Topic: Terrence Thompson leaving Marshall men's hoops program

[yogiherd]

They all try and squeeze another inch out of a player and a few pounds.  I alwaysheard Charles Barkley was about 6 4 1/2  -6 5" at most but was always listed 6 6". All schools do it

Yes they do for sure. I remember back in the early 70's when the Herd had the special season and was paying attention to the NBA draft to see where Russell Lee would go. The Lakers drafted a 7-1 center ( i think from a school in KY but not UK or Louisville), anyway his college size was 7-1 but the NBA listed height 6-9 1/2 . 

[The Right Stuff]

Just guessing Yogi, could that have been Jim McDaniels from WKU?

TRS
MU 71

[Bigoherd]

Just guessing Yogi, could that have been Jim McDaniels from WKU?

I am thinking it was Travis Grant from Kentucky State.

TRS
MU 71

[The Right Stuff]

I remember the name Travis Grant but I just can't remember much about him. 

TRS
MU 71

[coalherd]

Couldn't have been a big player from KY by the name of Thomas Paine, could it?  Back in late 60s, he was a high school hot shot in that state, about 7'0".  MU under Coach Ellis Johnson tried to recruit him.  KY and Adolph Rupp was after him hard because of pressure to recruit a black player to UK at that time.  Believe he signed with the Wildcats but got convicted of rape before he had any kind of basketball career.  A waste of talent, for sure.

[yogiherd]

I remember the name Travis Grant but I just can't remember much about him. 

TRS
MU 71

I think he was a 6-7 forward from Kentucky State(div 2?) that averaged 40 points per game. I think you might be right about McDaniels but for some reason i thought the name was like Elmore Webster or something like that. That's quite a while back so trying to remember the names makes it a major exam!!! :-\ 

[MUtim]

Google is great.  Elmore Smith was a 7 foot center from Kentucky state.  He was the 3rd pick in 1971 draft. Russell Lee was drafted in 1972.

[Flat Tire 2]

Couldn't have been a big player from KY by the name of Thomas Paine, could it?  Back in late 60s, he was a high school hot shot in that state, about 7'0".  MU under Coach Ellis Johnson tried to recruit him.  KY and Adolph Rupp was after him hard because of pressure to recruit a black player to UK at that time.  Believe he signed with the Wildcats but got convicted of rape before he had any kind of basketball career.  A waste of talent, for sure.

Ellis did recruit Tom Paine and he visited MU. I walked into the original Varsity (Jack Riggs) one summer's evening and he was in the bar drinking beer with Ed Ratlleff who went to the NBA via Long Beach State and played for Jerry Tarkanian. There was also a guard named Lonnie Bush with them, not sure if that was his name since it a long time ago. I bought them some Strohs which was a NCAA violation LOL. Paine was a nice guy and the Bush kid kept telling me to remember his name because he was going to a big time player. Bush was smoking Kools most of the evening. The only reason those guys were hanging out at the Varsity I think can of,  was they were being recruited by Ellis?

[yogiherd]

Google is great.  Elmore Smith was a 7 foot center from Kentucky state.  He was the 3rd pick in 1971 draft. Russell Lee was drafted in 1972.

Well i went the google way and came up with this:

Travis Grant

Travis Grant

(Machine Gun, The Machine)

Position: Small Forward ▪ Shoots: Right

6-7, 215lb (201cm, 97kg)

Born: January 1, 1950 (Age: 67-211d) in Clayton, Alabama us

College: Kentucky State University

High School: Barbour County Training School in Clayton, Alabama

Draft: Los Angeles Lakers, 1st round (13th pick, 13th overall), 1972 NBA Draft

NBA Debut: October 11, 1972 ▪ ABA Debut: November 21, 1973


Elmore Smith
High school    Ballard-Hudson (Macon, Georgia)
College    Kentucky State (1968–1971)
NBA draft    1971 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall
Selected by the Buffalo Braves
Playing career    1971–1979
Position    Center

[dshoe]

Ellis did recruit Tom Paine and he visited MU. I walked into the original Varsity (Jack Riggs) one summer's evening and he was in the bar drinking beer with Ed Ratlleff who went to the NBA via Long Beach State and played for Jerry Tarkanian. There was also a guard named Lonnie Bush with them, not sure if that was his name since it a long time ago. I bought them some Strohs which was a NCAA violation LOL. Paine was a nice guy and the Bush kid kept telling me to remember his name because he was going to a big time player. Bush was smoking Kools most of the evening. The only reason those guys were hanging out at the Varsity I think can of,  was they were being recruited by Ellis?

