The Cleveland Cavaliers are frustrating to watch – WFNY Podcast – 2015-01-16
January 16, 2015Cleveland Indians reportedly in market for upgrade at closer
January 16, 2015By Season 4, the nascent Cleveland Cavaliers were beginning to enjoy the fruits of the player development they’d begun in 1970. Third year star shooting guard Austin Carr would lead the team in scoring at 22 points per game. Strong forward Bingo Smith and power forward Dwight Davis would average in the teens, while Davis and center Steve Patterson would pull down about eight rebounds per game.
A steadying influence for head coach Bill Fitch would be nine-time All Star point guard Lenny Wilkens, who’d arrived after the 1971-1972 season from Seattle (where he’d been player-coach for the SuperSonics). Wilkens would average 16 points with seven assists.
The Cavaliers were not to be a playoff team in 1974, the last season they called the old Cleveland Arena their home. But they were improving. Their 29 wins were highlighted by a some signature victories that began to raise eyebrows around the league. Among the eventual playoff teams the Cavs defeated included the New York Knicks, the Capital Bullets, the Boston Celtics (twice), the Detroit Pistons (twice), and the Buffalo Braves (twice).
There were also two epic wins against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers had yet to acquire Kareem Abdul Jabbar from the Milwaukee Bucks, but they’d finish first in their division in 1974. Coach Bill Sharman’s team boasted the likes of point guard Jerry West (referred to these days as “The Logo”, as his image is used in the NBA’s official symbol), shooting guard Gail Goodrich, and strong forward Connie Hawkins. (And backup shooting guard Pat Riley. *spit*)
On December 7, 1973, the 10-20 Cavaliers managed to defeat the Lakers at home, in overtime, 101-100. A few weeks later, on January 22, 1974, they repeated the feat in Los Angeles. During an extended road trip that included several west coast stops, the Cavs beat the Lakers in OT again, this time by a final score of 111-110. Wilkens led the way with 24 points. Besides AC and Bingo, two other players also finished with double-digit point totals. They were rookies: forward Jim Brewer and center Luke Witte.
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“Broooooooo.” The cascading Cleveland cheer would erupt when Jim Brewer prepared to enter a game. It would recur throughout his stints on the floor after key rebounds, and especially after his blocked shots. Or when he’d make a shot, and the Cavs’ PA announcer would declare, “Two for the Broooo.”
Selected by the Cavaliers with the second pick of the 1973 NBA draft, Jim Brewer was known for his gentle personality. While it matched his smile, it belied his tough, physical game. This was a contradiction that drew appreciation from observers stretching back to his high school days at Proviso East High School in Illinois, a school also known for producing other NBA players such as his nephew, current Celtics coach Doc Rivers, as well as former Cavalier Shannon Brown.
Jim Brewer starred at the University of Minnesota. Bill Musselman, the deeply intense coach from the Cleveland area, was the Gophers’ head coach. (Many Ohioans are aware he knew legendary coach Bob Knight as a youth growing up in Wooster. Also, of his time as the head coach of the Cavs for a short time, under owner Ted Stepien.) The team also included several players who would go on to play in the NBA. Dave Winfield, future MLB hall-of-famer, was on the team as well and recalled, “First thing I learned about Musselman was, while he let his teams warm up like the Harlem Globetrotters, he never let them play like them. His players weren’t loosey-goosey shootists and stylists. They were defensive specialists. Defensive with a capital D.”
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“Luuuuuuuuke.” Cleveland loved Luke Witte. He had also been selected by the Cavaliers in that 1973 draft, out of the Ohio State University (as was guard Alan Hornyak). The center (he’s said he was measured at 6’11 and 3/8” as a sophomore in high school, but was “never measured” after that!) had grown up near Alliance, Ohio. His college recruiting had been a “wild” process (his word); Ohio State, North Carolina, Duke and Maryland were among the top schools seeking his services. He has recalled such coaches as Fred Taylor, Lefty Dreisell and Dean Smith visiting him and his mother at their home in their small town (he’s said Ohio State and North Carolina were the only two big schools not to make an “under the table” offer).
Witte played three seasons with the Cavaliers. He broke a bone in his foot during the third season, and then he broke one in the other during his rehab. After playing overseas for a time, he retired.
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Back in 1972, The University of Minnesota was hosting Ohio State, and on that day, the young Musselman had predictably worked his players into a frenzy prior to the game. Observers noted he was encouraging extra-physical play. At the end of the first half, OSU missed a shot, and Gopher Bobby Nix raised a fist in celebration. Luke Witte shoved Nix’s arm out of his way on his way off the court, and hit Nix’s face in the process. In the final minute of the game, with the Buckeyes wrapping up the win, Witte attempted a layup and was slugged in the face by Clyde Turner. Gopher Corky Taylor offered his hand to Witte, and when Witte took it, Taylor kneed him in the groin and punched him in the head. While back down on the floor, Minnesota player Ron Behagen approached, and kicked and stomped Witte. When Buckeye Dave Merchant came to Witte’s aid, Jim Brewer approached and was pushed out of the way. Buckeye Mark Wagar was approached from behind by Winfield, who punched Wagar in the face five times. The incident, easily obtainable on YouTube, carried racial overtones, since all of the Minnesota attackers were black and all of the Ohio State victims were white. A Sports Illustrated photo sequence recorded the disgusting violence.
