The Pro’s…
The Portland Trailblazer camp was going to be in late June on the campus of Lewis & Clark College, which held bad memories for me. They had this initial camp to trim their roster for the summer, then would return in the fall for their pre-season camp. I left Linfield College in mid-May and drove back to Phoenix to begin training for it. Over the next six weeks I trained harder and better than I ever had in my life- not the boot camp deal Coach MacCormick had given us at Lee- but a very good regimen of cardio, ladders and rope, and basketball skills. The only playing I really did was to go over to East High, where Coach Youree was having 3 on 3 sessions. Those were so well known by then, that there were some players from the Phoenix Suns involved. 3 on 3 had been part of the backbone of Coach Youree’s program from the beginning. It is a great way to play tough, physical basketball, and learn how to win. Winning was what it was all about, because there was a championship court and everything else was referred to as a loser court. It said a lot about you if you could get a team to championship court and then stay there. The rules were simple- defense calls fouls, no makers, steals and rebounds had to be taken back out- no air ball put backs. You had to know the score, because Coach Youree was playing back in those days and if you didn’t know the score, he would change it. Because the defense called the fouls, the games could get pretty rugged- and they generally were. No wussie offensive players calling every touch a foul. Once, during my preparation for Portland, I was on championship court, playing against Coach Youree’s team, and I broke across the lane, got the ball and was going to shoot a jump hook- another shot he was famous for teaching us. Next thing I knew I was on the floor- knocked down- no call. Coach Youree looked down at me and said “well, that’s what they’re going to do in the pro’s.” OK.
The Trailblazers flew me up to Portland the day before camp began and put me in a hotel for the night. The next day, they picked me up and we drove over to Lewis and Clark, and checked into to a dorm there. Each player had his own room. This was the era before Bird and Magic upgraded the NBA to a show time, big money, premiere sports league. The Trailblazers were like Phoenix in those days- a small TV market team, and the league was still overall relatively small time across the board. There was no ESPN, no cable TV, and they were doing regional telecasts during the week on a limited basis, with ABC still only doing one national broadcast per week. Those broadcasts were reserved mainly for the Celtics, the Lakers, or the Knicks, who back in those days were very good. The Trailblazer camp looked kind of like the movie “Invincible” where between workouts, players would sit around the dorm between workouts and dread the moments when you were summoned to see the head coach. His name was Jack McCloskey and his assistant was an ex-NBA player named Neil Johnston. It was Neil who had the duty to send players to see McCloskey to get the axe. It was pretty commonly known by veterans that if Neil talked to you or was pleasant with you, you were still going to be around. If Neil quit talking to you or was unfriendly to you, you were gone soon.
These days, being a first round pick is pretty much a guarantee of making the roster, and even second round picks have a great chance. Back then, nothing was guaranteed and there was the ABA, which was a pretty successful competitive league. It was the ABA that came up with the three point shot, which NBA guys at the time thought was a joke. Portland had not been very successful and several of the players drafted bolted to the ABA, including their top pick- Barry Parkhill from Virginia. The ABA was offering guaranteed money. The highest draft pick to show up to Portland’s camp was Larry Hollyfield fro UCLA. He had played on a high school team that was undefeated, an undefeated junior college team for one year, and was part of UCLA’s 88 game win streak. He was very well known, but came into camp thinking he was already on the team and was overweight and out of shape. They cut him on the second day, and I can still see him leaving- he couldn’t believe they would cut a guy from UCLA! Their next highest pick to report was Mike Contreras, a tough, shooting guard from Arizona State. He got cut right away, too, for the same reason. I couldn’t understand how guys could come into a camp like this overweight and out of shape.
McClosky and Johnston put us through some drills, but we mainly scrimmaged. I remember putting on a Trailblazer jersey for the first time and thinking- like I did at Wyoming- how surreal it was. I was amazed, however, at how tight fisted they were with equipment. These days, players are lavished with stuff from the teams. Back then, they had kids in the locker room who picked up everything you took off, right down to the jockstrap, and would issue fresh clothing each work out- then repeat. It was impossible to get out of there with even a pair of socks. I survived each day because I came to camp in great shape and did well in the scrimmages. Neil was friendly with me.