Ellis not only recruited him but signed Paine (who reneged when Ellis was fired and his home state UK brought him in as there first ever African American BB signee)  ...... Ellis was on the way to his best recruiting year ever.... Dwight Lamar and Roy Ebron (who passed away in Sept of 2014) were also on campus that year.............unfortunately Ellis was "re-assigned" following the football recruiting scandal when it was acknowledged that he was on NCAA probation for a recruiting "error" a small infraction at the time that involved an "illegal" contact with a recruit the previous year...(perhaps our most famous player of all time)

Just imagine, any of those names mentioned above (particularly Paine or Ebron) playing on the '72 team with Lee, D'Antoni, Collins, etc.  That team's only weakness was at the 5 spot.

Now before anyone jumps forward and questions the validity of the Lamar/Ebron claim...... I had this conversation a number of years ago with Dwight "Bo" Lamar at a SW La (now UofL- Lafayette) game that I produced for ESPN and he was in attendance.  We spoke for sometime about the MU v SW La NCAA game and his visit to Huntington with Ebron.  And to add a little credibility to this story and to Flat Tire's, remember too that Lamar played for Columbus (O) East high school, his backcourt teammate was Ed Ratleff........  Ellis was "building" his dream!!!  Ellis's dream was to win the National Championship at Marshall, he wanted to become the first person in history to have won a National Championship at every level of competition..... he played on a National Champion HS team and a National Champion College team at UK, he wanted to complete the "trifecta" and be the first to do it..... he may well have been on his way!!!!

Lamar went on to become the first (and only) player in NCAA history to lead the nation in scoring at the Division II and Division I levels as USL moved up while he was there.

Ellis wouldn't have had to signed them all, but imagine for a moment a backcourt with any combination of Mike D, Ty Collins, Bo Lamar, Ed Ratleff, Bill James....... and a center position with either Tom Paine (later a member of the Atlanta Hawks and sentenced to prison for rape in Atlanta) or Roy Ebron, instead of Barry Driscoll...... Ellis certainly would have had a chance at his "trifecta"!!!

USL was placed on NCAA probation not long after that season, primarily due to recruiting violations surrounding Lamar and Ebron, including Ebron winning a car dealer "drawing" for a new car shortly after arriving on campus.

[The Right Stuff]

Good stuff Dan.  I hadn't heard about Lamar and Ebron being recruited.  Wow what a team that would have been.  Thanks for the flash back.

TRS
MU 71

[QuickStrike]

Good stuff Dan.  I hadn't heard about Lamar and Ebron being recruited.  Wow what a team that would have been.  Thanks for the flash back.

TRS
MU 71

Another flash back.  Wasn't it also thought that Russell Lee's brother Eugene would have been a good player for the Herd if he didn't have the motorcycle accident?

[coalherd]

Ellis not only recruited him but signed Paine (who reneged when Ellis was fired and his home state UK brought him in as there first ever African American BB signee)  ...... Ellis was on the way to his best recruiting year ever.... Dwight Lamar and Roy Ebron (who passed away in Sept of 2014) were also on campus that year.............unfortunately Ellis was "re-assigned" following the football recruiting scandal when it was acknowledged that he was on NCAA probation for a recruiting "error" a small infraction at the time that involved an "illegal" contact with a recruit the previous year...(perhaps our most famous player of all time)

Just imagine, any of those names mentioned above (particularly Paine or Ebron) playing on the '72 team with Lee, D'Antoni, Collins, etc.  That team's only weakness was at the 5 spot.

Now before anyone jumps forward and questions the validity of the Lamar/Ebron claim...... I had this conversation a number of years ago with Dwight "Bo" Lamar at a SW La (now UofL- Lafayette) game that I produced for ESPN and he was in attendance.  We spoke for sometime about the MU v SW La NCAA game and his visit to Huntington with Ebron.  And to add a little credibility to this story and to Flat Tire's, remember too that Lamar played for Columbus (O) East high school, his backcourt teammate was Ed Ratleff........  Ellis was "building" his dream!!!  Ellis's dream was to win the National Championship at Marshall, he wanted to become the first person in history to have won a National Championship at every level of competition..... he played on a National Champion HS team and a National Champion College team at UK, he wanted to complete the "trifecta" and be the first to do it..... he may well have been on his way!!!!

Lamar went on to become the first (and only) player in NCAA history to lead the nation in scoring at the Division II and Division I levels as USL moved up while he was there.

