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Former Wake Coach Trader Jack McCloskey dies

RJKarl

RJKarl

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He was at Wake for six seasons before going to the NBA.

He coached at Penn before arriving in W-S.

After Wake he coached the Trail Blazers and was an assistant for the Lakers. But he's best known for having built the Bad Boy Pistons. His masterful drafting and trading made him an NBA legend.

RIP
 
RIP Trader Jack.

When finally given the opportunity, he demonstrated he was every bit as good as he believed himself to be.
 
As I think about now, had Wake's AD not voted against our interests, the history of college and NBA basketball would have been greatly changed. In the late 60s, the ACC was thinking changing it's rules about accepting JuCo players. The urban legend is the vote was 4-3 to allow easier transfers. Had Wake voted for the rule or even abstained due to a conflict of interest, Wake's bball history and the NBA would have changed.

Jack had Artis Gilmore waiting in the wings to be a Deac to join with Charlie Davis and Gil McGregor. That would have been an amazing team for two years. The inevitable success could have kept Jack at Wake longer (maybe permanently).

Our past and future would have changed as would have his journey to the NBA. Without Jack, the Pistons were likely to stay terrible. Who knows if a kid from nowhere named Dennis Rodman would have ever gotten a shot at the NBA? Jack's ability to make trades and identify talent was nearly as good as Jerry West's.

Wake screwed ourselves and gave the world the Bad Boys.
 
10_LlyodBridges_FINAL.jpg
 
I am aware that this is Steve mccroskey but I like the image
 
RJKarl said:
As I think about now, had Wake's AD not voted against our interests, the history of college and NBA basketball would have been greatly changed. In the late 60s, the ACC was thinking changing it's rules about accepting JuCo players. The urban legend is the vote was 4-3 to allow easier transfers. Had Wake voted for the rule or even abstained due to a conflict of interest, Wake's bball history and the NBA would have changed.

Jack had Artis Gilmore waiting in the wings to be a Deac to join with Charlie Davis and Gil McGregor. That would have been an amazing team for two years. The inevitable success could have kept Jack at Wake longer (maybe permanently).

Our past and future would have changed as would have his journey to the NBA. Without Jack, the Pistons were likely to stay terrible. Who knows if a kid from nowhere named Dennis Rodman would have ever gotten a shot at the NBA? Jack's ability to make trades and identify talent was nearly as good as Jerry West's.

Wake screwed ourselves and gave the world the Bad Boys.
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The story I heard at the time about transfers was that Artis was indeed ready to transfer to Wake, but the ACC (on UNC's request) stiffened the junior college transfer rules to prevent it from happening. A couple of years later the ACC reversed the tougher rules, just in time to allow Bob McAdoo to transfer to UNC. Don't know if that was the truth, but it is consistent with how UNC pushed the ACC around during that period. A member of our freshman bb team that featured Gil and CD and played Gardner-Webb while Artis was a freshman told me that story.
 
WFU71 said:
The story I heard at the time about transfers was that Artis was indeed ready to transfer to Wake, but the ACC (on UNC's request) stiffened the junior college transfer rules to prevent it from happening. A couple of years later the ACC reversed the tougher rules, just in time to allow Bob McAdoo to transfer to UNC. Don't know if that was the truth, but it is consistent with how UNC pushed the ACC around during that period. A member of our freshman bb team that featured Gil and CD and played Gardner-Webb while Artis was a freshman told me that story.
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JAN 08 - 1968 Went to see unbeatens Gardner-Webb & WF Frosh in 6 PM preliminary game to WF 97, Va 90; G-W won 76-74; Charlie Davis scored 32 points
 
One of the smartest things I ever saw or have seen in the NBA was drafting John Spider Salley and Dennis Rodman, then having those 2 dudes check in together, to replace Laimbeer and Mahorn.

Laimbeer and Mahorn beat you up, screened you hard, grabbed all the boards, hit a few shots, then they bring in the super energy guys (who happened to be really good) Salley and Rodman to run you to death and out-play your bench bigs or out-hustle your now tired starters.

Even tougher, was that 2-3 year period where their 5th big man in the rotation, James Edwards, was good too and would come in for like 5-6 minutes and start scoring buckets. It was like DAGGER after dagger.

In today's NBA, not sure that would even work, as announcers last night essentially said, "you can't post up and score any more, they let you mug the post player and push/shove like crazy down low, with no foul. It's all perimeter and ball movement."

