To Absent Friends - Bob Lanier

The news of the death of Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Lanier brought me up a bit short yesterday, and it's hard to say why.  

Maybe it was because I remember Lanier as an unstoppable college basketball force at St. Bonaventure from 1968-70 when the Bonnies were regular opponents of the Duquesne Dukes at a time when Duquesne basketball was, well, certainly bigger than it is now.  I can specifically remember a Sunday afternoon game, on January 26, 1969 (I looked it up) at the Civic Arena that I attended with my brother Jim.  St. Bonaventure, led by Lanier, was heavily favored and the Dukes, led by the Nelson twins, Barry and Garry, Gary Major, Moe Barr, and Jarrett Durham upset the Bonnies 84-69 (Again, I looked it up).

Maybe it was because of that iconic scene in the movie "Airplane" when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar grabs the kid and says "you tell your Old Man to try dragging Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes every night..."  A Pop Culture tribute to Lanier's fourteen year NBA career spent with the Pistons and Bucks if ever this was one.

Maybe it's because of a number of family and friends who are Bonas alums that love their school and who are aware of what Lanier meant to the University.  My pal and loyal Bonnies alum John Carney said it best on Facebook this week:

RIP #31 - The Big Cat was one of the greats & his legacy at SBU cannot be overstated

Or maybe it was just the the memories that were stirred of me in high school watching one of the all-time greats playing the game.

A better tribute to Bob Lanier can be found here in this release from St. Bonaventure University.

2009.  Lanier returns to SBU when 

the court is renamed in his honor.

RIP Bob Lanier.