Lakers star archaeology: Best Supporting Role "Kangaroo Boy" Jim Pollard!

Phil Jackson, who had just become the head coach of the Bulls, brought a ladder and called the team over, he pointed to the top section of the ladder and said:

"Michael is here,"

Then he swept his hand down the steps, pointed to the bottom and said,

"And here you are."

"Zen Master"'s basketball credo follows "hierarchical", his tactical system is tendentious, and when he first took over the "OK" combination, he told the young Kobe "give the ball to Shaq, and you will come back when he can't get it." ”

Strong teams often have this concept of "priority", so there will always be big bosses, and there are two big ones. The second leader is often the most difficult role: it is you who stand up and share the pressure of the boss when necessary; If you can't complete the task, it's the easiest to back the pot; The most important thing is that the great supporting role must play himself well, and he can't steal the protagonist's play.

Looking back at "Journey to the West" again, I found that the thief played by Uncle Da was nicknamed "Second Boss", and Uncle Da perfectly interpreted the "gold medal supporting role" in and out of the play. In NBA history, it is widely believed that Scottie Pippen is the greatest second-in-command, and in the 50s, fans who witnessed the Minneapolis Lakers and the greatness of George McCann were more willing to admire second-in-command Jim Pollard, feeling sorry for his talent that was hidden under the McCann giant.

"Someday someone will hand Jim Pollard a trophy with the words engraved on it: To Pollard - the best second-in-command in basketball."

The December 1951 issue of Sports Magazine featured Jim Pollard.

"Kangaroo Boy"

"McCann Apolis", which is the title that fans of the 50s gave to the great George McCann's reigning Lakers, just like the "Kangxi Prosperous Era" and "Qianlong Prosperous Era", binding George McCann to the Minneapolis Prosperous Era.

Anyone who follows the game of basketball would dare not underestimate the great McCann's great achievements. This 6-foot-10 "supergiant" changed the clumsy and slow "silly big" image in people's eyes, and brought basketball into the harsh barbaric era of "height first" and "elbow open road", and the game should be dominated by a master-level center, without him, the Lakers cannot achieve a dynasty. But — a less obvious fact — Pollard continued to excel under McCann as an indispensable dynastic feat.

Jim Pollard's team status and honor, like his size, was overshadowed by George McCann's sheer size. In fact, Pollard has been with the Lakers longer than McCann, and he is the Lakers' preferred team-building core.

In 1948, the NBL and BBA rivals discussed a plan for rookie salaries, because rookie salary offers seemed a bit out of control.

When a college star graduates, clubs bid each other to attract the star, which makes the final offer exceed the maximum amount of money that both leagues can afford.

"It would bankrupt us all."

BBA's president, Maurice Podolov, said.

Then, Podolov uttered the words "Jim" and "Pollard" word by word, the superstar from Stanford was the initiator of this bidding farce, and every team in both leagues made ridiculous offers to Jim Pollard, and the owners began to blame Pollard for continuing to refuse without reason, dragging into another round of bidding, but still no one could sign him.

"Mr. President!"

Podolov looked up and noticed a hand raised. It was Ben Berg, the owner of the Minneapolis Lakers.

"Yes, Mr. Berg."

"Mr. President, the Minneapolis Lakers signed Mr. Pollard."

Berg and Hartmann won the battle for Pollard. Hartman put Pollard at the top of the draft, and they nearly lost the superstar's pour.

Rochester Royal owner Les Harrison watched Pollard play with the Oakland team, when Pollard, who was on the Coast Guard, nearly dominated the Army Basketball League, and Les tried to sign him. He offered a higher salary than the Lakers, and Jim Pollard offered to sign all three of his teammates in the amateur league at the same time, a condition that the Royals could not accept. And coincided with the shortage of personnel of the new Lakers, so "killing two birds with one stone", Pollard joined the Lakers.

As for Jim Pollard's magic worth robbing? That was his "creative" physical talent for playing at the basket.

If Dr.J., Jordan and Wilkins, or even Carter and Bryant are Elgin Baylor's legacy, then Jim Pollard is the "aerospace" history of basketball, and he was the beginning of it all.

Jim had a burst and bounce rarely seen in the '40s, his ability to dunk easily and even reflexively dunk and other fancy moves (though certainly not as flashy as modern dunks), and no one had ever seen working at height, and Pollard was the first to try to defy gravity, giving him the nickname "the Kangaroo Kid."

