Chapter 5: Jacksonville University: the First Two Years

JU wrote me and said they wanted me to spend the summer in Jacksonville getting ready for the new season. All four freshman would be there. I was able to get the month of June off and reported after the 4th of July. Dad rented a U-haul mainly to take my motorcycle in the back. I didn't have much to take. When we got to JU, all my stuff smelled of gasoline (I should have drained the gas before the trip). In the summer heat, we were glad the whole U-haul did not blow up. After Dad drove away, I felt very alone. Like a rookie, I did not have soap or towels. I spent my first and last bit of money on toiletries. That night a girl came by my room and invited me to a party. I was too scared, I said no thanks.

The next day I met with the coach and he asked me how were things going. I said I was hungry. He took care of me after that. He also sent me to the shipyards for a summer job. When I got there the man said I was hired as a welder and wanted to know how many years of experience did I have. I said none. He sent me back to JU. The coach got mad at me because I wasn't really suppose to weld just earn welder's wages. Next I got sent to a Winn Dixie warehouse. There I was told to find George Scholt (JU ballplayer who is now the head coach at JU). The next two months were truly a learning experience for me. First I found out I was getting paid as much as some guys who had been working there for 20 years. The south had no unions and therefore no overtime pay. The other JU players working there did not work very much. They mostly watched TV or walked around like they were doing something. I worked and earned the respect of the workers there. Sometimes they even slept in the car or the manager's office. One senior player Henry Williams got his paycheck and he was in Phili the entire summer. I learned quickly not to ask questions. Every night we played ball and on the weekends there were boosters who took us out. We went to World Football games or sailing. I mostly bowled a lot, for free of course.

The coach told me I needed to write a check for the dorm room and food since I wasn't officially enrolled in any classes. But right after I wrote the check, he gave me cash to fly home for a week before school started.

Freshman Year

When school started all the freshman were running around crazy trying to register. I just went to the basketball office and they walked me into the registration room and took care of it. I got to meet the rest of the team. There were 3 other freshman and two junior college transfer. There were two Puerto Ricans on the team, Charlie Bermudez and Bobby Alvarez. My roommate was Marty Gross, a white point guard from South Dakota. He was very neat and organized. I was not. We had pre-season conditioning. One day we all road bikes to the beach. Most of the team made it to the McDonalds down the street. We lost the rest of the team halfway to the beach at TGIF (Fridays). The four freshman (Ronnie Williams, Ricky Head, Anthony "Cricket" Williams, and myself) and the senior captain Henry Williams made it all the way.

The school snack bar was suppose to give us an allowance for late night snacks but the coach had forgotten to give them the list. So a couple of guys said they were going shopping for food. I chipped in $5 to the cause. I was surprised when they returned with 3 or 4 grocery bags full with food and they returned $4 back to me. They had only paid for the bread. Damn Shame!

The ex-coach, Joe Williams, had been let go because the NCAA was investigating JU. Two years before I arrived, Coach Williams had recruited the best four freshman in the northeast. They were all living off campus. They all had their own cars. Some were married and had children. The NCAA agreed not to punish JU if Coach Williams left and all the players moved back on campus. JU hired Coach Gottlieb to clean up the program. I could tell the six new recruits were all clean players.

But a couple of the starters started taking money from professional agents and some NBA scouts told them they could play European ball and then get drafted by the NBA. So Henry Williams and another player cashed their agents checks at the school's bank. They were gone! Henry was eventually drafted by Utah and Shawn by Phili. But neither of them made it. That opened up two starting positions on the team.

Then two weeks before our opener another starter Marvin Lloyd broke his wrist. All of a sudden I found myself starting. I could not believe it. It was a miracle. We started Carlos 6'7" and myself 6'6" inside. Bobby Alvarez also started and we were called the "EZ" brothers. The rednecks in town were not too pleased. They did not like the blacks either but at least they were American.

Well I took my first college shot from the corner. At the coliseum it is hard to see the rim. All you see is a sea of faces. Sure enough it was an air ball. Marvin Lloyd came back and I did not start anymore but I got good playing time subbing for Carlos and Marvin.

I received another learning lesson when we travelled through the airport on route to our Christmas tournaments, the players would walk into the gift shops and come out with jewlery and sun glasses. Of course none of it paid for. They would explain to me that that was the only way they could get Christmas presents for their Moms and families.

I've always been a big proponent that college players should be given loans just like any college student. If the banks are stupid enough to loan it to them, then that's their problem. Of course the NCAA would have to put a cap on it like $2,000 a year. A $8,000 loan is nothing for a college graduate. I say it is unfair to throw a poor boy into a private university and expect him to take girls out or entertain himself.

Another time one of the players was arrested in his dorm room. They found three TV's, four stereo systems and a drawer full of watches and jewelry. He just told me before he flew home that he was always brought up that if someone has something you want, you take it.

That spring I dated a girl who liked to swim. I had already decided to take some spring classes so that I could graduate in four years. Since we practiced and traveled all the time, we could not take a full load. Well I swam miles that spring. It was the best thing for my knees. I finally ended up swimming an entire mile ( 50 ft. a lap times 105 laps). It took forever.

That summer I went back to DC and worked at a gas station (graveyard shift). This was great because I could play ball all day at different gyms and playgrounds. I came back my sophomore year in the best shape of my life. I was no longer a fluke recruit riding the bench. I was the 6th or 7th man as a freshman and now fighting for a starting position.

