Was it Lett that only had one eye? Or sight in one eye? Amazed me that they could play at that level without having depth perception. Never mind, just looked it up. Eddie Shannon
And of all things to land at georgia. Geez. But as someone said, it seemed as thought Stricklin was not really caught off guard since he had Coach Golden tee’d up, apparently.
Hokey. He’s all of a sudden all about uga? I think someone had it right, he will be there a few seasons before the heat gets turned up. Gotta build? Why couldn’t you build at UF? Doesn’t matter. Not a Gator.
He was a starting guard on the 88 team that won our first SEC championship. He played hard and was a team guy. Good story I’d forgotten he was from P-cola. “Wes Chandler was Percy Harvin before Percy Harvin was born.”
That was Eddie Shannon in Billy’s first couple of years. He was a Lon recruit. Great Gator. “Wes Chandler was Percy Harvin before Percy Harvin was born.”
Lett had what is called a cup of coffee as a Bull. A ten day contract. He came back to UF to get his degree and played pick up in our noon time game. Nice guy. One of my favorite memories playing hoops was hitting a 3 in an intramural game and Clifford yelling "Go Gators" from the next court over.
A few of the noon time players were engineering PhDs. Most had played high school ball and some played in college. And we had a lot of former Division 1 college players that played with us, but only a few had doctorates. I won't name names, but we had a PhD (not engineering) that played at Illinois State just before Doug Collins. If I ever see him again I will ask if he knew a guy I went to grad school with that also played there. Illinois State used to be really good at basketball.
Sidetrack: I lived in Moline until a teen. My best buddy from childhood graduated from Ill St. Didn't know they had a hoops history.
When Spurrier was in San Francisco, he came back to Gainesville in the off season and played basketball in the city league. I played against him in that league. He had a beautiful shot, great hand eye coordination, but he was a little slow and a little short. He was ok but not one of the better players. Very competitive though. That was a very competitive men's league in the late 60's and early 70's. Another former UF football player played in that league. Can't remember his name. He was a 6'8" offensive lineman and was a force inside. Dennis?
Ok, thanks but you introduced him into the topic as if it somehow contradicts what I said. It doesn’t.
Correct, that was Eddie Shannon. Clifford Lett was blind in both eyes, which makes his development all the more remarkable.
Here's what you said: From a player’s perspective, a head basketball coach isn’t going to make anyone a better shooter. I suggest that Coach Sloan did indeed make Clifford a better shooter.
You would probably be suggesting something wrong. I wasn’t there, so I couldn’t say for sure, but almost certainly Coach Sloan was not in the gym shooting with him for hours. He may have given him some guidance, or directed others to help him, but Coach Sloan himself likely did not improve Lett’s shot. I have had many coaches and none have ever done what you are suggesting. They give general advice or direction, but I wouldn’t give them credit for fixing a shot either. In basketball, you are expected to work on your deficiencies on your own time, because unlike some other sports, you only need a ball and a hoop to practice and you can do it alone. Team practice is for the team to work on things as a unit, it’s not the time to develop a player’s shot.
So...we are going to cancel games next year because we don't have enough shooters? Gallows humor, gotta love it!
