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RIP Big Wes

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Re: RIP Big Wes 

Post#21 » by WallToWall » Wed Jun 3, 2020 12:44 am

Oh no....thats sad. The month of may was bad for a few big reasons. June is not starting upwards.
Wes was a great player. Without him, we would not have won the championship. He was a big part of many Bullets teams as a player, coach, manager, among other roles. I met him once. He had come over to UMBC, and I was a college student there at the time, with Jeff Bzdelic as the college basketball coach. Wes was a big guy, and dwarfed most others around him. But he was gentle, and spoke kindly. I enjoyed watching him play, in fact the 1978 team was the first Bullets team, heck the first basketball team, I watched live. It is the reason I became a Bullets fan. He will be missed.
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Re: RIP Big Wes 

Post#22 » by doclinkin » Wed Jun 3, 2020 1:16 am

jmrosenth wrote:RIP to the greatest Bullet/Wizard of all time.



RIP Wes. Loved his loyalty and dedication to the team even after his playing career. Truly DCFamily. I loved his relationship with good old Abe. Genuine love and appreciation seemed to be between them.

On a side note: even in a sad post. good to see you in here Jro. Hope all is well with you and yours. Thanks for starting this board all that time ago. HOF on the Wizboard for sure.
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Re: RIP Big Wes 

Post#23 » by HarthorneWingo » Wed Jun 3, 2020 3:18 am

Old time Knicks fan here. I was 11 in the summer of 1969 and always loved watching the Knicks-Bullets games and playoff series back then. Our teams were almost mirror images of each other. Actually, to be honest, I thought you guys had the better team. The match ups were:

SF: Bill Bradley vs. Jack Marin

PF: Dave Debusschere vs. Gus Johnson

C: Willis Read vs. Wes Unseld

SG: Dick Barnett vs. Kevin Loughery

PG: Walt Frazier vs. Earl Monroe

The series always seemed to go 7 games Anyhow, Big Wes was one helluva player. Set the best screens of any center in the league. It had to be like hitting a steel wall. Wes also had to be one of the best outlet passers in the league. In fairness, Kareem was excellent and so was Dave Cowens. But Wes was great. And he was a great teammate on the court. He played the right way and was completely unselfish.

Plus, he had that great smile and a great 'fro. RIP Big Wes.
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Re: RIP Big Wes 

Post#24 » by LyricalRico » Wed Jun 3, 2020 12:32 pm

His playing days were before my time, but I'll always remember him as the head coach of my first (and still) favorite NBA team. And results aside, it was nice to see the loyalty between him and Abe for so long after his playing career. For me, the name Wes Unseld really is synonymous with "Washington Bullets". You will be missed, Wes!
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Re: RIP Big Wes 

Post#25 » by Ruzious » Wed Jun 3, 2020 12:49 pm

Looking at his playoffs stats, 1 thing really stood out... the Bullets made the playoffs in each of his 1st 12 seasons. It was only his last season that they didn't.

He averaged 41.1 minutes per game in the playoffs.
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Re: RIP Big Wes 

Post#26 » by nate33 » Wed Jun 3, 2020 1:04 pm

Ruzious wrote:Looking at his playoffs stats, 1 thing really stood out... the Bullets made the playoffs in each of his 1st 12 seasons. It was only his last season that they didn't.

The Bullets won 47 or more games in 8 of Unseld's 13 seasons. In the 38 years after, they've done it once.
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Re: RIP Big Wes 

Post#27 » by payitforward » Wed Jun 3, 2020 1:38 pm

nate33 wrote:
Ruzious wrote:Looking at his playoffs stats, 1 thing really stood out... the Bullets made the playoffs in each of his 1st 12 seasons. It was only his last season that they didn't.

The Bullets won 47 or more games in 8 of Unseld's 13 seasons. In the 38 years after, they've done it once.

Wow....

74, too young to die these days, way too young.
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Re: RIP Big Wes 

Post#28 » by Kanyewest » Wed Jun 3, 2020 3:41 pm

payitforward wrote:A sad loss of a truly great player -- was anyone else ever RoY & MVP the same year?

It's gratifying to see the outpourings of love & respect for him.