"In our day, who knew what a dunk was? That time I followed him to the basket, thinking he was going to miss a layup, but with a bang, he smashed the ball in! Trust me, he's the first guy to dunk. ”

Andrew Foz Levany, who has played and coached several professional teams, claimed that Pollard completed the first dunk in history.

Pollard entered Stanford with the endorsement of Everett Dean, the basketball coach of Stanford University. The story is that Dean saw Pollard jump up and hit an object 12 feet (about 3.6 meters) above the ground, so the coach was shocked, and the lucky Dean became one of the few people who caught a glimpse of the future of basketball.

Pollard is also rumored to have completed a free-throw line dunk and could touch the edge of the rebound - with a white body of about 193cm. Former Lakers coach John Kundera told this story:

"I saw Pollard come out with blood on his elbow and asked him what happened. He told me his elbow hit the rebound! God, I couldn't even catch the nets when I played basketball in college! ”

Pollard has four children in his family, and Jim is the only athlete. He initially enjoyed baseball until he first played basketball at Lafayette Elementary School in Auckland.

Pollard did not start growing taller until he was in the eighth grade, when he was 190cm tall. Two years later, he grew to 193cm tall and led Auckland Polytechnic High School to its third city championship. Pollard, a high school graduate, played AAU for the Golden State Cheese team for a year before being accepted by Coach Dean to Stanford University and became the team's arrow figure.

As a child, Pollard went to Stanford University to watch games, and he saw the dribbling and shooting skills of Hank Louisty, the greatest college player of the time. Since then, Louisetti has become Jim's hero and is the reason he worked hard to join Stanford, and Louisetti has influenced Pollard's entire career.

"Louisetti showed me a very important technique,"

Jim said,

"He always tries to get attacking players to pass the ball to the players he wants. This is achieved by making excessive concessions on defense, deliberately leaving a gap where a passer might pass the ball. ”

This is another advantage of Pollard, who has the physical condition of a striker and the skill and ball intelligence of a defender. He scores both at the basket and on the outside, dribbling skills are among the best in the league, and he's an excellent passer and rebounder. The 1951 press described him as a large version of Bob Cousy (if you can understand how Bob Cousy plays)

"Pollard's offensive creativity and comprehensive technique are considered by many to be anachronistic."

Basketball writer Robert Cohen said of him.

"Jumping Jim" is like a light cat, can silently and quickly shuttle through the high-ranking penalty area, or pass the ball covertly and steadily; When defenders try to catch him, don't forget that he also has a strong burst and broad arms, and with a simple but powerful dribble, Jim can soar into the sky and ruthlessly blow up the opponent's airspace clouds.

Jim's dribbling skills have been recognized by many.

"He's so calm, he can get past everyone."

Kundera, the manager at the time, said.

With the Lakers having Hall of Famer guard Slater Martin afterward, Pollard is still the best choice to break the tight game. Former NBA All-Star Reed Rosha was also impressed by Pollard's dribbling:

"When the game was coming to the end, they would give the ball to Pollard and then he would keep dribbling and nobody could handle him... He can make you feel like a fool. ”

When it comes to rebounding and skill, Jim believes that this is his "vocation", which is innate and natural, and not something that can be practiced by any simple training. Pollard will seize the moment before the ball falls, stretch his arms, use his excellent jumping talent, grab the ball, pull the ball to the chest and attack at the right time. Of course, McCann, who is in his early two-meter interior line, will stand on the other side of McCann, and the two will go back and forth to defend rebounds.

An opponent once said of him:

"Jim can do more than anyone else. He has more delicate technique than most big men and a more agile reflection than all small men. ”

"Two in charge"

Jim Pollard may be the most well-rounded player of his time, so the Minneapolis Lakers naturally made a fuss about his talent on the outside, but soon the Lakers welcomed the giant George McCann, and the offensive system centered on McCann was quickly established.

In fact, Pollard played as a center before coming to the Lakers, and it cannot be said that McCann stole his position, because in the NBA, his body is still not strong and tall enough to fight with the center.

In the first game, Pollard faced the legendary center "Cowboy" Edwards, he used flexible skills, a simple feint to deceive the "Cowboy", he thought at the time: It's too easy, shouldn't he be strong? Then Pollard realized that he was "not really a center" and he dangled again as he did, but the "cowboy" just stretched his arms around his neck and almost threw him into the third row of the seat.

