Mr. Mullins, What Happened?

As of November 5, 2013, stories about concussion syndromes centers on football. A few months ago, a doctor named Mike Lewis talked about concussions in other sports like soccer in high schools and in basketball like WNBA (Jamie Carey) on a Atlanta radio station. Which brought me to the next question, what about in the NBA? Likewise, what about history of players who suffered them and how are they doing? You hear about it in the NFL or college football but nothing in NBA or college basketball. Which brought me to this thought about a former NBA player, and college coach, Jeff Mullins.

In 2009

I attended UNC-Charlotte from 1993-1996, and graduated with a history degree. But It spent most of the time in the library look at old Sports Illustrated, Time and Life magazines as well a microfilm of the Charlotte Observer. It helped with my history degree at certain times. but for one year, I was an education major till I switched. During that time, I watched  UNCC basketball, baseball, volleyball, and soccer but basketball is the main. I use to drive or go on buses to watch them play at Independence Arena (Bojangles Coliseum) before Dale Halton Arena was built.

Jeff Mullins was the basketball coach and he was revered by the faculty as well as the business community. He could do no wrong. But among UNC-Charlotte student body, they didn't seem to share that sentiment. I would meet them in cafeterias and other student hangouts. I didn't converse with them but I would listen to cues and vibes. They kept bringing up the idea of needing another coach like a Bobby Knight.

For the three years I was there, students and hard-core grumbled over Mullins inconsistency of beating Louisville who weren't the 80's but top contenders. Yet, losing to teams that they had no business losing to like College of Charleston, South Florida, or Tulane at home despite winning the regular season Metro Conference title. Though, his last year was understandable because they moved into a new conference Great Midwest (Conference USA) with better teams but losing to Davidson at home was the last straw. His overall, his career was just over .500 if you discount the three years they went to the NCAA tournament in '88, '92, and '95.

Coaching Jarvis Lang

His supporters have mentioned that he had to compete with the ACC conference to get players. UNC-Charlotte didn't have the players, equipment, and facilities to compete with other good programs. Mullins previous coach, Hal Wissel said that he recruited Byron Dinkins to come to UNC-Charlotte not Mullins. Likewise, his good players like Dinkins, Jarvis Lang, and Henry Williams would have good sophomore, junior years but not so good senior years. Because they would get beat up and nobody cared. But the UNCC athletics turned the corner with the construction of Dale Halton Area which was supposed to be finished in 1995 but finished in 1996 after Mullins retired.

Students got angry with Athletic department for using their tuition to build the Halton Arena when they weren't going to benefit (I have to pay for my Arena parking) but for Mullins they weren't quite sure. Students thought of him as a nice man who didn't need winning to feel worthy. Some liked it others hated it. But most were working students concentrating on school to care. Whatever it was, I don't think the athletic program would be where its at without Jeff Mullins. But to the students pro,con, or apathetic at that time, Mullins didn't seem to be the guy that would reach out to them.

I, not being like other students, looked him up through microfilms spanning 1962-1977 as well other SI, Time, and Life magazine issues from that time. What I found is that he was from New York not the south. He moved to Lexington when Mullins father's company IBM transferred him from Queens. He had no idea of the passion for Kentucky basketball and Adolph Rupp so he went to Duke. He was All-American with fellow teammate Art Heyman in 1963 but Art was thought to be a better player than Mullins due to his size, skills, and brains tdespite Mullins being academic All-American, 3 times.

From his Duke days

Vic Bubbas, coach of Duke talked about his great character on and off the court. His assistant, Bucky Walters talked about him being a team player despite playing behind Heyman and that he could go to any school he wanted to be a star but chose Duke for its academics and athletics.  Likewise, he helped his teammates off the court. It was true with other coaches in the NBA with Bill Sharman and Al Attles about him putting winning first before himself. This is despite him winning the Olympics in 1964 and a NBA title in 1975 which no Duke grad has done before or since. Likewise, he played 13 seasons in the NBA, averaged 16.2 points, 13, 000 total points and a 3 time all-Star ('69, '70,
and '71).

A dunk on NYU in '64.

But after his retirement, he was an assistant Athletic Director at Duke for only one year. He did ACC color commentary for TV basketball games and headed a car-dealer ship before being named coach and athletic director at UNC-Charlotte in 1985. My curiosity aroused when broadcaster, Dick Vitale around 1994, brought up the fact that Jeff Mullins number 44  for Duke wasn't retired. This was about the time when Bob Hurley's number was about to be retired and Christian Laettner's had just retired, the year before.  Now, for what Mullins had done for Duke, his NBA career, and outside life, I just couldn't figure this out. Every time, Duke played and Vitale was broadcasting, he would bring Mullins name up till his number got retired.

On Chicago's Jerry Sloan and Thurmond in '75.

Off  Nate Thurmond pick on New York's
Walt Bellamy in '67 or '68.

Well, I was watching the 1975 NBA playoffs between the Golden State Warriors and the Chicago Bulls. I believe it was game 4, he was driving to the basket for a layup off a give and go pass from Rick Barry. I just remember when he finished the layup, he took an elbow to the back of his head. Imagine, how many times he took those shots from a  Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Zelmo Beatty, Tom Boerwinkle, Dennis Awtrey, Elvin Hayes, Jerry Lucas, Sam Lacey, Dave Cowens, Wes Unseld, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wayne Embry, Willis Reed, Walt Bellamy, countless others, or an accidental one from his own teammate Nate Thurmond.  And those guys were forwards and centers what about guards like Jerry Sloan, Norm Van Lier, the Van Arsdales, Walt Hazzard, Jerry West, Walt Frazier, Lenny Wilkens, Jo Jo White, and countless others who could have thrown elbows on the move or make incidental contact? Role players, enforcers, or goons? Not to mention from his own teammates in practice and training camp.

Cover on SI with coach Richie Guerin

In his first two years with the St. Louis Hawks (now Atlanta),

Hawks coach, Richie Guerin thought he was too skinny to play in his slow patterned offense, couldn't take the punishment, and wasn't a good ball-handler. His nickname was Pork Chops. They traded him to the San Francisco Warriors (Golden State in 1971). There coach Bill Sharman put him in a uptempo offense which brought out his talents and abilities and neutralized his size limitations. He got his revenge by eliminating the same Hawks in the 1968 playoff  in 6 games without Rick Barry (he jumped to the ABA, Mullins 27 pts average in that series and hit a game winner in Game 4). But Sharman left for the ABA and his last coaches were George Lee and Al Attles.  They kept the fast tempo but with Nate Thurmond getting older and an older Rick Barry coming back in 1972, they started to go more half-court. This resulted in more picks, screens, and rolls as well as those elbows from those back picks. Attles used him as a messenger to set an example in practice and in games of playing hard and dutiful.

I don't know if they resulted in his concussions or if he has a concussion to speak of ? But when I saw him coach, he looked like he aged beyond his years but that could be hereditary but something didn't look right for a guy who was 50 years old in 1992. I know he had hip replacements as well as knees and lungs that slowed him down but my concern was his head. Likewise, he was an athletic director as well as coach for awhile till Judy Rose took over. However, the inner fire simmered. He would have his outbursts to refs and players. But the leadership wasn't there on the court at all times. I did see a change in Mr. Mullins as a coach that I didn't hear about as a player. I just don't believe he made that change consciously unlike what the student body said?