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| | Friday, March 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Special to ESPN.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Huskies went through four coaches that season -- finishing with Robert "Red" Rolfe, who was better known as the star third baseman on the dominating New York Yankees baseball teams of the late 1930s. The Huskies finished the year 22-38 and, along with the Pittsburgh Ironmen (15-45), failed to answer the bell for the ensuing season. Teams operated on a shoe-string budget in those days -- there was a league-wide salary limit of $5,000 per player -- and players often traveled by rental cars. Typical of those arrangements occurred in Philadelphia when the Warriors gathered with owner-coach Eddie Gottlieb following a home game, to discuss the next day's trip to Toronto to play the Huskies. Eddie handed a wad of cash to his most reliable player, George Senesky, told him that four cars would be at the Broadwood Hotel at 8 the next morning, and for them to get an early start on the drive to Toronto. Gotty planned to go later in the day with Dave Zinkoff, his right hand man, public address announcer, and designated driver. When Senesky asked directions for the more than 500-mile trip, Eddie is alleged to have responded, "It's easy. Just go up to Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) and turn right." The Raptors were organized in 1993 under the leadership of John Bitove and Allan Slaight, and granted an NBA franchise the following year. They began NBA competition in Nov. 1995. Bitove, an Indiana alumnus, hired Isiah Thomas as vice president of basketball operations. Thomas then brought on board Glen Grunwald, his teammate from Indiana's 1981 NCAA champions, to head up the legal department and to assist him in basketball matters. Thomas named Brendan Malone, an assistant coach at Detroit during the Pistons' back-to-back championship run, as the Raptors' first head coach. Malone resigned after a season (21-61) of disagreements with Thomas about the distribution of playing time and was replaced by assistant coach Darrell Walker. Thomas received a small piece (9 percent) of the franchise when he joined it, and had the option of buying into it more fully at a future date. When Bitove and Slaight disagreed on several issues regarding the newly planned arena in 1997, Slaight bought out Bitove's interest in the club. Then Thomas tried to get a group together to buy out Slaight. When those efforts failed, Thomas resigned and Grunwald was promoted to the position of general manager. Several months later (Feb. 1998), Maple Leaf Gardens purchased the Raptors and the arena under construction (the Air Canada Centre) -- a relationship that remains in place today. Slaight replaced Walker with Butch Carter as coach before the new ownership took over, and Butch has held the job since. He recently received a contract extension through the year 2003. Trades, Free Agents and Draft PicksSigned free agents Tracy Murray and Chris Whitney; waived Whitney and Jerome Kersey. Bought out contract of John Salley. Traded Willie Anderson and Victor Alexander to New York for Doug Christie and Herb Williams and cash. Waived Williams. Traded Ed Pinckney and Tony Massenburg to Philadelphia for Sharone Wright.
Status of the team The two youngsters, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, have been dynamite. Carter is a franchise player. He has extraordinary skills, tremendous athleticism and a strong team spirit with excellent leadership qualities. McGrady is gaining maturity by the game. He has accepted his bench role, is explosive going to the basket, shoots from the edges with growing consistency, and handles the ball well enough to play some point guard. Doug Christie is having his best season playing point and two-guard; Charles Oakley, Kevin Willis and Antonio Davis lend just the right amount of big man, veteran toughness; and Dell Curry and Muggsy Bogues provide backcourt shooting skill and floor leadership, respectively. Alvin Williams and Dee Brown, soon to be back from injury, solidify the backcourt; and John Thomas and Michael Stewart give the team some frontcourt muscle. Coach Butch Carter keeps a light-handed, control touch with his team that appears to be working well. His Raptors are currently on a roll. They've won four straight games, are in third place in the Central Division, and, after some early-season inconsistencies, appear to be gaining momentum. There are two weaknesses of the team that might hinder a dynamic finish to this season. First is its defense, which allows about the same number of points that it scores. Toronto ranks about in the middle of the NBA in field goal percentage allowed and points against. Teams contending for the championship are typically among league leaders in both categories. A second weakness is offensive shot selection, which results in a low field goal percentage. The Raptors rank 24th in the league in that category. But even with those shortcomings, I really like this team. It is quick, long and athletic, plays well together, and displays confidence that it's capable of beating anyone in the league ... and that's not beyond the realm of possibility.
The Future | ALSO SEE Dr. Jack's Team Spotlight: Wizards Dr. Jack's Team Spotlight: Jazz Dr. Jack's Team Spotlight: Clippers Dr. Jack's Team Spotlight: Kings Dr. Jack's Team Spotlight: Trail Blazers Dr. Jack's Team Spotlight: Pacers Dr. Jack's Team Spotlight: Hawks  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