"Thin man, your trick doesn't work here!"

"Cowboy" Edwards spewed trash talk at him.

In this way, McCann became the central pillar in the horseshoe-shaped penalty area, with Pollard and Mickelson being his right arms.

Pollard's sacrifice is clearly greater, making his relationship with McCann off the court less intimate. The first time he met George McCann, Pollard thought he "looked bulky and heavy with thick eyes", but soon McCann changed the team and made him admit that he should change.

"The team I used to play for would always vacate the box on offense, but McCann took up all the space under the basket. I needed to find a way to play with him and I had to learn from scratch. ”

Pollard said,

"I had to teach myself how to fit into his style of play. It's not easy. But learning fusion styles is what makes our team win. The Lakers have won three championships because we have the ability to do that. ”

The team's winning genes began to be infused with the arrival of the Lakers in Mikan in 1947-48, and Pollard was willing to admit that it was a change brought about by McCann.

Jim said:

"He has a good reputation. We threw the ball at him, 'Let's see what you're capable of!' 'After McCann came in, we lost four of the first six games. It took us 10 games to get together. Thanks to the Lakers — every teammate — we learned how to work together as a unit. Don't forget, George had to make adjustments as well. ”

Although McKinpolard's duo often erupted off the court and even once cursed in front of the technical booth for a coordination and communication error, they did not end up parting ways like the Sharks and Bryant.

All the talk that McCann was at odds with Pollard was silenced by Pollard. Pollard admits that both are competitive and straightforward husbands, and that quarrels are usually done to solve problems, not personal factors or personal grudges.

"Of course, we were angry with each other during the game but never left the pitch. We always get together to discuss our mistakes. Sometimes we would sit until three or four in the morning, double-checking things and solving our farce. ”

Pollard never cared about people saying McCann stole his honor, but would recognize McCann for helping him.

"McCann's presence makes it easier for me, I can't handle the pressure of being a key player in 70 games a year... Playing with McCann means you're playing for a winner, who makes you more money and enjoys your job more. ”

"Also," Jim added with a smile, "when you're shooting, it's always nice to know that there's someone like McCann following you at the basket." If you miss a shot, this can take some of your load off. ”

The second in charge is always not good. Paul George plummeted from an average of 21 shots per game to 16 after moving from the Thunder to the Clippers, and then lost and endured "trade petitions" from harsh Los Angeles fans from time to time; Middleton had to open his hand in the final moments of the game to prepare for a pass that could burst into the game at any moment, and of course the pressure of the fatal blow would fall on him.

Lakers fans will scold Pollard when they lose, and they widely believe that Pollard's poor performance in 1950 cost the Lakers a fourth chance to win a championship, and since then Pollard's performance has been on a downward trend, even losing the All-Star.

Despite this, die-hard Humi will still like this diligent second-in-command, and for nothing else, he will burst for his gorgeous outside play and transcendent flying body.

Ball wind is the most important means of attracting fans. We know how ugly basketball was at that time, even if you don't have enough film and television materials, you can make up how sleepy the game would be at that time, and George McCann's strength must not be related to the fan-sucking style of ball.

The game was simply tailor-made for McCann's huge and tough, Leonard DePet described him this way:

"The Lakers will slowly carry the ball through the half, waiting for the clumsy McCann to move under the basket. Then they managed to give the ball to Big George, and he turned around again and opened the way with his elbow..."

No wonder the alliance at that time almost went out of business!

So people wanted to see Pollard hit the basket more, put on a wonderful dunk or flash in the box, and Pollard's popularity at the time even overshadowed McCann's. After the league changed the 6-foot penalty area to 12 feet wide and introduced 3 seconds, McCann struggled even more, unleashing Pollard's breakthrough talent with a looser interior group, and the numbers began to pick up, and he reached the peak of his personal athletics in 1951-52, averaging 15.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

According to Winter, when playing on tour, after the players have faced Pollard for the first time, they will come to the dressing room after the game and ask for Pollard's autograph. It can be seen how popular Pollard is.

Of course, the boss will prefer players who can sell tickets, so Winter even said that McCann was just "a good player", and repeatedly praised Pollard,

"Jim is the greatest basketball player of all time. Best of all, got it! ...... I repeat, the best in history! ”

Best in history. More than one person mentioned making Pollard the best in history. Jim Pollard was named to the All-Time Team in 1952 and the highest number of votes, and was named the Player of the Era by the Basketball Journalists' Association of America in 1951–52, and Aikman called Pollard "the greatest player I've ever seen."

