I entered the Land of the Giants recently – literally and figuratively.
It was the 68th gathering of the Northwest Basketball Legends in Seattle. Seven-foot-1 Spencer Hawes was there. His uncle, Steve Hawes, a mere 6-foot-10, received a Merit of Excellence award at the banquet. Steve was an All-American at the UW and also played 10 seasons in the NBA, including two for the hometown Seattle SuperSonics. He was introduced by his brother, Jeff, a relative shrimp at 6-foot-7 inches who played alongside Steve at UW.
Also in attendance were other former college basketball giants in our state: Jim McKean (6-9, Washington State), Jay Bond (6-9, Washington), Tom Workman (6-7, Seattle U.) and Eddie Miles (6-4, Seattle U.), one of the few black players in the room of 100 or so.
Spencer Hawes and and I formally entered the “Legends” group together. The similarities end there. He played one season at the University of Washington, before bolting for the NBA, where he spent 10 productive seasons in the NBA. I spent two largely unproductive seasons at Sedro-Woolley High School as a reserve guard.
Talk about an unlikely pair. The organization is made up of former players, coaches and assorted media-types. I fall into the latter group. It was great to reunite with my former Seattle Times colleagues Craig Smith, Dwight Perry, Scott Hanson, Bill Kossen, Mike Lindblom and current Times Sports Editor Paul Barrett. Sportswriter extraordinaire Bud Withers was unable to make it.
What a wonderful afternoon at the Washington Athletic Club in downtown Seattle. Keynote speaker Johnny O’Brien, former Seattle U. All-American and major-league baseball player, regaled us with his humor and story-telling.
Already looking forward to next year’s gathering, which hopefully will be younger and less “white.”
The Inside Scoop 