OT: Darrick Murray: The Man, The Legend.

[Hank_Scorpio]

When I saw a mention of Darrick Murray in a now-locked thread, my heart filled with nostalgia.

See, you all know Darrick Murray just from his time with the Raptors. And some of you seem to think he is just a RealGM legend, a fictitious character created because of a mistake in some random post.

But some of us know the truth.

I am one of them.

I know the truth because I saw Darrick Murray's first professional game.

It was in the summer leagues...19something or other. It was hot. Too hot to live, let alone play basketball. Air conditioning hadn't been invented yet, so we just fanned ourselves and drank whiskey, smoked opium. This was "back in the day", you understand. Back when men were men and you could see it through their short shorts.

So it was getting down to the end of the day. I'd been working the beat for the local rag and they sent me here to cover the new guy. Said he could shoot like the wind, they said. Said he could lead men like a general, they said. And that was just for starters they said.

I didn't believe a word of it. The tales were too tall. The feats too astounding. It was impossible.

So I sat and I watched. Wanting to believe, but not wanting to be let down again, I watched. And I watched. For 3 quarters I watched and there was no sign of him. I began to give up hope. Angrily, I thought that perhaps I had been the victim of a cruel joke.

And then I saw him. Sitting there at the end of the bench I saw him goddammit. He was shorter than the others, which was probably why I missed him. That, and I mistook him for the towel boy. It was definitely him, but there was no way it could be him. No way those stocky legs could perform those feats. No way that he could move that paunch between opposing guards. No way that a man with no neck could lead troops into battle.

And then it happens. Late in the 4th the coach calls his number and he stands. Finally! Finally my chance to see the legend in the flesh. The sweat pours down my brow. I don't bother to look at the score. Its clearly a tightly fought contest if the coach is willing to put him at risk by letting him play. Clearly the game hangs in the balance.

What other explanation could there be?

The ball is inbounded and Murray has it. He takes a position on the perimeter. Like a statue, he plants his legs. His left hand gesticulating madly in front of him, his right hand with the ball. The seconds tick down. He starts to dribble. But the legs stay solid. Like a rhino. Like a mongoose. Looking off into the crowd, with 3 seconds left on the shot clock, he senses the moment. Suddenly, he's on the move. He lumbers forward, but before the drive can start, he stops it, pulling up for a 28 foot shot. Time hangs still as the ball is heaved high into the air.

My vision blurs.

I see the ball hit the rim.

I pass out.

When I come to, I am lying in the filth outside the arena. I beg someone to tell me what happened. Everyone looks away, taking my sweaty appearance and odor of soiled knickers as a sign of vagrancy. Finally I beg one kind old man, pleading with him,

"WHAT HAPPENED MAN?? DID THEY WIN??"

"Yes goddammit!! Gawd....YES! They won 128-64. Now get off me!!"

Astounding.

How they took such a huge lead in just under 2 minutes, I never knew. And since we had no cameras or recording devices in those days...and since I was the only reporter there, I never learned.

Then, when he came to the Raptors, I knew I had my chance. At an autograph signing at the 2001 Audio/Video in Rexdale, I walked up to him. I looked him in the eye and said to him "Mr. Murray. I saw you play your first pro game. Do you remember that game?"

He stopped what he was doing and matched my gaze. A slight smile crept over his face, or perhaps it was a look of confusion.

"No. No I don't. Do I know you?"

And that was that.

[mapko81]

Bravo, bravo! Not many things make me laugh out loud on this forum, but I couldn't hold it in reading this.

[raptor_fanatic4]

That was great!

[RingItUp!]

And here I thought it took him years to develop such an obviously un-athletic paunch.

[UnRealGM]

absolutely fantastic.

[Live Free]

genius

[Darrick Martin]

Ode to the mighty DMART

[rapstarr]

ha ha ha.

[Schad]

Glad you brought this up, Hank; it's time that the hero receives his due on this board. While kids today talk about the testicular fortitude of the LeBrons and Kobes of the league, I'll take ol' Darrick Murray any day of the week.

Back in the day, most players dared not even look Jordan in the eye, such was their fear. But Murray, back down? Hell no. He fixed his steely gaze on the supposed Greatest of All Time, and let loose a river of trash talk the likes of which the NBA had never seen. Such was his indomitable spirit; his small stature belied an enormous heart (enlarged, I hear, from a diet of raw beef and even rawer Scotch) and cajones to match. And while Jordan went on to win that game, you can be sure that he lost others in his career, and I'll swear to my dying day that those losses began with the seeds of doubt planted by D-Murr.

To watch him on offense was to watch confidence personified. The shot clock, the defense, the score...gazing at Murray's serene conscience, you could tell that these were of little concern to the great man. He had a passionate relationship with the rim and the rim only, and like any good lover, his eye never strayed.

