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Monday, February 2, 2026

Basketball - Be Memorable

"That's going to leave a mark." Many experiences in sport leave marks, some cherished and others condemned to our "resume of scars."

Science tells us that we remember best "peak" and "end" experience. 

End experiences could include:

  • Havlicek stole the ball (1965)
  • Nelson's clinching miracle bounce jumper (1969)
  • Princeton upsets UCLA (1991)
  • Webber's ill-fated timeout (1993)
  • LeBron's iconic "chase down" Finals block (2016)
Peak experience could include:
  • Hank Gathers' sudden death (1990); Erik Spoelstra was on the court.
  • Bob Knight's chair toss (1985) amidst a brilliant career
  • Jordan's "flu game" performance (1997)
Both peak and end experience imprint memories with high emotional input.

Few articles will be memorable. Remember the Heath Brothers "Made to Stick" acronym for sticky stories - SUCCESS. 

S - Simple (needing no explanation)
U - Unexpected
C - Concrete (specific)
C - Credible 
E - Emotional 
S - Stories 

I had a colleague whose wife scored the winning basket in the Michigan State Championship Basketball Tournament finals.

One high school teammate (Roger Lapham) had a son Rich who won two State High School basketball titles in Maine and was the starting left tackle for Boston College and an NFL draft choice. Roger had been drafted by the NFL and the NBA out of Maine. I had called Roger about something and Rich answered. I asked how old he was and he said, "15." I said, "So you're probably 6'3" or 6'4". He answered, "No, I'm 6' 8." DNA. 

Roger's older brother (Dave) played for the Cincinnati Bengals. His opening appearance was against Steeler legend Mean Joe Greene. Before the snap, Greene said, "Hi, Dave. Welcome to the League." As the ball was snapped, Green delivered a forearm shiver under the chin. Welcome to the League. He said that never happened again. 

Doug Collins was on the US Olympic Team that lost to the Russians in 1972. Collins made a pair of free throws to give the US the lead late before the fiasco. Collins said that the last song he heard coming out of the locker room was Jimmy Ruffin's "What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted?" The US never accepted the Silver Medals and some players had it in their wills that no family member should ever accept them. Collins went into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024 as a Contributor as a player, coach, and broadcaster. I met him circa 1974 driving him from Logan Airport to Sam Jones's basketball camp in Easton, MA where I was briefly a counselor. 

One day I had gone to the local YMCA to shoot some and the only people in the Gym were a guy and his daughter who looked about 12. I said to myself, "That looks like JoJo White." He picked up a ball and shot it. "That is JoJo White." I left. He deserved to have peace to shoot with his kid and he knew who he was. 

Years later my twins would play his daughter and Masconomet High in the Tsongas arena for the Sectional Title, a pair of 22-0 clubs. Melrose took the win, 68-54. A memorable day for the family...

Lagniappe. Sweet 16 conditioner. 
Lagniappe 2. For once, guys tell it like it is. 

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