Luke Witte was beat up the worst. After the referees forfeited the game to the Buckeyes, Witte was carried off the court while Minnesota fans booed and hurled debris. Witte and two other Buckeyes spent time in the hospital; Witte was in intensive care for a time, his eye injuries impaired him long-term. When one revisits the 1972 brawl, emotions of anger arise1.
For his part, Witte remembers nothing, from half-time of that game to the next morning. He has recalled his mental state in the years immediately following the Minnesota game. He often felt fine- as if nothing had happened. Other times, he would allow the lingering physical effects (such as the limitations in his eyesight) to cause hostility to fester inside of himself. His hatred focused on Behagen, Turner, Taylor, and Musselman.
He allows he’d lost the passion for the game after the fight. This included his three seasons with the Cavaliers. Over time, during a life journey that spanned decades and included seminary study and becoming an ordained pastor, Luke Witte came to a conclusion:
He needed to forgive those who were involved in the attack back in 1972.
It sounds easy enough: give up your anger and your desire for revenge, and move on. It can be extremely difficult, in practice. Truly forgiving is probably the most important skill of happiness. It takes strength to overcome our own vengeful heart. It is within our power to do so, however. The gesture liberates the victim and allows him to shed his bitterness.
In 1982, ten years after the brawl, Corky Miller reached out to Luke Witte by mail. Witte agonized over how, or whether, to respond- until his wife convinced him to call. They initially didn’t say much, but began to occasionally write each other. When the age of email dawned, they wrote more often. Strong emotional and spiritual bonds formed.
Eventually, Corky Miller invited Luke Witte to visit him and his family in Minnesota. Their relationship had become that of brothers, as they discussed basketball, race relations, and the nature of forgiveness.
While Witte was visiting Miller, he was surprised by a visit by Clyde Turner. The three of them later watched a tape of the attack on the court. They were silent, yet with a dozen questions that would later be discussed.
In the meantime, the three men reconciled. They became liberated.2 ((Another story of interest involved Jim Brewer. At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, the United States were defending their record of never having been beaten in basketball (62 games and counting). For the gold medal game, they were to face the Soviet Union. This was in the middle of the Cold War- the tense, competitive conflict between the two countries that was reflected in areas such as weapons development, an arms race, espionage…and sports. Doug Collins of the US (who would be the No.1 NBA draft pick ahead of No. 2 Brewer in 1973) hit two free throws in the waning seconds of regulation. The US was leading, 50-49, and it looked like they were about to win gold. The Soviets immediately inbounded the ball with 3 seconds remaining, but the referee blew the whistle with one second on the clock: the Soviet coach had called a timeout. They were given the ball again, to inbound with three seconds remaining. They heaved a half court shot that missed, and the USA team began celebrating wildly- gold medal!!! But hold on. The Soviet coach claimed that the clock had been reset incorrectly. The FIBA Secretary-General, Renalto William Jones of Italy (the international basketball federation head), immediately got involved. Never mind that he had no jurisdiction in the matter- he insisted the clock be reset to 0:03 and the Soviets got a third chance to win the game. This time, the ball was fed to the Soviets’ best shooter, Aleksandr Belov, and he hit the shot to win gold. The US team felt they were jobbed, and the official scorekeeper declined to sign the scorebook in protest. There was an appeal, and the US lost a 3-2 vote by a panel which was split along Cold War lines. The US declined to accept their silver medals. “We hadn’t earned the silver medal,” Brewer said afterward. “We had won the gold medal. That’s the medal we had earned, so why accept something else.”))
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5 Comments
great history………………..
Wow, Greg, excellent stuff. Never knew that the college assault affected Witte so profoundly. I always viewed him as a stiff, one many Cleveland fans singled out to love for the same reason they cheered John Lambert: he was white. I’d love to read something from any of the Gophers as to the reason for the on-court attack. Witte’s narration paints it as an unprovoked aasault by virtually an entire team of stone cold thugs. Hard to believe.
I remember Brewer as a guy who never came close to living up to his draft status. Kind of like Drew Gooden – he had the physical ability to do so many things well and stay in the league a long time but somehow there was no there there. Not a ferocious competitor, not much of a basketball IQ, took parts of games and seasons off The parts added up to a much smaller whole.
His nephew, Doc Rivers, complained in recent years that Brewer isn’t more highly regarded these days in Cleveland. Biased, sure. Just thought it was interesting.
saw it at the time, sad…and yeah, Dave Winfield, my oh my…
small thing Greg, but Bingo more of a small forward?
for some reason I remember Alan Hornyak a little like Aaron Craft?…both lefties, right?…what’s Craft up to?..heck, what’s Hornyak up to?
Who’s Corky Miller?