Drive to the bucket? Never. As any third grader will tell you, three is bigger than two, and Murray was not one for a partial victory. So he'd stand at the top of the arc, and he'd wait until the moment was right, the tension building in every pair of shoulders but his. Then he'd raise up, a shot so effortless that his feet never left the ground.

Swish. Shots that few in league history would even consider. Shots that would have made Reggie Miller blanch, would have gotten Dell Curry benched. He'd take 'em, and he'd make 'em, and no coach in his lifetime ever dared question him. Such was the legend of Darrick Murray.

[mintsa]

^^^^^^

LOL....good times.

[KingOfTheCourt]

We should be thankful that we were blessed to be alive during the time of Darrick Murray and see him play! Soon he will pass into myth, but we will never forget the legend!!!

[theonlyeastcoastrapsfan]

Hank and Abe, great work guys. Real touching narrative we got going here. Some will say it is about a basketball player; but it's about life. And one short, pudgy, middle-aged-Carlton-Banks-looking guy's complete and utter mastery of it.

[#9]

Glad you brought this up, Hank; it's time that the hero receives his due on this board. While kids today talk about the testicular fortitude of the LeBrons and Kobes of the league, I'll take ol' Darrick Murray any day of the week.

Back in the day, most players dared not even look Jordan in the eye, such was their fear. But Murray, back down? Hell no. He fixed his steely gaze on the supposed Greatest of All Time, and let loose a river of trash talk the likes of which the NBA had never seen. Such was his indomitable spirit; his small stature belied an enormous heart (enlarged, I hear, from a diet of raw beef and even rawer Scotch) and cajones to match. And while Jordan went on to win that game, you can be sure that he lost others in his career, and I'll swear to my dying day that those losses began with the seeds of doubt planted by D-Murr.

To watch him on offense was to watch confidence personified. The shot clock, the defense, the score...gazing at Murray's serene conscience, you could tell that these were of little concern to the great man. He had a passionate relationship with the rim and the rim only, and like any good lover, his eye never strayed.

Drive to the bucket? Never. As any third grader will tell you, three is bigger than two, and Murray was not one for a partial victory. So he'd stand at the top of the arc, and he'd wait until the moment was right, the tension building in every pair of shoulders but his. Then he'd raise up, a shot so effortless that his feet never left the ground.

Swish. Shots that few in league history would even consider. Shots that would have made Reggie Miller blanch, would have gotten Dell Curry benched. He'd take 'em, and he'd make 'em, and no coach in his lifetime ever dared question him. Such was the legend of Darrick Murray.

[Uros Slowcar]

^^^ that was really funny.

[Hank_Scorpio]

Glad you brought this up, Hank; it's time that the hero receives his due on this board. While kids today talk about the testicular fortitude of the LeBrons and Kobes of the league, I'll take ol' Darrick Murray any day of the week.

Back in the day, most players dared not even look Jordan in the eye, such was their fear. But Murray, back down? Hell no. He fixed his steely gaze on the supposed Greatest of All Time, and let loose a river of trash talk the likes of which the NBA had never seen. Such was his indomitable spirit; his small stature belied an enormous heart (enlarged, I hear, from a diet of raw beef and even rawer Scotch) and cajones to match. And while Jordan went on to win that game, you can be sure that he lost others in his career, and I'll swear to my dying day that those losses began with the seeds of doubt planted by D-Murr.

To watch him on offense was to watch confidence personified. The shot clock, the defense, the score...gazing at Murray's serene conscience, you could tell that these were of little concern to the great man. He had a passionate relationship with the rim and the rim only, and like any good lover, his eye never strayed.

Drive to the bucket? Never. As any third grader will tell you, three is bigger than two, and Murray was not one for a partial victory. So he'd stand at the top of the arc, and he'd wait until the moment was right, the tension building in every pair of shoulders but his. Then he'd raise up, a shot so effortless that his feet never left the ground.

Swish. Shots that few in league history would even consider. Shots that would have made Reggie Miller blanch, would have gotten Dell Curry benched. He'd take 'em, and he'd make 'em, and no coach in his lifetime ever dared question him. Such was the legend of Darrick Murray.

Good times. Good times.

Now I need to go test my blood sugar and have some wheat germ.

[bychai]

Mmmmm opium...

I also enjoyed the use of the word "lumbers"

[booyah_child]

Good job both of youse guys

[s_cape]

Brilliant!

[Hank_Scorpio]

btw - if you want to get the full effect of Schad's piece, try reading it while imagining it being read by an old west guy with the theme from Rawhide playing in the background.

Really adds another level of depth to the prose.



btw - no tribute thread would be complete without the video

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/darri ... /599597774

[da.vid]