Sophomore Year

Again luck came my way. Bobby Alverez's knee got worse and he did not return. Carlos Bermudez graduated, as did Ricky Coleman and Jimmy Clark. Coach Gottlieb brought in some new recruits but they were not too solid. Not making a post season tournament and all the players having to live on campus rather than apartments did not help recruiting.

[ One thing I always remember when talking to young players who were thinking about Berkeley is that we could not promise post season state championships, but something more important, the best education in Tampa and maybe Florida.

As I looked down the bench, I could see that our seniors were going to Dartmouth, Princeton, Washington U. in St. Louis and Notre Dame. Every year when the players returned to play ball, they would remind me of how successful Berkeley was in preparing these students for success not only in college but more importantly in life.

It was great teaching bright players. You only had to go over plays once or twice. They understood why we ran plays when we did. They knew this was only a game and play because it was fun. We liked to win but were not destroyed if we lost. We did not try to win at all cost and school work always had first priority.

It was easy to convince parents that Berkeley was the right school for their children. And the parents or players who did not see the value of a great education, we did not want on our team. These players would only worry about their own statistics and looking good for the college coaches. These players would not do their homework and not do well in their courses causing the team unnecessary distractions.

Yes, this was a bright group of young men and this last play would definitely work. They knew the play and why it would work. All I had to do was to refresh their memories.]

We started pre-season conditioning the second week back. Kent Glover and Marvin Lloyd took over the team. I made sure that I was always in the front two or three of every activity we did. We ran stairs, we ran golf courses, we ran everywhere and played ball all the other times. I ran in the school's Turkey Trutt the morning before our two-a-day practices. I came in sixth place. One day in practice, coach stopped the practice and asked the assistant coach who had the most rebounds. He said Manny has 24 rebounds and the next person has 6. I knew then that this was my year. Yes, I started. I ended up with the second most minutes played behind Kent Glover. I was second in rebounds behind Marvin Lloyd. And I was first in taking charges. We got paid $2 for each charge we took. I took so many that I had to have my tailbone operated on during the off season. I later found out that the other players were using the coach's credit card to shop. The most I got was my freshman year when the assistant coach asked my roommate if I had more than one outfit to wear to functions. My roommate said no. The coach who was 6'5" let me choose some outfits from his closet.

We ended the year 18-11 and waiting for an NIT bid that we never got. Coach Gotlieb was let go. JU was used to post season tournaments.

Against U. of Wisconsin when I was taken out of the game, the radio announcer said I just got a standing ovation. What really happened was that Marty Gross, a point guard, got so excited about going into the game that when he pulled down his warm-ups, he pulled down his shorts and mooned the entire crowd. He made Sports Illustrated for the moon-shine award.

At this time an NBA team in Buffalo was thinking of relocation to Hollywood, Florida (just north of Miami). They sent me a letter saying they were interested in me because they wanted a Cuban on the team. They had seen me play in Buffalo against Niagara U. and liked my hustle. As it turned out they moved to Atlanta and no I never heard from them again.

This was the first year of the Sun Belt Conference. We played against UNC at Charlotte. I covered Cedric Cornbread Maxwell, who would later play for the Boston Celtics. I held him to 2 for 10 shooting in the 1st half. He was very mad. My strategy was to pick him up at half court and not let him catch the ball. He hated this and told me so with an elbow at the foul line during a free throw. I told him he was an All-American and would be drafted, so getting into a fight with me would not help his career. I don't think he ever had anyone explain all this to him in a logical manner during the game.

[ I have always taught my players that there is no need to throw punches. You could always logically talk your way out of any situation. No matter how mad the other coach would get during the game I would calmly explain to them the situation and try to resolve their anger. I always started out by saying, "You are probably right and you are obviously a good coach, but..."

I was especially proud of this group because they had been awarded the best sportsmanship team by the referee association. I had hoped they had learned this valuable lesson for life.]

In the second half, they setup plays where I would get picked two or three times to get Cornbread open. Once he got the ball, I could not stop him. He was the Sun Belt player of the year.

I used this same technique on the nation's leading scorer, McCurry, from Richmond U. and kept him down to under 10 touches for 8 pts. in the 1st half. He got into a shoving match with me in the 2nd half and the ref threw both of us out. Their coach said you can't do that he is our whole team. So the ref let him back into the game but not me. Damn shame! I didn't care because by that time we were ahead by 20 and I was exhausted.

I also used it against 7 foot Fesser Leonard of Furman. He ran over me at half court. The first time the ref didn't see it, no call. The second time the ref saw it and smiled at me. So I gave Fesser a good elbow in the back. He looked DOWN at me and I said I'm sorry (ready to run for my life). That game we had on a full court press and I was at the point. We stole the ball and went into overtime but I could not play in the overtime because I was completely exhausted. The trainer said I looked as white as a ghost and made me breath into a bag. The last game of the season I scored 18 pts..

Fate struck again. JU hired an assistant coach from Stetson, Coach Don Beasley. He had tried to get me to transfer to Stetson when we played them in Deland, Florida my sophomore year. He told me I would be a starter at Stetson and that if I was ever unhappy at JU to give him a call. When he arrived at JU, he told me he was going to make me into an All-American defensive player or at least All-America Scholastic Athlete (I had a 4.0 my freshman year and a 3.5 my sophomore year majoring in Accounting).