Basketball legend Oscar Robertson and retired Bay High School Basketball Coach Rich Voiers when Robertson spoke at Bay High School Dec. 2 to aid the Rockets Renovation Project. Officials estimated the event raised between $4,000 and $5,000 for the work on renovating school district athletic facilities. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Learn fundamentals, Robertson advises young players
By Kevin Kelley
Bay Village
Published Dec. 17, 2008

Young players hoping to be good basketball players need to understand and master the fundamentals of the game, Hall of Fame basketball great Oscar Robertson said at an appearance Dec. 2 at Bay High School.

Robertson, a 12-time NBA All-Star, appeared at a fund-raiser for the Bay Rockets Association’s Rocket Renovation Committee, which seeks to upgrade the district’s athletic fields.

Robertson said focusing on fundamentals will be boring at first for young players. But it’s a necessity, he said.

“They’ve got to go out and practice the game of basketball,” he said in regard to young players.

Robertson took questions from audience members following a discussion of his basketball career with Cleveland sportscaster Jim Mueller. (West Life photo by Kevin Kelley)

During a discussion on the auditorium stage with sportscaster Jim Mueller, Robertson said he was fortunate his coaches stressed the fundamentals with him.

“I started like anybody. I just played basketball all the time,” he said.

A member of the gold medal-winning USA Olympic basketball team in 1960, Robertson said he has no objection to professional players in the Games today because all Olympic athletes today are essentially professionals, except for boxing.

Basketball’s version of the Heisman trophy, which Robertson won three times, is now known as the Oscar Robertson award. When Robertson entered college in the late 1950s, the rules at the time prevented freshmen from playing on the varsity team. He played on the freshman team his first year at the University of Cincinnati. He led the Bearcats to the Final Four in the 1958-59 and 1959-60 seasons.

Robertson was NBA Rookie of the Year in 1960-61 with the Cincinnati Royals. Three years later, he was named most valuable player during a season in which he averaged 31.4 points and 11 assists per game. After being traded, he played alongside Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) to help the Milwaukee Bucks win the league championship in 1971.

Robertson signs an autograph for Jack Kyle, a student at Bay Middle School. (West Life photo by Kevin Kelley)

Today, too many NBA games are on television, Robertson said. The three-point shot has hurt the game, he said, resulting in either too many long-range shots or slam dunks. The three-point line ought to be moved back to move the game closer to the basket. Raising the basket height will hurt only the shorter players; the tall players will still be able to block and dunk, he said.

In today’s NBA, there’s pressure on everybody to be a star, he said. “Everybody’s not a star,” he said. “You don’t always have to score to help your team win.”

Robertson at times spoke matter-of-factly about his great career, and at one point conceded inadequacy when it came to playing against at least one fellow Hall of Famer.

When a student asked if he ever blocked NBA great Wilt Chamberlain, Robertson tersely replied, “Of course not.”

When asked about Cavs star LeBron James, Robertson called him a “tremendous athlete.” The Cavs, like any team, he said, needs to make its weakest players stronger.

“You need a bench,” he said.

Robertson said he never gave much thought to coaching. When his playing career ended in 1974, he decided he had played enough and wanted to spend more time with his family, he said.

“You got to know when to let it go,” he said of his basketball career.

His basketball success prepared him for a career in business by giving him people skills, he said, especially knowing which people one could rely on in critical situations.

The Bay Rockets Association was able to arrange the evening with Robertson because the basketball great is a business associate at Xerox with group member Jim Joyce.

Bay High Principal James H. Cahoon said the project still hopes to raise $1.05 million. He said the goal of the Robertson appearance was to provide an evening that was both affordable and enjoyable.

On the Web:

• Bay Rockets Association
• Rockets Renovation "Field of Dreams" Web site
• Oscar Robertson's official Web site
• Information on Oscar Robertson at NBA.com