Ellis wouldn't have had to signed them all, but imagine for a moment a backcourt with any combination of Mike D, Ty Collins, Bo Lamar, Ed Ratleff, Bill James....... and a center position with either Tom Paine (later a member of the Atlanta Hawks and sentenced to prison for rape in Atlanta) or Roy Ebron, instead of Barry Driscoll...... Ellis certainly would have had a chance at his "trifecta"!!!

USL was placed on NCAA probation not long after that season, primarily due to recruiting violations surrounding Lamar and Ebron, including Ebron winning a car dealer "drawing" for a new car shortly after arriving on campus.

Good recollection, dshoe.  You're right about our "weakness" in the middle back in 71-72.  In the NCAA loss to the Ragin Cajuns I believe that Bo Lamar had a good game but it was their big man, Ebron(?), who really hurt the Herd. 

Ellis was really at the top of his game when it came to recruiting.  Back then the NCAA rules were a lot different.  I remember going to games out the old Field House when they would bring out the recruits to the middle of the floor at halftime and introduce them to the crowd.  When they had Russell Lee, and others there, the crowd went nuts chanting for Lee to come to MU!!  Crazy times, but electric, to be sure!

Another time, the Herd frosh team played a team from Lockbourne AFB in Columbus, OH.  They had a 6'6" player named Weatherly, IIRC, who could really jump out of the gym.  Word was he was about to leave the service and Ellis was wanting him badly; that was the main reason the game was scheduled.  Believe dshoe correctly detailed Ellis' plan and that if we had had a President with a backbone who didn't spinelessly throw Ellis under the bus (Dr. Roland Nelson), that plan may have come to fruition!!!

[The Right Stuff]

You are absolutely correct about Roland Nelson. >:(

TRS
MU 71

[Always THE HERD]

Another flash back.  Wasn't it also thought that Russell Lee's brother Eugene would have been a good player for the Herd if he didn't have the motorcycle accident?

~ Played a lot of pool with Eugene and listened to a lot of music too in South Hall. I don't know if he graduated from MU or not.

[QuickStrike]

~ Played a lot of pool with Eugene and listened to a lot of music too in South Hall. I don't know if he graduated from MU or not.

Care to comment on how good Eugene Lee was supposed to be, or about the motorcycle injury that took him out of basketball?

[Flat Tire 2]

Too bad, that we didn't get Russell's little brother Ron Lee to play at MU.  He was an All-American for Oregon and I seem to remember him being on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Lee

[CoachSkip]

Back to the original topic . Has Thompson announced where he will  transfer to ? I just found this  https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bloggersodear.com/platform/amp/2017/7/30/16065474/wake-forest-basketball-potential-graduate-transfer-former-marshall-terrence-thompson-dinos-mitoglou

[Herdmeister]

Back to the original topic . Has Thompson announced where he will  transfer to ? I just found this  https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bloggersodear.com/platform/amp/2017/7/30/16065474/wake-forest-basketball-potential-graduate-transfer-former-marshall-terrence-thompson-dinos-mitoglou

No. In talking to Danny the other night he had no idea where he would end up. Pretty sure it will be in NC though.

[dshoe]

Care to comment on how good Eugene Lee was supposed to be, or about the motorcycle injury that took him out of basketball?

not anywhere near as good as Russell and Ron......he was part of the "package" to get Russell.

[coalherd]

Back to the original topic . Has Thompson announced where he will  transfer to ? I just found this  https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bloggersodear.com/platform/amp/2017/7/30/16065474/wake-forest-basketball-potential-graduate-transfer-former-marshall-terrence-thompson-dinos-mitoglou

Then one has to wonder with WF being a quality academic school in North Carolina with a medical school, I believe, (Bowman Gray?), and with Terrence being a North Carolinian with designs on going to medical school, that perhaps some kind of quid pro quo (hope my Latin is correct) is going on in this case??

[Herdalum83]

I'm more interested in who is going to end up here. With Thompson gone and the jury still out on Iran's eligibility we desperately need another body in the post.

[Herdmeister]

I'm more interested in who is going to end up here. With Thompson gone and the jury still out on Iran's eligibility we desperately need another body in the post.

If we don't fill that scholarship look for Danny to pull the red shirt off Darius

[Herdalum83]

If we don't fill that scholarship look for Danny to pull the red shirt off Darius

Hope the kid is ready, I just want us to be able to build off of last season but losing Taylor, Loop, Browning and now Thompson. I don't see how we do that based on what we've brought in at this moment.

[2xBison]

I've predicted all along Darius plays