The University of North Carolina rarely took junior college players into its program during
Dean Smith's coaching era. Bob McAdoo was an exception.
McAdoo had played two seasons at Vincennes Junior College in Indiana -- and was an
All-American both times -- before transferring to North Carolina. He needed little time to
establish himself as one of the nation's best players, having an outstanding season for the
Tar Heels. The 6-foot-9 McAdoo averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds per game for UNC, leading
the team to the Final Four.
McAdoo had one more year of eligibility after the 1971-72 season in Chapel Hill, but opted
to enter the professional ranks through the hardship ranks. It was obvious he'd be one of the
first players taken by the National Basketball Association and American Basketball
Association. In hindsight, McAdoo was clearly the best player available to NBA teams that
year.
The Portland Trail Blazers should have known that, but they apparently didn't. The Blazers
took LaRue Martin with the first overall pick of the draft. That wouldn't be remembered as the
worst pick in Portland's franchise history -- the Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan choice would
hold that distinction forever -- but it was close. Martin played four years in the NBA, and
never averaged more than 7.0 points per game.
That left McAdoo for Buffalo in the second spot, and the Braves picked him. NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy told the Braves that the Virginia Squires of the ABA were claiming that they had signed McAdoo, and that the Braves would be taking McAdoo at their own risk. Buffalo went ahead and picked him anyway. McAdoo was not yet 21 when he actually signed, putting the validity of the deal in question. Buffalo owner Paul Snyder offered the Squires $200,000 for the contract, and Squires' owner Earl Foreman guessed his deal might not hold up in court so he took the money and released McAdoo. Snyder and Foreman went to a safety deposit box to get the original ABA contract. Snyder took the paperwork, headed for a toilet, and flushed.
"I didn't think I'd be a star right away," McAdoo said. "I thought I could be a starter right away."
Buffalo took Harold Fox in the second round, a guard out of Jacksonville. The Braves took
13 other players in the draft, but none of them made it out of training camp.
There was a new face leading the players in that camp. Dr. Jack Ramsey, who earned a
doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania in 1963, was the new coach. Ramsey had been a
legendary coach at St. Joseph's in Philadelphia from 1955-66, going 234-72. He became general
manager of the Philadelphia 76ers in 1966 and won the NBA championship in that role in 1967.
However, he moved to the coaching ranks in 1968 and spent four years there in that position.
Ramsey had a winning record with the Sixers, but that team was clearly headed downhill. Ramsey had his first losing season as a coach in 1971-72.
The Braves were already downhill, having never won more than 22 games in a season in their
history. They came in with hopes of doing better, particularly with McAdoo around. The idea
was to have McAdoo, Bob Kauffman and Elmore Smith as a tall, impressive front line, with the
guard position to sort itself out along the way. The plan never quite worked out.
The problems started when Mahdi Abdul-Rahman seemed to age overnight. He did little in nine
games as a Brave that season, averaging only 5.9 points and 1.9 assists per game, and was
waived. Abdul-Rahman bounced to a couple of other teams after that, but he essentially was
done. What's more there were no immediate replacements in the area. Randy Smith had made a
successful transition to guard from small forward to make room for McAdoo, but he needed a
playmate and a point guard.
