espn.go/nba/story/_/id/10851183/dr-jack-ramsay-father-friend He entered the Navy as soon as he was old enough and became a frogman during World War II. He trained for the invasion of Japan, but the war ended before he would see any action. When he was 21, the Navy had made him captain of a supply ship that patrolled the Pacific Ocean around the Marshall Islands. Twenty-one and a captain in the U.S. Navy. He wrote a thesis to earn his Ph.D. and coached a team in the Final Four with five kids under the age of 12 in the house. He rode his bike halfway across America in a week. He taught himself how to surf and became pretty good at it. He was a world-class triathlete at age 70. One summer he worked on his golf game, then went out and won the mens championship at the club... He fought his personal health battles all while taking care of my mom. For 10 years, he cared for her as she got lost in the Alzheimers maze. He was really sweet with her. She didnt know who he was most of the time, but he held her hand when she was scared and fed her and tried to ease her through the confusion for days and months and years. It was hard, but he did it. And he did it for a long, long time. That, too, is what he did in private. Dr. Jack was one helluva coach. But I never saw him on the bench. I did listen to him call NBA games, though. I consider it a privilege to have been able to learn from him during my formative years. He is, without a doubt, the best NBA analyst ever (apologies to Hubie Brown, who never met a timeout he didnt like). Sometimes, you run into a person and their quality shines through. That was Dr. Jack. What a man.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 15:43:58 +0000
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