Jeff Mullins retrospective

[Jim3k]

in the Contra Costa Times this morning:

http://www.contracostatimes.com/warriors/ci_5649937

Bill Sharman, who was a broadcaster for the Hawks and became close with Mullins, took over as coach of the Warriors and helped get Mullins to the Bay Area. Sharman used to shoot around with Mullins after Hawks practices, so he knew exactly what he was getting in the third-year guard, which is why Mullins was immediately named a starter.

"Bill was great for my career," Mullins said. "When I got to the Warriors, he said, 'I want you to play just like you did in college. When you're open, I want you to shoot.'"

Mullins -- playing with swingman Rick Barry, post Nate Thurmond and guard Paul Neumann -- hit the ground running, and the Warriors reached the NBA Finals, losing in six games to the Wilt Chamberlain-led Philadelphia 76ers.

[gw67]

For us old timers, the DBR link to the article on Jeff Mullins brings back a host of good memories. Jeff starred for Duke in the early 60's and played with Heyman, Buckley, Harrison, Tison and others. Whereas Heyman was a strong player from 15 feet on in, Mullins was a very skilled offensive player who could run and jump, and was able to score from all over the court. I had forgotten that he was not drafted by the Warriors and really didn't come into his own in the pros until traded there. The story failed to point out the Jeff coached in college for a few years (UNC Charlotte?).

gw67

[Indoor66]

Yes, he did coach UNC Charlotte. He also spent some time working for Duke in Development and, at one time, owned a car dealership in Cary. He was a fixture at Cameron in the 70's after retirement and prior to moving to Charlotte to Coach.

[Karl Beem]

Yes, he did coach UNC Charlotte. He also spent some time working for Duke in Development and, at one time, owned a car dealership in Cary. He was a fixture at Cameron in the 70's after retirement and prior to moving to Charlotte to Coach.


Wasn't he assistant AD?

[captmojo]

He was also great as a game color announcer for JP Sports.

[greybeard]

How could he have been left off the list compiled in a recent posting of the greatest shooters of all time?

[Jim3k]

How could he have been left off the list compiled in a recent posting of the greatest shooters of all time?

Jeff shot 51.5% from the floor over a 3 year career (freshmen couldn't play) (54.9% his junior year) and 71% from the FT line, for a 21.9 ppg. He also averaged 9 rebounds per game. In his senior year he averaged 24.2 ppg. His career total was 1884.

Jeff's numbers and Verga's are quite comparable, with Jeff slightly (and statistically insignificantly) better.

For the 3 year career players, he is third on the list behind Heyman and Groat. Verga is fourth.

Overall, he is 16th on the all time list. Heyman is 11th and Verga is 17th.

Can you imagine if these guys had four year careers? If he had gotten 750 points in his fourth year (as he did in his third), he'd have been the all-time leader until caught by Redick. Similar calculations can be done for Heyman, Groat and Verga which would put Groat at number 1.

Those of us lucky enough to see Heyman, Mullins and Verga saw something very special.

(Numbers from the Encyclopedia of Duke Basketball)

[du72ku65]

When I hear or read the name Jeff Mullins it takes me back to my first days as a Duke basketball fan. I remember sitting around the radio and listening to many of the games that unlike today were not on television. I think I was maybe seven years old.

Bob Verga, I loved him as a kid and looking back I wonder just how many points he would have scored had there been a three point line. I think he is the most overlooked Duke player of all time. Many people did not realize that he held the scoring average for one season for many years until J.J. broke it his senior season. If he would have had been credited three points for all of his long range bombs I don't think it is a stretch to say he would have easily averaged 30+ per game that year.