Basketbawful reader Alexandru wrote in from Romania and alerted me to Steve Aschburner's column on SI.com, in which Aschburner, while discussing the Minnesota Timberwolves, said: "Then there's [Kevin] Love, a feisty rookie from UCLA who sees the floor and loves to pass. Those are skills that got [Kevin] McHale into the shrine in Springfield."

[Spits morning coffee all over the computer screen]

Great googly moogly! Seeing the floor? Passing?! This seems like a good time to point out that McHale was dubbed The Black Hole by his teammates and that McHale himself once described his shooting philosophy as: "If there are three guys on me, shoot. If there are four guys on me, pass."

Just watch the following video, in which Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson and Robert Parish describe McHale's penchant for ball-hoggery. The best quote comes from D.J., who said: "You stand there for a while just hopin', but from the bench you here the coaches sayin' 'Hey, cut Dennis, cut, because you aren't gonna get it back.'"


Here's another video that shows off why Kevin was so reluctant to give up the rock.

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16 Comments:
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Best post player ever? I think so, although Hakeem in his prime is a tough argument.

You just don't see post play like this anymore. Two reasons: one - because of officiating and changes; two - everyone wants to isolate up high and back down for a fadeaway. Gak. Look at the drop steps, the up and unders, hooks, rebounding, positioning and elbow placement. Watch and learn, kids. Unless you're learning to pass...

Blogger Five Pound Bag said...
This is especially dumb because the Wolves have a McHalesque post scorer in Big Al Jefferson. The correct historeical analogy for Kevin Love is Wes Unseld.

Kudos to your Romanian readership for spotting the goof.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Steve needs to stick to baseball.

Blogger Cortez said...
McHale was a BEAST on the low block, period

One year Bird was hurt and he took his game out to the 3 point stripe.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Wow this was a pretty stupid comparison. But Bawful, what I'm most concerned about is the word of the day tidbit. Do you not update that anymore??? Also, the "word of the day" on the side sometimes doesn't work because it's outdated or something. Can you keep making the word of the day?? I love those things!!

Anonymous Anonymous said...
You know, I just don't REMEMBER how amazing Mchale was from when I was a kid. I mean he's just so UGLY when he moves its hard to understand how amazing that guy was unless you understand basketball. Looking at him NOW with adult eyes, I'm astounded at his ability to control his body and essentially "weave" a hole for himself in the defense to find an angle to shoot at. Even if all he does is "lob" the ball in over and over... it's astounding.

Not sure what to say considering I spent my whole life hating all things Celtic...

Blogger Basketbawful said...
baddave -- Here, here.

five pound bag -- Exactly, my friend. Big Al is definitely a very poor man's McHale. Possibly a homeless man's McHale.

anonymous -- Indeed.

cortez -- It's also worth noting that, prior to his various foot injuries, McHale was a hellacious and versatile defender.

dandruff102 -- I'll look into the link problem. There are, indeed, many more Words of the Day coming...I just try to use them during the season when something related happens.

pistonsgirl4life -- I couldn't agree more. And that's the thing: Almost any player can be mimicked. Even Jordan. But nobody, and I mean nobody, can do what McHale did. He's truly a one-of-a-kind player. And kudos for seeing this through the haze of Celtic hatred. I do the same thing when I look back and how freaking amazing Isiah was back in the day.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
was a bit late for the laker vs boston rivalry but love the mchale highlights on nba on nbc, damn h-word could fake a n-word out of his shorts. him and hakeem are up there in best bball in the post footwork/fakes, but mchale more so cuz he was schooling more athletic black guys. other thing i learn from the clips:
- matt damon could play a young danny ainge in a movie: DANNY AAAIIIIINNGEEE
- DJs face is kinda messed up. thats a terrible stache even for 80s standard.

Blogger KNEE JERK NBA said...
Love couldn't hold McHale's jock.

In addition to being practically unstoppable on the block, McHale was also a terrific defender who could guard 4s and 5s. Barkley called him the best player he'd ever played against. Of course, Barkley picked Utah to win the title this year...

Blogger Trent said...
What the hell word is it Barkley says - twice - at the start of that clip? Argin? What the freakin hell is 'argin'?
Anyways, I could be wrong, but I think about half of K-Mac's amazing post fake-spin-lobs would be called travels in FIBA play.
I miss the 80's.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
it´s amazing, basically this guy has one move with some variations.

best post player - hakeem, by far

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Pistons girl - I totally agree. McHale is the Frankenshteen of basketball. His shoulders are about a foot behind his chest, he has a neanderthal brow, and he can scratch his knees without bending. It's not right, but it's soooo right.

Blogger Unknown said...
Trent, Barkley has been slowly morphing into Moses Malone. It's gotten to the point where I expect him to say, "Fo' Fo' Fo'" each time he opens his mouth. In ten years, he'll surpass Lou Holtz as the most unintelligible (and possibly drunk) halftime color commentary man ever.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Does nobody push mcHale??

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Man I hate Mchale... and the way he played. He's like that guy who looks like Mclovin and dresses like Urkel who plays ball at the local Y and he's uncoordinated and he moves weird and he's a ball hog and he shoots these crappy little finger rolls and he's the least coordinated guy out there and he doesn't belong there because of how he looks and the way he moves and plays... and he's the guy scoring 8 of the 11 points. And he has a mouth and an attitude and a stupid outfit. That's Mchale.

In the second video the nicest play is Bird's entry pass at about 2:43. Three Lakers surrounding Mchale and the pass is... perfect. Not just textbook perfect, but ingenious perfect.

Man, I hate Mchale (and why doesn't anybody play like this anymore?!).

Blogger Basketbawful said...
stmf2 -- That's an amazingly accurate description of McHale.