At the end of camp, which lasted a full week, we had a public scrimmage. Full game gear and all. There was even a referee’s camp and they were going to use the scrimmage to evaluate them. Good crowd and a good scrimmage. During the action, one of my shots was clearly goal tended and the rookie referee who had the best look at it was a guy from Phoenix- Tommy Nunez. I looked at him and he gave me a classic referee shot- “don’t worry about it, Ballard, you’re not going to make this league anyway”. Thanks for the support. I played well, though, but I did notice throughout that Neil was not friendly to me or saying anything at all. Uh-oh. After the scrimmage, we were in the locker room taking stuff off, and of course there were those locker room kids right there to grab everything, when in the door walked the most famous NBA referee of the era- Mindy Rudolph. He was there to evaluate the rookie refs. I had seen him on TV so many times over the years, it was like a member of my own family walked in. I was the first guy by the door and when I saw him I cleverly said “Mindy Rudolph!” He stopped and looked at me and said “how tall are you, son?” I said “6’8”, Mindy.” He said “well, I didn’t know they stacked shit that high!” Wow, talk about a bubble bursting. The guys he was with started laughing as they all moved on. Trash talk from the greatest referee in the world? So, I got that going for me, which is nice.
That night, the Trailblazers took me back to that hotel, because my flight wouldn’t be until the next day. Neil Johnston didn’t say a word to me, but Jack McClosky asked me if I knew anything about playing in Europe. I said I didn’t and he just kind of mumbled and walked away. The next day, I was watching the news before leaving for the airport, and I saw a local sports reporter say that the only rookie Portland was going to keep was Bernie Fryer, a free agent from BYU. So, nobody actually told me that I was cut, but what I didn’t know was that Jack McCloskey was going to reach out to someone on my behalf about playing overseas. A few days later, back in Phoenix, I got letter from Portland saying thanks and stay in touch. Yeah, things were definitely different back then.
Next…Europe…
The Portland Trailblazer camp was going to be in late June on the campus of Lewis & Clark College, which held bad memories for me. They had this initial camp to trim their roster for the summer, then would return in the fall for their pre-season camp. I left Linfield College in mid-May and drove back to Phoenix to begin training for it. Over the next six weeks I trained harder and better than I ever had in my life- not the boot camp deal Coach MacCormick had given us at Lee- but a very good regimen of cardio, ladders and rope, and basketball skills. The only playing I really did was to go over to East High, where Coach Youree was having 3 on 3 sessions. Those were so well known by then, that there were some players from the Phoenix Suns involved. 3 on 3 had been part of the backbone of Coach Youree’s program from the beginning. It is a great way to play tough, physical basketball, and learn how to win. Winning was what it was all about, because there was a championship court and everything else was referred to as a loser court. It said a lot about you if you could get a team to championship court and then stay there. The rules were simple- defense calls fouls, no makers, steals and rebounds had to be taken back out- no air ball put backs. You had to know the score, because Coach Youree was playing back in those days and if you didn’t know the score, he would change it. Because the defense called the fouls, the games could get pretty rugged- and they generally were. No wussie offensive players calling every touch a foul. Once, during my preparation for Portland, I was on championship court, playing against Coach Youree’s team, and I broke across the lane, got the ball and was going to shoot a jump hook- another shot he was famous for teaching us. Next thing I knew I was on the floor- knocked down- no call. Coach Youree looked down at me and said “well, that’s what they’re going to do in the pro’s.” OK.