Wilt is the other one, that's certainly good company.
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Re: RIP Big Wes 

Post#29 » by 80sballboy » Wed Jun 3, 2020 4:15 pm

The guy was a winner plain and simple. He sacrificed numbers for the good of the team. There are hundreds of articles about him around the country. This one quote from Kevin Loughery in The Baltimore Sun about him as a young player was interesting.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/obituaries/bs-sp-obit-unseld-20200602-jstnpaijrjhapgere3hnnf7p3i-story.html

“I felt like [Hall of Fame wide receiver] Lynn Swann, on the end of those outlet passes,” Loughery said. “With Wes, my average went up by nearly seven points a game [to 22.6]. He did all of the intangibles that make you win — and he turned our franchise around.”

Or Ray Scott
“Individual awards weren’t his calling card,” said Bullets forward Ray Scott, who played with Unseld from 1968 to 1970. “He’d rather pass than score. Wes made us a smart team, a thinking team. He knew how to play his position, and we all learned how to play ours so he wasn’t left alone defensively.”

There will never be another one like him.
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Re: RIP Big Wes 

Post#30 » by montestewart » Wed Jun 3, 2020 5:01 pm

nate33 wrote:
Ruzious wrote:Looking at his playoffs stats, 1 thing really stood out... the Bullets made the playoffs in each of his 1st 12 seasons. It was only his last season that they didn't.

The Bullets won 47 or more games in 8 of Unseld's 13 seasons. In the 38 years after, they've done it once.

One season in which they only won 44 games, they also won the NBA Title, and another season in which they only won 42 games, they made it to the Finals before losing to Jabbar's Bucks.
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Re: RIP Big Wes 

Post#31 » by montestewart » Wed Jun 3, 2020 5:05 pm

HarthorneWingo wrote:Old time Knicks fan here. I was 11 in the summer of 1969 and always loved watching the Knicks-Bullets games and playoff series back then. Our teams were almost mirror images of each other. Actually, to be honest, I thought you guys had the better team. The match ups were:

SF: Bill Bradley vs. Jack Marin

PF: Dave Debusschere vs. Gus Johnson

C: Willis Read vs. Wes Unseld

SG: Dick Barnett vs. Kevin Loughery

PG: Walt Frazier vs. Earl Monroe

The series always seemed to go 7 games Anyhow, Big Wes was one helluva player. Set the best screens of any center in the league. It had to be like hitting a steel wall. Wes also had to be one of the best outlet passers in the league. In fairness, Kareem was excellent and so was Dave Cowens. But Wes was great. And he was a great teammate on the court. He played the right way and was completely unselfish.

Plus, he had that great smile and a great 'fro. RIP Big Wes.

I was a secondary Knicks fan in the early to mid 70s (lived in NJ suburbs) and used to follow those matchups. Is Wingo still alive?
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Re: RIP Big Wes 

Post#32 » by HarthorneWingo » Wed Jun 3, 2020 5:51 pm

montestewart wrote:
HarthorneWingo wrote:Old time Knicks fan here. I was 11 in the summer of 1969 and always loved watching the Knicks-Bullets games and playoff series back then. Our teams were almost mirror images of each other. Actually, to be honest, I thought you guys had the better team. The match ups were:

SF: Bill Bradley vs. Jack Marin

PF: Dave Debusschere vs. Gus Johnson

C: Willis Read vs. Wes Unseld

SG: Dick Barnett vs. Kevin Loughery

PG: Walt Frazier vs. Earl Monroe

The series always seemed to go 7 games Anyhow, Big Wes was one helluva player. Set the best screens of any center in the league. It had to be like hitting a steel wall. Wes also had to be one of the best outlet passers in the league. In fairness, Kareem was excellent and so was Dave Cowens. But Wes was great. And he was a great teammate on the court. He played the right way and was completely unselfish.

Plus, he had that great smile and a great 'fro. RIP Big Wes.

I was a secondary Knicks fan in the early to mid 70s (lived in NJ suburbs) and used to follow those matchups. Is Wingo still alive?


Had to check. Yes, I am. Phew. :lol: He’s 72.

