What's new

4 days feels like four-ever

Tom Nissalke was the fourth head coach of the Jazz. He started coaching the team when they first moved to Utah for the 1979-80 season. His Jazz coaching career began with 4 straight losses, all of which were by more than 4 points. Before Nissalke had his 4th win with the Jazz, the Jazz had an epic 14-game losing streak that included 2 4-point losses. Win #4 wouldn't come until December 1, 1979. The Jazz won 24 games that season, but won 4 more games in Nissalke's second season as coach. Nissalke's final game as coach of the Jazz was December 9, 1981. It capped a 4-game losing streak.
 
The Jazz finished 4th in the old Midwest Division 4 times. In one of those seasons (2001-02) the Jazz had 44 wins.
 
Marcus Cousin, no relation to DeMarcus Cousins, was a bigman signed on a Tuesday by the embattled Jazz in March of 2011. Marcus played in 4 games and scored 4 points.
 
In addition to Mark Eaton, 4 other players selected by the Jazz in the fourth round of the draft played in the NBA: Dennis Boyd, Greg Deane, Jim Rowinski, and Delaney Rudd.

Jim Boyd was drafted in 1977. His only NBA experience was playing 5 games with the Pistons in 1978-79. His PER was -4.0.

Greg Deane was drafted in 1979. His only NBA experience was 7 games played with the Jazz inthe 1979-80 season. He put up a PER of 4.5

Jim Rowinski was drafted in 1984. His birthday is January 4. He played with 3 NBA teams in 1988-89 and 1989-90. With the Pistons in 1988-89 Rowinski scored 4 points on 4-4 FT shooting.

Delaney Rudd was drafted in 1985. He played 4 seasons in the NBA, including the 1990-91 season with the Jazz when he averaged 4 ppg.
 
Freddie Boyd was claimed on waivers by the Jazz on January 27, 1976. He averaged 4.1 FGs per game in the 1976-77 season.
 
Jerry Sloan wore #4 during his career with the Chicago Bulls, and his number was the first to be retired by the franchise.

Pete Maravich wore #44 with the Hawks.

View attachment 1751

And with the Jazz for a season.

pete_maravich_main.jpg
 
Adrian Dantley was traded to the Jazz by the Lakers on September 13, 1979 for Spencer Haywood. Folks, this is one of the rare cases where the Lakers ended up on the wrong side of a lopsided deal. Haywood was only with the Lakers for one season and had a huge drop in production. Haywood was suspended by the Lakers during the 1980 NBA finals. Haywood was waived by the Lakers. They didn't even get anything for him. As great as the Lakers were during the 80s, can you imagine how good they may have been if they hadn't traded Dantley?

Dantley spent 7 years with the Jazz and was a scoring machine, averaging between 26.6 and 30.7 ppg every season. Rounding to whole numbers, Dantley averaged 4 apg in 4 seasons with the Jazz. Dantley led the league in offensive win shares in 4 seasons with the Jazz. Dantley is 4th on the all-time Jazz FG list.
 
The controversy of Kelly Tripucka wearing #4 in his first season with the Jazz has been mentioned. Tripucka blocked 4 shots in his second season with the Jazz after switching to #7. How many Jazz players have caused so much jersey # controversies in just 2 seasons with the team? I'm going to say 1, even though it would be cooler if there were 4.
 
Mark Eaton was a 4th round draft pick for the Jazz who went on to hold the NBA records for most blocks in a season (456) and for career average in blocks per game (3.5). He led the league in Blocks four times (83-84, 84-85, 86-87 and 87-88).

In his rookie season (82-83), he came off the bench to record his first triple-double with 12 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 blocks. He also had 6 assists that game, close enough to say he nearly had a quadruple-double.

In the 84-85 season he recorded a triple-double with 12 points, 20 rebounds, and 14 blocks. In the same season he became the first player to block 10 shots in a playoff game and received the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award for the first time.

In the 86-87 season he had a triple-double with 15 points, 20 rebounds, and 12 blocks. In his career he recorded 6 triple-doubles, all of points, rebounds and blocks.

He was selected in one All-Star game (1989) in spite of having no offensive game at all, and was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the second time the same season.

He holds the league record for most games with double-figure blocks (19).

His #53 jersey has been retired by the Utah Jazz, with whom he played his entire career.

Mark Eaton was left handed, and this may have helped him to be such an effective shot-blocker, because he could use his dominant hand to defend against predominantly right-handed shooters. The fact he was 7'4" tall probably helped too.

Too bad we couldn't have Eaton in his prime now to play next to Favors. That would be fun to watch.
 
adrian dantley was not only the face of the franchise for several years and a source of controversy for years after... he was also part of one of the longer trains of traded players ever... a string that lasted almost a quarter century.