Pollard certainly doesn't really have the "best in history", he didn't even enter Bill Simmons' pyramid (and criticize Tiger Pounce, I can't find Pollard on Tiger Pounce), and if Pollard is McCann's "left hand", then Pollard's role as the "second in charge" seems more to be called the "X factor" than the stability of "right arm" Mickelson, because he does have ups and downs in performance.

Pollard's professional attitude is to be questioned. He gets bored in leading the game and deliberately chooses a more difficult scoring method. And he is known as the "home dragon, away bug", with televised matches he will play well, and other times tend to play mediocre.

Former Lakers general manager Sid Hartman said:

"No one can stop him when he's serious and he's excellent defensively. However, many nights he didn't want to make himself so tired. ”

In June 1944, a young lady named Arilee became Mrs. Pollard, who has been cheering on Pollard and the Lakers from the bleachers of the Minneapolis auditorium ever since.

"She really knows basketball."

Pollard said,

"Arilee felt like home with the Scandinavians of Minneapolis. You know she's Norwegian. She does not yell at her opponents. She supports our team and me. She will remind the referee to pay attention to something. I can even hear her while playing. ”

Pollard admitted that his wife often cheered him up and said she was more likely to accept failure than he was.

Pollard loves Italian food, he loves to eat meat, especially lamb chops. He doesn't drink and never smokes. Family and life were at the forefront of his life, and almost all of his hobbies were related to sports, whether basketball or baseball.

He devoted his life to two things: basketball and his wife, Arilee.

This is one of the reasons why he is a "home dragon", playing home games, his wife can come home to cheer him on, which makes him happy to play to his full strength. Mickelson even suggested to the general manager that Arilee travel with the team away from home, because then Pollard can have more good performances.

Regarding the "X factor" Pollard, there was a saying at the time: when Pollard "stood up", the Lakers "stood up". When Pollard "falls," the Lakers will have the same ending.

So there will be the 1950 loss, and there will be the playoff Powlard to lead the team to victory.

In the 1953 Finals, McCann scored 20.8 points while shooting a measly 30.9 percent from the field, while Pollard averaged 14.4 points per game while shooting 45.5 percent. The statistics and post-match reports of the five games in the finals pointed out that McCann performed better in G2 and G4, and Pollard played more efficiently in G1, G3 and G5.

If there had been a Finals MVP at the time, Pollard would have had a good chance of winning that title.

Pollard talked about his favorite game, choosing a playoff game against the Royals in his rookie season.

"I scored 19 points in that life-and-death fight. But what really made me happy wasn't my score, but the realization that I was playing the most all-round game of my career. Scoring a high score is not really satisfying, and a goal that turns the game around at a crucial moment gives the greatest pleasure. ”

Pollard said,

"When a player plays a good all-around game, he feels that way. I think that feeling gave me an incomparably wonderful experience. ”

End

It seems that Pollard has never played to his full potential, and many people will ask whether it should be McCann because of his poor efficiency and interior dominance later in his career. Or even Mikkelson? Maybe Jim Pollard should have a wider sky?

Former Knicks star Vince Borilla bluntly said that staying with the Lakers hindered Pollard's talent:

"George McCann is undoubtedly the greatest player of all time, but I'm really sad to see a great player like Jim Pollard being cast in McCann's shadow. If Pollard can join a team that really needs him, it will be a boon for professional basketball. At that time, people will immediately realize how great he really is. ”

Hong Kong people like to refer to the supporting characters in the play as licorice actors.

Licorice is mostly a "medicine" in Chinese medicine, and its main function is to harmonize the properties of the drugs and guide other drugs directly to the lesion. Therefore, many traditional Chinese medicine recipes are indispensable to the introduction of licorice.

Licorice is self-sweet.

Uncle Da compares himself to ginger, which is not delicious to eat alone, but there is no ginger in the duck pot, which lacks that taste.

Jack and Joan, the sons and daughters of "Jumping Jim". Jack Pollard and Larry McCann — George McCann's son — grew up on one side and the two often played together.

"Aha, McCann's kids are calm."

"Kangaroo Boy" smiled and said,

"My kids can't sit still."

(Text/Grete of Los LaTownie 0663)