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“They said what?” Sports quote game NBA Tip-off 2014

By Dan Salem

Posted on October 31, 2014

Seesaw Sports, where Dan Salem and Todd Salem throw down on the NFL, MLB, NBA and more. Two brothers from New York yell, scream and debate sports.

The 2014 NBA season is underway and we have more “They said what?” sports quote game NBA Tip-off 2014 edition. Round seven is all about basketball. They said what? sports quote game where you can play along.

Todd is still ahead after six and a half rounds, but the gap is closing.

The rules at Seesaw Sports are as follows: Player one presents player two with a sports quote.

– The quote can be about sports
– Can be said by a famous sportsman
– Can be both about sports and said by a famous sportsman, but NEVER neither one

The quote is given, along with three hints as to who said it. These hints can be anything from when the quote was uttered to facts about the speaker.

Player two then responds with their guess as to who said it and a brief explanation surrounding their conclusion. A correct guess is worth one point for player two. An incorrect guess is worth one point for player one.

The score after 6.5 rounds: Todd – 8 points and Dan – 5 points

[Round 1] [Round 2]  [Round 3.1]  [Round 3.2]
[Round 4.1]  [Round 4.2]  [Round 5.1]  [Round 5.2]
[Round 6.1]  [Round 6.2]  [Round 7.1]

DAN:

Continuing the NBA Tip-off celebration, here’s a basketball quote for you to digest and decipher. And don’t worry, that was not one of your hints.

“In my prime I could have handled Michael Jordan. Of course, he would be only 12 years old.”

Hint one: This was said by a man drafted in the first round, 4th overall, of the NBA draft.

Hint two: He is currently in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

basketball-hall-of-fame

Hint three: He went on to coach one of the same teams he’d previously played for.

Oklahoma City Thunder v San Antonio Spurs - Game Two

TODD:

This one took me a while. It’s super tricky.

The hints were all great, and the quote itself was perhaps the biggest hint of all…hopefully. Assuming the speaker wasn’t spouting off randomly, he would have to be about 12-15 years older than Michael Jordan. Since Jordan’s dominant years were the mid-to-late-1990’s, this quote was probably uttered by someone who roamed NBA courts in the early 80’s.

From there, they were an early draft pick, made the Hall of Fame and eventually coached in the league. If coaches are roughly 40-60 years old, add 20 or so years to the prime age, and this person coached in the 2000s and may even still be coaching today.

Of course, not everything is that cut and dry. What if the quote was uttered in complete jest? What if the time frames are off? What if, and this would be super sneaky, the player wasn’t any good at all and made the basketball Hall of Fame for his collegiate play or even his coaching?!

Then we get into the trouble of the fact that I don’t know everything. It may be hard to believe, but I have some lapses in my sports knowledge database. I had a few brainstorm guesses but didn’t know if they qualified. Paul Silas maybe, but I’m not sure if he was ever a high draft pick. Bill Walton perhaps, although I can’t remember if he ever coached. Lenny Wilkens could be, but I don’t think he was that good of a player, not that that is even a requirement for this necessarily. Doc Rivers, questionable what time frame he was in the league. etc. etc.

In the end, I couldn’t come up with a perfect guess that fit all the criteria so I had to cut some corners and wish for the best.

My guess is Doug Collins.

I know he played in the league and was pretty good. I know he coached multiple teams around the correct time frame. He might be in the Hall of Fame for his Olympic play, and he’s a paid chatter now for ESPN so might have said a quote like this to be silly. I don’t love it, but it’s the best I got.

DAN:

You did an excellent job of using my hints and your process of deduction is admirable. Unfortunately for you, it did not lead to a correct answer.

Jerry Sloan is the Hall of Fame coach who uttered the not so famous quote. He was drafted by the Baltimore Bullets and played most of his career for the Chicago Bulls, over ten years for them as a player.

Sloan then went on to coach the Bulls, first as an assistant and then as the head man. But he ultimately earned his Hall of Fame credentials as coach of the Utah Jazz. Having coached for over 30 years, Sloan is a legend of the game.

Now to tally my victory point, as I slowly move closer to your score.

Jerry Sloan