- the jazz signed gail goodrich in 1976.
- later that summer, the league mandated a swap of the lakers' 1st and 2nd round picks in exchange for three first-round picks (1977, 1978 and 1979) and a 2nd rounder (1980) from the jazz as compensation for the jazz signing goodrich.
- the jazz traded the lakers first-round pick from that trade to the hawks for joe meriweather in 1977.
- they traded meriweather for spencer haywood in 1979.
- they traded haywood for adrian dantley 8 months later.
- after 7 seasons, they traded dantley for kent benson and kelly tripucka in 1986.
- in 1988, tripucka was traded for mike brown.
- they traded mike brown in 1993 for felton spencer.
- in 1996, they traded spencer for kenny gattison, brooks thompson and a 1999 draft pick.
- in 1999, they used that pick to draft andrei kirilenko, who played with the jazz until april 2010.

so 1976 to 2010, a big long string of players that started with gail goodrich, ended with andrei kirilenko, and along the way included #4 adrian dantley, who is 4th in the franchise rank for field goals made and attempted.
 
adrian dantley was not only the face of the franchise for several years and a source of controversy for years after... he was also part of one of the longer trains of traded players ever... a string that lasted almost a quarter century.

- the jazz signed gail goodrich in 1976.
- later that summer, the league mandated a swap of the lakers' 1st and 2nd round picks in exchange for three first-round picks (1977, 1978 and 1979) and a 2nd rounder (1980) from the jazz as compensation for the jazz signing goodrich.
- the jazz traded the lakers first-round pick from that trade to the hawks for joe meriweather in 1977.
- they traded meriweather for spencer haywood in 1979.
- they traded haywood for adrian dantley 8 months later.
- after 7 seasons, they traded dantley for kent benson and kelly tripucka in 1986.
- in 1988, tripucka was traded for mike brown.
- they traded mike brown in 1993 for felton spencer.
- in 1996, they traded spencer for kenny gattison, brooks thompson and a 1999 draft pick.
- in 1999, they used that pick to draft andrei kirilenko, who played with the jazz until april 2010.

so 1976 to 2010, a big long string of players that started with gail goodrich, ended with andrei kirilenko, and along the way included #4 adrian dantley, who is 4th in the franchise rank for field goals made and attempted.

I'm impressed. You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to theNBAnerd again.
 
In October 2006, 4 knuckleheads from the Jazz: Deron Williams, Dee Brown, Paul Millsap and Ronnie Brewer, decided to pick up a stripper and take her back to the team hotel for a little wholesome recreation. Forty minutes after heading up to a room, the drunken stripper appeared in the lobby naked and screaming she had been raped. Jazz players were cleared of all charges because she was unable to identify the two players who supposedly raped her. Deron, the good family man that he is, said he left the room shortly after they arrived. And Ronnie Brewer built a pillow fort in order to protect the woman's honor. Foreplay has never been so interesting!

Brewer played 4 years for the Jazz. Deron Williams led the team to the playoffs 4 times during his stay in Utah.
 
In October 2006, 4 knuckleheads from the Jazz: Deron Williams, Dee Brown, Paul Millsap and Ronnie Brewer, decided to pick up a stripper and take her back to the team hotel for a little wholesome recreation. Forty minutes after heading up to a room, the drunken stripper appeared in the lobby naked and screaming she had been raped. Jazz players were cleared of all charges because she was unable to identify the two players who supposedly raped her. Deron, the good family man that he is, said he left the room shortly after they arrived. And Ronnie Brewer built a pillow fort in order to protect the woman's honor. Foreplay has never been so interesting!

Brewer played 4 years for the Jazz. Deron Williams led the team to the playoffs 4 times during his stay in Utah.

That was in Portland, right?
 
Too bad we couldn't have Eaton in his prime now to play next to Favors. That would be fun to watch.

It would be fun. We would all complain about Eaton's free throw shooting and wonder what it would be like to watch Favors play next to a center who had an offensive game. I remember how Eaton used to get slaughtered by fans. Just like Oysterbag did.

Wasn't till Eaton retired that he was appreciated.
 
Eaton was the anti-Boozer: all defence, no offence. His usually role on O was to stand as far away from the basket as possible, and under the anti-zone rules at the time, this would draw the opposing center away from the basket, while the rest of the players would go four-on-four. His main offensive move was to wait for his defender to fall asleep then rumble to the basket, where John Stockton would find him and Eaton would either throw in a lefty hook or elevate a couple of inches and dunk it. If for some other reason he ended up inside the three-point line on offence, he could score on putbacks.

If he was playing today, with zone defence being legal, his lack of O-game would drive us nuts because we would be four-on-five, but he'd be even more dominant at the defensive end.

[video=youtube_share;_phS5PkIpsg]https://youtu.be/_phS5PkIpsg
 
Last edited:
Back
Top