The Trailblazers flew me up to Portland the day before camp began and put me in a hotel for the night. The next day, they picked me up and we drove over to Lewis and Clark, and checked into to a dorm there. Each player had his own room. This was the era before Bird and Magic upgraded the NBA to a show time, big money, premiere sports league. The Trailblazers were like Phoenix in those days- a small TV market team, and the league was still overall relatively small time across the board. There was no ESPN, no cable TV, and they were doing regional telecasts during the week on a limited basis, with ABC still only doing one national broadcast per week. Those broadcasts were reserved mainly for the Celtics, the Lakers, or the Knicks, who back in those days were very good. The Trailblazer camp looked kind of like the movie “Invincible” where between workouts, players would sit around the dorm between workouts and dread the moments when you were summoned to see the head coach. His name was Jack McCloskey and his assistant was an ex-NBA player named Neil Johnston. It was Neil who had the duty to send players to see McCloskey to get the axe. It was pretty commonly known by veterans that if Neil talked to you or was pleasant with you, you were still going to be around. If Neil quit talking to you or was unfriendly to you, you were gone soon.
These days, being a first round pick is pretty much a guarantee of making the roster, and even second round picks have a great chance. Back then, nothing was guaranteed and there was the ABA, which was a pretty successful competitive league. It was the ABA that came up with the three point shot, which NBA guys at the time thought was a joke. Portland had not been very successful and several of the players drafted bolted to the ABA, including their top pick- Barry Parkhill from Virginia. The ABA was offering guaranteed money. The highest draft pick to show up to Portland’s camp was Larry Hollyfield fro UCLA. He had played on a high school team that was undefeated, an undefeated junior college team for one year, and was part of UCLA’s 88 game win streak. He was very well known, but came into camp thinking he was already on the team and was overweight and out of shape. They cut him on the second day, and I can still see him leaving- he couldn’t believe they would cut a guy from UCLA! Their next highest pick to report was Mike Contreras, a tough, shooting guard from Arizona State. He got cut right away, too, for the same reason. I couldn’t understand how guys could come into a camp like this overweight and out of shape.
McClosky and Johnston put us through some drills, but we mainly scrimmaged. I remember putting on a Trailblazer jersey for the first time and thinking- like I did at Wyoming- how surreal it was. I was amazed, however, at how tight fisted they were with equipment. These days, players are lavished with stuff from the teams. Back then, they had kids in the locker room who picked up everything you took off, right down to the jockstrap, and would issue fresh clothing each work out- then repeat. It was impossible to get out of there with even a pair of socks. I survived each day because I came to camp in great shape and did well in the scrimmages. Neil was friendly with me.
At the end of camp, which lasted a full week, we had a public scrimmage. Full game gear and all. There was even a referee’s camp and they were going to use the scrimmage to evaluate them. Good crowd and a good scrimmage. During the action, one of my shots was clearly goal tended and the rookie referee who had the best look at it was a guy from Phoenix- Tommy Nunez. I looked at him and he gave me a classic referee shot- “don’t worry about it, Ballard, you’re not going to make this league anyway”. Thanks for the support. I played well, though, but I did notice throughout that Neil was not friendly to me or saying anything at all. Uh-oh. After the scrimmage, we were in the locker room taking stuff off, and of course there were those locker room kids right there to grab everything, when in the door walked the most famous NBA referee of the era- Mindy Rudolph. He was there to evaluate the rookie refs. I had seen him on TV so many times over the years, it was like a member of my own family walked in. I was the first guy by the door and when I saw him I cleverly said “Mindy Rudolph!” He stopped and looked at me and said “how tall are you, son?” I said “6’8”, Mindy.” He said “well, I didn’t know they stacked shit that high!” Wow, talk about a bubble bursting. The guys he was with started laughing as they all moved on. Trash talk from the greatest referee in the world? So, I got that going for me, which is nice.
That night, the Trailblazers took me back to that hotel, because my flight wouldn’t be until the next day. Neil Johnston didn’t say a word to me, but Jack McClosky asked me if I knew anything about playing in Europe. I said I didn’t and he just kind of mumbled and walked away. The next day, I was watching the news before leaving for the airport, and I saw a local sports reporter say that the only rookie Portland was going to keep was Bernie Fryer, a free agent from BYU. So, nobody actually told me that I was cut, but what I didn’t know was that Jack McCloskey was going to reach out to someone on my behalf about playing overseas. A few days later, back in Phoenix, I got letter from Portland saying thanks and stay in touch. Yeah, things were definitely different back then.
Next…Europe…
