy: He was as blue collar as they come.

Unseld attended the University of Louisville from 1965-1968, earning All-American honors in 1967-1968. Remarkably, in 1965, he averaged 35.8 points and 23.6 rebounds for Louisville's freshman team (Unseld is not someone you think of as a scorer), and played for Seneca High School in Louisville, leading them to the Kentucky State Championships in 1963 and 1964.

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Wes Unseld, Dave Cowens and the outlet pass


I happened to see Dave Cowens' name referenced the other day and looked him up on youtube. Cowens's career overlapped for a long time with that of Wes Unseld. There were similarities. They were both undersized short centers, they both played for excellent teams during much of their careers when the careers overlapped, they played one another endlessly being in the same conference, and they were two of the greatest outlet passers in the game of basketball.

The outlet pass. Its a lost art. Today its number one practitioner is probably Kevin Love of the Cavaliers. Love's father played with Wes Unseld. Kevin Love's middle name is Wesley. Its no wonder Love has reintroduced this element to the NBA game.

In any case I found this video of both Cowens and Unseld playing as teammates in an NBA all-star game. They were the undersized centers of the East playing against the very tall Jabbar, Wilt, and Bob Lanier on the West team. There are a lot of rebounds in this video and a lot of outlet passes from Cowens and Unseld, (some going astray).

Formidable players and a formidable tool. A little history...from .....geez....over 40 years ago.

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Thank you for posting this video - it was fascinating to watch. Talk about a blast from the past.

I had never equated Unseld and Cowens before just now, and the reason that just popped into my head is that Cowens comes across to me as a left-handed player, and Unseld comes across to me as a two-handed player. (Cowen's left-handed hook shot alone made him much more of a scoring threat than Unseld.)

But I think this also applies to the outlet pass: Cowens tossed it like a baseball, always with his left hand; Unseld put both hands on the ball and his throw originated directly behind his head. Cowens' outlets had more arc, and were less accurate; Unseld's were like laser beams, and had a much greater velocity on them. Unseld preferred to square up before throwing it, but he was so strong that he didn't have to square up completely.

I don't remember either player very well, but my impression was that Cowens was the superior player overall, but Unseld stands alone as the greatest outlet passer the game has ever known.

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Don:  They both threw a lot of outlet passes.

I think your statement is accurate:

But I think this also applies to the outlet pass: Cowens tossed it like a baseball, always with his left hand; Unseld put both hands on the ball and his throw originated directly behind his head. Cowens' outlets had more arc, and were less accurate; Unseld's were like laser beams, and had a much greater velocity on them. Unseld preferred to square up before throwing it, but he was so strong that he didn't have to square up completely.

In the above video Cowens missed on several, but over the long haul, who would know who connected more often.  I watched both.--A lot.  They were both effective in this vein.  Now, I lived down here so of course I favored Wes.  Who was better???   I don't know...but they were both fun to watch.   Cowens was more exciting.  Wes more Rock Like.

The similarity, that I noted, was based on their relative size compared to most other centers in the league.  They were shorter, and noticeably shorter than virtually all of the other centers.  The other guy like them in that aspect was Willis Reed.  All shorter than the other centers, all viciously competitive and all in the Hall of Fame.  They were all good.  Actually in the latter 70's Elvin Hayes often played defensive center for the Bullets as opposed to Wes, so he often covered Cowens and vice versa.    But in playing style Cowens and Unseld were certainly different.  If fact its hard for me to envision a player who played like Unseld.

Wes and Cowens were both terrific outlet passers.  Its interesting that the single person in the NBA who uses this regularly is Kevin Love, whose father played with and evidently idolized Wes Unseld.  Its somewhat of a lost art.

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