It was a great time to be a basketball fan.
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Re: RIP Big Wes 

Post#33 » by Ruzious » Wed Jun 3, 2020 6:33 pm

HarthorneWingo wrote:
montestewart wrote:
HarthorneWingo wrote:Old time Knicks fan here. I was 11 in the summer of 1969 and always loved watching the Knicks-Bullets games and playoff series back then. Our teams were almost mirror images of each other. Actually, to be honest, I thought you guys had the better team. The match ups were:

SF: Bill Bradley vs. Jack Marin

PF: Dave Debusschere vs. Gus Johnson

C: Willis Read vs. Wes Unseld

SG: Dick Barnett vs. Kevin Loughery

PG: Walt Frazier vs. Earl Monroe

The series always seemed to go 7 games Anyhow, Big Wes was one helluva player. Set the best screens of any center in the league. It had to be like hitting a steel wall. Wes also had to be one of the best outlet passers in the league. In fairness, Kareem was excellent and so was Dave Cowens. But Wes was great. And he was a great teammate on the court. He played the right way and was completely unselfish.

Plus, he had that great smile and a great 'fro. RIP Big Wes.

I was a secondary Knicks fan in the early to mid 70s (lived in NJ suburbs) and used to follow those matchups. Is Wingo still alive?


Had to check. Yes, I am. Phew. :lol: He’s 72.

It was a great time to be a basketball fan.

And remember your teammate... er another Knick forward who - like Big Wes - had a 13 year NBA career with just 1 team - his career starting 1 season before Wes - I remember thinking this guy is the most awkward looking pro basketball player ever - Phil Jackson - but he was oddly effective. Heck, I remember when the Knicks had scrubs Mike Riordan and Dave "The Rave" Stallworth before they traded them for The Pearl. But before the Earl trade, they had the likes of Clyde, Barnett, Bradley, DeBusschere, Lucas, and Reed - what a great foundation. With Lucas as one of the first stretch bigs, that team could do well in today's NBA.
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Re: RIP Big Wes 

Post#34 » by Bigmiketruth » Wed Jun 3, 2020 8:35 pm

RIP Wes
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Re: RIP Big Wes 

Post#35 » by AFM » Tue Jun 9, 2020 3:03 pm

long suffrin' boulez fan wrote:Unmistakably the greatest Bullet/Wizard of all time.


I get that this is a memorial thread but no need to disrespect Tyrone Nesby like this.
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Re: RIP Big Wes 

Post#36 » by Ruzious » Tue Jun 9, 2020 4:49 pm

AFM wrote:
long suffrin' boulez fan wrote:Unmistakably the greatest Bullet/Wizard of all time.


I get that this is a memorial thread but no need to disrespect Tyrone Nesby like this.

No longer too soon, but some would take that as an insult to Laron Profit. Scabs, some meaningful faux outrage please.
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Re: RIP Big Wes 

Post#37 » by payitforward » Tue Jun 9, 2020 7:36 pm

Ruzious wrote:
AFM wrote:
long suffrin' boulez fan wrote:Unmistakably the greatest Bullet/Wizard of all time.

I get that this is a memorial thread but no need to disrespect Tyrone Nesby like this.

No longer too soon, but some would take that as an insult to Laron Profit. Scabs, some meaningful faux outrage please.

OTOH, maybe too soon, but Jerome Robinson might be knocking on the window, yelling "...& what about me?"
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Re: RIP Big Wes 

Post#38 » by keynote » Wed Jun 10, 2020 4:37 pm

I first met Wes Unseld at a Bullets game. They had given away free rubber basketballs to the first x attendees at the Capital Centre; the balls had the "autographs" of all of the players (in the form of stickers). During the game, my dad noticed Unseld sitting in the stands a few rows ahead of us (given where he was sitting, he must have been retired, but I'm fuzzy on the timeline), and encouraged me to walk up to him and ask him for his real autograph. I must have been 6 or 7.

I did, and he graciously signed the ball with his real autograph.

I took the ball home and played with it, not appreciating the memento. After a few weeks, I noticed his autograph was fading. I took a marker and traced over it, so it wouldn't fade away -- which, of course, made the original autograph moot/useless.

Later, when I was in high school, I went to the Phil Chenier-Dave DuPree Basketball Camp one summer, and Wes was a guest instructor for a day. He showed us how to do outlet passes (natch). I distinctly remember him standing under one basket and throwing a textbook outlet pass to a camper running in stride at the opposite end, allowing them to hit a layup with no dribbles.
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