Incredible work by McCloskey, Chuck Daley and CO.
 
WFU71 said:
The story I heard at the time about transfers was that Artis was indeed ready to transfer to Wake, but the ACC (on UNC's request) stiffened the junior college transfer rules to prevent it from happening. A couple of years later the ACC reversed the tougher rules, just in time to allow Bob McAdoo to transfer to UNC. Don't know if that was the truth, but it is consistent with how UNC pushed the ACC around during that period. A member of our freshman bb team that featured Gil and CD and played Gardner-Webb while Artis was a freshman told me that story.
Click to expand...

The story I was told was that Wake had the deciding vote in this issue. Somewhere in between is likely the answer,

The one common thread is that Artis wanted to be a Deac.
 
WFU71 said:
The story I heard at the time about transfers was that Artis was indeed ready to transfer to Wake, but the ACC (on UNC's request) stiffened the junior college transfer rules to prevent it from happening. A couple of years later the ACC reversed the tougher rules, just in time to allow Bob McAdoo to transfer to UNC. Don't know if that was the truth, but it is consistent with how UNC is pushing the NCAA around during this current period. A member of our freshman bb team that featured Gil and CD and played Gardner-Webb while Artis was a freshman told me that story.
Click to expand...

FIFY
 
Seeing the article in the Philly paper about Jack leaving Penn for Wake Forest was probably the first time I remember Wake Forest being on my radar screen. It was something of a shock in the Philly area that a coach from the "Big 5" Ivy League team would leave and go to a small, southern, Baptist school.
 
I knew Jack's son, Steve McCloskey. He told me his father just hated recruiting, which was evidenced by his failure to do so in his final years after Packer left.
 
bluefish said:
I knew Jack's son, Steve McCloskey. He told me his father just hated recruiting, which was evidenced by his failure to do so in his final years after Packer left.
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This would fit with his trajectory at Wake and his pro successes. Had a few good players, didn't get more, went to NBA. Left cupboard bare at Wake. One year his whole recruiting class was a guy who was all region in some part of Pennsylvania not known for basketball talent.


His skill set was much better suited for NBA GM duties. Identify talent and skills. Either draft or trade for players with it. No need to convince (beg) 17 year olds to go to his school. Just draft or trade for professionals.
 
Deaconblue said:
Seeing the article in the Philly paper about Jack leaving Penn for Wake Forest was probably the first time I remember Wake Forest being on my radar screen. It was something of a shock in the Philly area that a coach from the "Big 5" Ivy League team would leave and go to a small, southern, Baptist school.
Click to expand...

My friend's dad was an assistant under Jack at Penn. Everyone thought my friend was going to play for "Uncle" Jack, but he chose KY over Wake at the very last minute.
 
WFU71 said:
The story I heard at the time about transfers was that Artis was indeed ready to transfer to Wake, but the ACC (on UNC's request) stiffened the junior college transfer rules to prevent it from happening. A couple of years later the ACC reversed the tougher rules, just in time to allow Bob McAdoo to transfer to UNC. Don't know if that was the truth, but it is consistent with how UNC pushed the ACC around during that period. A member of our freshman bb team that featured Gil and CD and played Gardner-Webb while Artis was a freshman told me that story.
Click to expand...

The rule was a combined 900 SAT score and was a requirement for all freshman scholarship athletes. Artis failed this requirement and was unable to enroll at Wake as a freshman. This was not a requirement for transfer student athletes until the spring of 1969 when it was changed as per your post. Artis was again unable to meet this requirement and went to Jacksonville. The reversal for McAdoo is correct.
 
They also changed the SAT score for frosh a year or two later. it was euphemistically known as the "Mo Howard rule"- as it was used to get Top 10 PG Maurice "Mo" Howard into MD.
 
BlackjackMc said:
The rule was a combined 900 SAT score and was a requirement for all freshman scholarship athletes. Artis failed this requirement and was unable to enroll at Wake as a freshman. This was not a requirement for transfer student athletes until the spring of 1969 when it was changed as per your post. Artis was again unable to meet this requirement and went to Jacksonville. The reversal for McAdoo is correct.
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I was on campus during those years and this is how I remembered the deal going down.
 
There was a column in the N&O several days ago about McCloskey via recalls from Billy Packer. He recalled a big recruit visit and a 'try-out' and scrimmage with the coach. Not totally legal. Interesting and funny, showed a real tough Jack, but I have no way to copy or link. Recruit went to KY - IIRC.
 
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