Muggsy Bogues ESPN write up

GeorgeCostanza

tiger king
SoSH Member
May 16, 2009
7,286
Found in central mass
After I stopped growing at about age 12 or so, I was usually the smallest guy on the court, so I always had love for Muggsy. This write up by ESPN about him and his brother is just absolutely wonderful. Not ashamed to admit it got a little dusty in the room reading it.

It also reminded me that him, Reggie Lewis, and Reggie Williams were all on the same Dunbar HS team. Talk about a stacked squad.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26000179/muggsy-bogues-saved-brother-chuckie-drug-addiction-found-meaning-life

I'd quote excerpts but really, the whole thing is worth reading.
 

Bergs

funky and cold
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2005
21,613
After I stopped growing at about age 12 or so, I was usually the smallest guy on the court, so I always had love for Muggsy. This write up by ESPN about him and his brother is just absolutely wonderful. Not ashamed to admit it got a little dusty in the room reading it.

It also reminded me that him, Reggie Lewis, and Reggie Williams were all on the same Dunbar HS team. Talk about a stacked squad.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26000179/muggsy-bogues-saved-brother-chuckie-drug-addiction-found-meaning-life

I'd quote excerpts but really, the whole thing is worth reading.
Fantastic. Thanks for the link.
 

RetractableRoof

tolerates intolerance
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2003
3,836
Quincy, MA
After I stopped growing at about age 12 or so, I was usually the smallest guy on the court, so I always had love for Muggsy. This write up by ESPN about him and his brother is just absolutely wonderful. Not ashamed to admit it got a little dusty in the room reading it.

It also reminded me that him, Reggie Lewis, and Reggie Williams were all on the same Dunbar HS team. Talk about a stacked squad.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26000179/muggsy-bogues-saved-brother-chuckie-drug-addiction-found-meaning-life

I'd quote excerpts but really, the whole thing is worth reading.
That squad was so stacked that Reggie Lewis couldn't crack the starting lineup. That's insane.
 

The Gray Eagle

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2001
16,721
Bogues for years had the all-time best assist-turnover ratio in NBA history (there might be some qualifier of like 6 or more assists per game. Don't know if he still is the leader or not.)

He was one of the most fun players to watch of all time. He's still the quickest player I've ever seen. He could use his lack of height to his advantage sometimes, getting in passing lanes where no one could see him, and terrorizing opposing point guards by coming from out of nowhere, racing up behind them when they were dribbling and knocking the ball away.

He had amazing hops too. He could dunk a volleyball, but couldn't palm a basketball well enough to dunk one in a game.

This article mentions the time in college when Muggsy guarded Len Bias.
"His junior year, Bogues was assigned to defend Len Bias, then a 6 ft., 8 in. senior at the University of Maryland. "Any time that Bias caught the ball on the perimeter,'' Staak says, "he couldn't go anywhere... he couldn't put the ball down because Muggsy could steal it.'' Bias, who was averaging about 26 points per game, was held to 14."

Everyone knows Muggsy is short, but 5'3" isn't just short, it's way shorter than the other little guys in the NBA. Muggsy was the shortest player in NBA history by a full 2 inches. Most of the players he had to guard were 10 inches to a foot taller than him. He was 3 or 4 inches shorter than Spud Webb. Nate Robinson, IT, and Calvin Murphy all tower over him, half a foot taller. "Tiny" Archibald was 10 inches taller than Muggsy.

 

Eagle3

Member
SoSH Member
Feb 26, 2004
574
That's a good story, but there is one part of it they glossed over. Near the very end they mention that his daughter from a relationship prior to his wife was at the ceremony the Hornets had for him. He was with his wife in college, so that had to have happened either in High School or very early during his college years. Given all the other very personal info that he shared about his life, that's a pretty big detail to skip. It doesnt take away from the main focus of his brother's story, but there must be something to it that he didnt want to discuss.