Cleveland's Finest. Vince McKee

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      Vince with Larry Nance

      Many in the media saw Nance’s acquisition as placing the final piece in the Cavaliers rebuilding puzzle. Larry Nance grew up in Anderson, South Carolina, the youngest in a large family of great athletes. He learned the game of basketball from his brothers, cousins, and uncles. At first his older relatives would not allow him to play with them because he was too small, but then as he grew older and taller, he became very talented, and the family allowed him to play all the time. He spent most of his childhood on the court with his family learning to play and perfecting his skills.

      Nance grew up idolizing the great Julius Erving. He was glued to his television every time he had the chance to watch him play. He spent every Sunday afternoon in his own backyard, which he named The Spectrum, pretending to be Dr. J. Nance would later say that Erving was his favorite player until he reached the NBA and played against his idol.

      Nance went to a trade school in McDuffie, South Carolina, following in the footsteps of his father, who was a truck driver. While studying basic academics at the school, he also played basketball. Anderson Junior College recruited him to play for a year, but then Clemson recruited Nance. Clemson head coach Bill Foster had already seen Nance play and offered him the last “available” scholarship. Foster’s faith in Nance was strong, and he knew that Nance would be more than worth taking a chance on. It was a loss of a top recruit for Anderson Junior College, but choosing Clemson over Anderson was a no-brainer for Nance. It’s not often that a major ACC college would happen to have an extra scholarship—call it fate, or whatever, but for Nance and Clemson it was the start of a beautiful partnership.

      Nance was picked by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 1981 NBA draft following a good career at Clemson. Nance reflected on the excitement and emotion of being drafted by Phoenix:

      To come from a small town like Anderson, it felt really good because making the pros was never a realistic expectation growing up. I just loved to play basketball and playing hard, and because of playing hard, things worked out. When I realized I was going to get the opportunity to go to Phoenix and play, it was just awesome. Upon arriving in the pros, I continued to play the only way that I knew how to play, and that’s just work hard and try to develop to make myself better. That approach turned out a successful basketball career.

      It didn’t take Nance long to blossom into a superstar. He participated in and won the 1984 Slam Dunk Championship contest, following in the high-flying footsteps of his hero, Dr. J. The trade that brought Nance to Cleveland would go down as one of the signature moves of the Wayne Embry era, but it was a rough trade at first for Nance, as he explained:

      At the time it was the worst thing that could happen to me because I loved playing in Phoenix, plus I loved racecars and was able to get to the track several times a week. I was under the impression that if you played hard and kept your nose clean you would always be with the same team. The night I got traded I was upset because it was cold in Cleveland. There were two places I never wanted to play: Cleveland and New York. It was the worst time in my life, filled with pressure because I was supposed to bring the change. Then I met my new teammates and things began to change. I started to be around them and play with them, and I realized what great people they were with the great coaches that we had and things started changing—we started winning. All of a sudden this trade turned out to be the best thing in my life. I became best friends with “Hot Rod.” We became a very successful team with a great point guard. Things just began to work out better, and I became very happy to be here.

      The Cavaliers played well for the final 27 games of the season because of Nance’s addition. They had a modest 42–40 season record, finishing fifth in the Eastern Conference Central Division. They made the playoffs for the first time in several years. The Cavaliers lost to Chicago in the first round, taking the Bulls to the limit by forcing a deciding game five in the best of five. It was the first trip to the playoffs for this young group, and also the first showdown with a player who would become a familiar enemy: Michael Jordan.

      It didn’t matter to the team who the leading scorer was each night. Their philosophy was to feed the hot hand on any given night. They were unselfish, which was the key component to why they were so good. There weren’t any egos on the team, a true sign of teamwork and great coaching. Longtime radio play-by-play man Joe Tait had these words to share about the team dynamics:

      That was a ball club from top to bottom that was a more talented team then the “Miracle Team,” but in the same token the league was much better as well. Michael Jordan was playing in a league of his own. You had Isiah Thomas with the Pistons, Malone and Stockton with the Jazz, and the best pound-for-pound player, Magic Johnson, who could play all five positions. It was the same in the standpoint that the fans really got pumped, but in the same token the league was loaded with talented teams at that particular time.

      It was common for the Cavaliers to have a two-hour practice followed by a one-hour meeting in the locker room. They loved to talk and spend time with each other so much that after most practices they would all go over to a teammate’s house to bond some more! Larry Nance shared his view of this magical time:

      I think it is because we loved each other and it didn’t matter night to night who was the leading scorer. We didn’t care who was going to be the leading scorer—we just wanted to win. Our goal was to find the guys with the hot hands and keep feeding them the ball. There were no egos ever, anywhere or anytime! We never got into an argument about someone taking too many shots; it never happened. We truly loved being around each other, and so did our wives and families. I was never part of a group that was like that before or after. That kind of teamwork and chemistry is what made us successful. I don’t see that type of thing anymore with today’s athletes and teams. That’s why so many people when I go places say they loved our group. They enjoyed watching unselfish team basketball.

      This kind of team bond was and still is very rare in professional sports. Craig Ehlo explains the camaraderie of the team during this time:

      The main thing was team chemistry and that we made ourselves available for fans by living in the local area. Our chemistry was built with several factors in place, one of which was the fact that Larry Nance had a pond we would go fishing in before practice behind his house. We played together, and it didn’t matter that we had All-Stars because we still played together. I think people really enjoyed our team because of our method of playing. It didn’t matter who led the team in scoring as long as we won. I think it was a fun time for people to come out and watch a team play together like that. Then in the off-season we all stayed in town and none of us moved out of state. I lived in Fairlawn, Mark and Brad lived in Hudson, Larry lived in Bath, and “Hot Rod” lived in Akron, so we were visible. We would go to Summit Mall and constantly interact with fans. I think because we were visible and stayed in the community through the year it helped the fans’ relationship with us. I think it helped having Joe Tait around, too, because if he was doing something with his horses at the racetracks or events with women’s groups, it was amazing. I never thought I would spend my summers in Cleveland, but then I found that there was lots to do by sticking around. There were plenty of golf courses and many other things to do. I think our visibility in the community is what won over the hearts of the fans.

      Ehlo СКАЧАТЬ