received a message from Coach Rob Evans yesterday that former New Mexico State great and NBA All-star center ... 610 Sam Lacey had passed away . Those of us that grew up in Hobbs got to know this soft-spoken young man very well ... as Sam spent one entire summer in Hobbs working and playing basketball . Neville Shed that played on the 1966 Texas Western Miners (El Paso) NCAA National Championship and was drafted by the Boston Celtics ... stopped in Hobbs one day and took on Sam in a game of one-on-one basketball and Sam handed him a beat down . Instead of Neville being upset ... he told Sam that if he kept it up ... he was going to be one hell of a pro player ... and that Sam was . Sam led New Mexico State to a 74-14 record during his 3 varsity years and the Aggies to their first ... believe the freshman team he played on went unbeaten .. and he led the Aggies to their one and only Final Four appearance . If it hadnt been for the Lew-CLA Bruins ... whom knocked the Aggies out of the regionals twice ... sure the Aggies would have played for a national championship during Sams tenure . Sam was the 5th player drafted in the 1970 draft by Cincinnati Royals before their moved to Kansas City . He is one of only 5 NBA players to have 6 consecutive seasons of 100 block shots and 100 steals ... and his number 44 jersey was retired by the Sacramento Kings .
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 09:15:27 +0000
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