I have written a great deal about the 1978 Texas Longhorns Men’s Basketball Team….who in our opinion here at ImaSportsphile was one of the top 5 teams in the country that year….but instead of dancing in the 1978 NCAA Tournament….instead were destroying the mediocre competition in the N.I.T…..I mean, after all, Arkansas went to the Final Four….and they beat the Horns in Barnhill Arena by a score of 75 – 71….and folks, Barnhill Arena during the days of Eddie Sutton being at the Hogs Helm was a mighty tough place to play…..as any past SWC member would attest.
Any way you cut the pie….UT Coach Abe Lemons 6 man rotation of G/F Ron Baxter, PG Johnny Moore, SG Jim Krivacs, C Gary Goodner, F/C Tyrone Branyon and F Henry Johnson was formidable on offense and played Abe’s “match-up zone” defense made them a team to be reckoned with….and just as capable of making the Final Four as Sutton’s Razorbacks. Don’t believe me….just ask the Rutgers Knights.
Bone Daddy calls the two greatest sports experiences of his life as being the “all time Olympic fan record” that he and his two buddies set at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics….when they saw a live event in the 26 sports that were competed in at the Games….each and every medal that was competed for….plus a baseball game….as baseball was a trial Olympic sport in 1984……and as equally enjoyed as at the ’84 Olympics, was the 6 years Bone Daddy and UT Coach Abe Lemons had a business and personal relationship that has had a lasting impression on my Bone Daddy….cuz Abe taught his so much about life and basketball…..but more than anything….how to laugh at the funny sides of life. It is this lil ole chiweenie Sportsphile’s opinion that Abe Lemons could have been a successful professional comedian….but instead was an awesome basketball coach…..who was “wylie as a coyote”…..who was a mastermind on the court….that could just flat-out make you laugh…..which makes this video “pure gold” in our treasure chest of vintage memories here at our ImaSportsphile video museum
