Which one of these players never led the NBA in scoring?

(A) Michael Jordan (B) Tim Duncan (C) Shaquille O'Neal (D) David Robinson

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Sherman White

Sherman White led the NCAA in scoring in 1950-1 with a 27.7 point average for Long Island University. The New York Knicks planned to make him their first-round draft choice using their territorial choice. Instead, White spent the next NBA season in prison. What happened?

• During the 1949-50 season, three LIU players, senior Eddie Gard, the ringleader, Adolph Bigos, and Dick Fuertado received money from New York gambler Salvatore Sollazzo to shave points.
• White became suspicious during the rigged game. A nine-point favorite over North Carolina State, the Blackbirds lost 55-52. He almost got into a fistfight with Gard after the game. Uncharacteristically, the playmaker's passes were at White's feet.
• Soon afterward, Gard let Sherman in on what was happening and invited him to join the conspiracy. Eddie used the argument that they would still win the games, just not enough to cover the spread. Although his New Jersey family was poor, White admitted many years later that he joined to be "one of the guys." In fact, he spent very little of the $5,500 he received during the 1950-1 season, stashing most of it away in an envelope in his room.
• White helped shave points in two games later in the 1950 season, both lopsided losses: 83-65 to Cincinnati and then 80-52 to Syracuse in the first round of the N.I.T. at Madison Square Garden when that tournament was more prestigious than the NCAA tournament.
• The next season, LIU won four games at the Garden while shaving points in the betting line. For example, they beat Kansas State 60-59 on December 2 in a game they were favored by 7.5. As White later explained, it was easier and less obvious to shave on D than O. "You had to turn your head or you had to slide and let a guy go n to make a basket. But we knew it was getting too risky to continue. We were hearing too many rumors."
• White, Bigos, and a new conspirator, LeRoy Smith, decided to play it straight against Duquesne in the Garden despite urging by Gard on behalf of Sollazzo. The three combined for 64 points as LIU won 84-52, costing Sollazzo a reported $30,000.
• The next day, two former Manhattan players, Hank Poppe and Jack Byrnes, and three gamblers were arrested for trying to fix a Manhattan-DePaul game. In the ensuing weeks, White noticed he was being followed as he drove home to Englewood NJ.
• On February 18, three CCNY players were arrested. Finally, on the 20th, two New York detectives arrested White. "I knew it was a matter of time," said Sherman. Confronted by Gard and Bigos, who had admitted their guilt, White caved in.
• On November 19, 1951, White was sentenced to a year in jail along with Gard. Sollazzo received a 12-year sentence. Sherman served eight months and 24 days.
• The NBA banned him from league for life. The Knicks had been preparing a $12-13,000 offer to him.

Reference: "When Sherman White Threw It All Away," Dave Anderson, New York Times, March 22, 1998
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Christian Laettner

Grant Hill

One of the most famous plays in basketball history occurred in the 1992 NCAA East Region final.

• Duke trailed Kentucky 103-102 with 2.1 seconds left in OT. The Blue Devils had to put the ball in play from under their own basket.
• After a timeout, Grant Hill threw an 80-foot pass to the other foul line to Christian Laettner, who turned and sank a 17-foot jumper as time expired.

Watch on YouTube.

Laettner revealed many years later that the play hadn't worked well on a previous try.

• "I remember that we tried to run it one time against Wake Forest and Grant's pass was like a curveball. It took me out of bounds, and I wasn't able to shoot it."
• "We went back to the drawing board and practiced it a few more times when, lo and behold, we needed to use it two or three weeks later in the Kentucky game."
• "I had time to stay calm and be relaxed and take a nice, easy shot at the bucket. I had time to not rush, and that is very important."
• "Then the last thing I remember thinking is that I had to catch the ball ... because a lot of the time on a play like that, the defense knocks or tips the ball away."

Rick Pitino was criticized for the D he set up on the play.

• Why didn't he put a defender on Hill to hamper his pass? Pitino explained that his two tallest veteran players, Jamal Mashburn and Gimel Martinez, both 6'8", had fouled out. Hill later recalled that, when he went to the baseline and saw that his pass would not be obstructed, he breathed a sigh of relief.
• Why didn't KU contest Laettner's reception? This is a bogus charge. If you watch the video link above, you will see that 6'7" John Pelfrey did jump for the ball but the taller Laettner grabbed it.

Reference: "I Remember ... Christian Laettner," Sporting News March 16, 2009
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