For the next several weeks, Ground Rule Huddle is going to reach out to notable names in sports and conduct semi-formal interviews. On Mondays, as a part of our Who's Who in Sports, we will report the interesting findings and tidbits from our discussions.
First up is Jack McCloskey, former General Manager of the NBA Championship Pistons.
Most of you have heard of the "Bad Boy" Detroit Pistons who won the NBA Championships in 1989 and 1990. Most of you have also heard of Chuck Daly, who coached the Pistons and the 1992 Dream Team in Barcelona. But, fewer of you have heard of Jack McCloskey, the General Manager and brain behind the Bad Boy operation.
Jack McCloskey, front and center, with the Pistons
I had the privilege of meeting McCloskey over the weekend. At 88, McCloskey is still going strong and plays golf multiple times a week. Better yet, McCloskey's memory is still superb, and he was willing to recall and share countless great memories.
I can't share all of them because I would be writing for days. Thus, I will try to share the most memorable ones. The major themes I got from talking with McCloskey were competitiveness, perseverance, and hard-work.
Competitiveness
McCloskey noted that the game has changed in a lot of ways today, which many of you can see, claiming that it's much more about the individual than the team. He also stated how competitive the players were when he was involved with the league. For example, as many of you may know, Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas hated each other - to the extent that Thomas was rumored to be left off the Dream Team because Jordan wouldn't play with him. And, why wouldn't Jordan play with him? Apparently during an earlier All-Star game, Thomas got other players to refuse to pass the ball to Jordan, which completely pissed Jordan off.
McCloskey respected and had a great relationship with both Thomas and Jordan, but noted how they were both ultra competitive, floor generals. He recalled a playoff game in which Thomas went down with an injury before halftime, and the doctor told him he was done for the game. Thomas, being as competitive as he was, told McCloskey that he refused to sit on the bench and that he was going to play. McCloskey allowed him to play, and an injured Thomas went out and scored over 20 points in the 3rd quarter.
As for Jordan, McCloskey recalls the Pistons putting the Bulls out of the playoffs for a second straight year. After the game McCloskey saw a dejected Jordan by the Bulls bus. McCloskey stopped and briefly chatted with Jordan in a friendly manner. McCloskey distinctly recalls Jordan saying "when the hell am I going to F'ing beat you guys?!?" McCloskey knew it wouldn't be long before Jordan got his chance.
The reason I tell these stories is to illustrate what competitors these guys were. They didn't want to join each other and form superstar teams - they wanted to beat each other. In fact McCloskey separated Jordan from LeBron James, saying that Jordan was so competitive that it made him arguably the best defender ever and that he could shut down any player.
Perseverance
McCloskey talked about how hard it is to have a whole organization on board, including the coach, the general manager, and the owner. McCloskey recalled the time when he was called up from college to coach the expansion Portland Trail Blazers in 1972. Due to the expansion, the Blazers had the #1 pick in the NBA draft. McCloskey wanted to draft Bob McAdoo out of UNC, and the general manager approved of the pick. However, the owner wanted LaRue Martin. So, the Blazers took Martin at #1. I'm guessing most of you have heard of McAdoo and not Martin.
As you can imagine, McCloskey was unbelievably frustrated and heavily struggled to field successful teams with the Blazers. After an unsuccessful stint with the Blazers, McCloskey became an assistant with the Lakers, coaching alongside Jerry West. Several years later, when West became general manager, McCloskey figured he would be promoted to head coach, but was passed over. McCloskey discussed how hard it was to move from city to city and different jobs while keeping hope and faith that he was doing the right thing. McCloskey cited his wife's support as absolutely pivotal. Fortunately, McCloskey's next move was to become the general manager of the Pistons, where he turned them into a championship franchise in the end.
One of the best stories McCloskey had while he served as GM for the Pistons involved Joe Dumars. Most of you know Dumars was one of the most important centerpieces of the Bad Boys and was the MVP of the 1989 NBA Finals. McCloskey usually had a profound ability to predict where players would be selected in the NBA draft. In 1985, the Pistons had the 18th pick of the first round. When the owners asked who the Pistons should take, McCloskey reeled off several names including Bill Wennington. McCloskey did not mention Joe Dumars because he was sure a team would select Dumars very early in the draft. Somehow Dumars was not selected early, and when the 18th pick came, the owners asked McCloskey who they should take. McCloskey exclaimed, Joe Dumars! McCloskey distinctly remembers the owners saying, "who in the hell is Joe Dumars, you didn't say a word about him!" McCloskey had to reconcile the ownership, telling them he didn't mention Dumars before because he thought for sure he would be drafted higher. I think the Dumars pick worked out "ok" for the Pistons.
Hard-Work
Sure, McCloskey and I talked about the NBA and its history for hours. But, the story that stood out the most from our discussion concerned McCloskey's childhood. When McCloskey was a junior in high school, he was a good kid, made decent grades, but didn't particularly stand out at anything.
One morning McCloskey's father, who worked at the coal mines, woke him up early and told him to put his boots on. His father took him down to the coal mine, and didn't just stop there - his father took him down in the elevator to one of the bottom levels. McCloskey recalled how dark it was and the poor conditions in which his father had to work.
While telling the story, McCloskey teared up and became quite emotional. That day at the coal mine, McCloskey's father told him that he had to push himself harder so that he didn't end up like his father and that he could accomplish far greater things. McCloskey has remembered this experience with his father throughout his life. McCloskey said it made him realize just how hard he had to work to become great. In fact, when McCloskey was graduating from college, he was the student speaker. After the speech, McCloskey remembered his father coming up to him and asking, "still want to work at the coal mine, Jack?"
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