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St. John Fisher dedicating its court in honor of Wanzer
The ex-Rochester Royal was the college's first men's coach
Jim Mandelaro
Staff writer
(February 11, 2006) — Bobby Wanzer enjoyed the kind of basketball career most pro players only dream about.
An NBA championship.
League MVP honors.
Induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987.
The ex-Rochester Royals guard was one of the best players of the 1950s.
But if you were on his St. John Fisher College teams from 1962-86, you'd never know it by listening to him.
"He never really talked about that," says Mark Johnson, a Greece Arcadia graduate who played point guard for Wanzer's Cardinals in the mid-1980s. "We'd have a year-end party at his house, and I'd see pictures of him posing with (fellow Hall of Famers) George Mikan and Bob Cousy.
"As an 18-year-old, I looked at that with my jaw hitting the ground. But unless you asked him about his career, he didn't bring it up."
Wanzer will have a harder time hiding his latest honor.
Before today's 4 p.m. game against Elmira, Fisher will name its court at Varsity Gymnasium "Bobby Wanzer Court" after the first coach in program history. The name is in thick, black block letters on both sides of the floor near midcourt.
It is the first time an area college has named a court after a person, and Fisher is expecting more than 40 former Wanzer players. A representative from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is scheduled to attend, along with fellow Naismith Hall of Famers Dolph Schayes and Arnie Risen.
"I feel very honored," Wanzer says. "The great thing is that some of my former ballplayers will be coming back. It feels great that I had a relationship with them."
One of those players is Paul Hewitt, a 1985 graduate who is forging a standout coaching career at Georgia Tech. Hewitt says much of his offensive strategy was learned under Wanzer in the early 1980s, when Fisher was a Division II team.
"When I played in high school, it was more about taking the ball to the hoop," Hewitt says. "Coach Wanzer taught us spacing on offense, and opening up the offense. Now, I teach guys to share the ball and the shots."
Hewitt says playing under the low-key Wanzer was "a stress-free environment."
"He was competitive and wanted to win," says Hewitt, who took Georgia Tech to the 2004 national championship game. "But once the game was over, he didn't hold grudges.
"I've adopted that from him. I'm tough and demanding on the court, but not after the game."
Wanzer, 84, lives in Pittsford in the summer and West Palm Beach, Fla., in the winter. His wife of 57 years, Nina, died last April and he spends a lot of time visiting his son in Dallas and his two daughters in the Rochester area. He still golfs two days a week and is a member of Oak Hill Country Club in Pittsford.
A New York City native, the 6-foot, 172-pound Wanzer attended Seton Hall but had his college career interrupted by a three-year tour of duty in the Marines during World War II. He returned to Seton Hall after the war, and his No. 8 jersey eventually was retired.
Wanzer began a 10-year pro career with the Royals in 1947. A five-time All-Star, he helped the Royals win the NBA championships in 1951, led the NBA in free-throw shooting in '52 (shooting an astounding 90.4 percent) and earned Most Valuable Player honors in '53.
"He was a great teammate and a great guy," says Risen, a former Royals center who is making the trip here from Cleveland. "Our guards played a generals' role. Guys like Bobby and Bobby Davies and Red Holzman were the backbone of our team. Bobby wasn't one to blow his own horn, but he was a great ballplayer. Not just in Rochester, but anywhere."
Wanzer served as Rochester's player-coach from 1955-57 and was an All-Star coach in '57. He remained the coach when the team moved to Cincinnati until he was replaced by Tom Marshall in the 1958-59 season, after the Royals started 3-15.
As a player, Wanzer was known for tenacious defense and innovative shooting.
"He came to have a unique style of holding the ball with his fingertips at a time when most players were palming the ball," says Schayes, who lives in Syracuse. "Bobby had an incredibly perfect style, with a great follow- through, and I adopted it."
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Schayes did Wanzer proud. The 6-foot-8 Syracuse Nationals star retired in 1964 as the NBA's all-time leading scorer (19,249 points).
Wanzer spent three years after leaving the NBA selling stocks and bonds locally. In 1962, Fisher fielded its first varsity program — men's basketball — and the prospective players asked Wanzer to be their coach.
"We would go to the CYO (for practice) at night, and being a good Catholic school my pay was zero," Wanzer says, laughing. "I think we only played about four games in each of the first two seasons."
Wanzer also served as Fisher's golf coach and athletic director, helping build men's and women's programs. He was 311-239 in basketball over 24 years, with 15 winning seasons.
Like many great players, Wanzer expected the same work ethic from his Cardinals.
"He wasn't a guy who had too many words for you," says Johnson, vice president for an embroidery franchise in West Palm Beach. "He expected you to go out and play hard. If you didn't, he wouldn't yell, he just wouldn't play you."
"The Wanz" spoke little about his outstanding career.
"He invited me and my parents to spend a day with him at (St. John) Fisher when he was recruiting me," Rick Salomone says, "and he talked all about Fisher and his commitment to making sure his players graduated. He didn't say a word about his pro career."
It was intentional.
"It was over," he explains. "The career was over."
Though Wanzer was modest, he wasn't above showing his players some of his skills.
"He'd shoot free throws left-handed and still beat us," Hewitt says. "He'd make 17-foot hook shots and beat us in H-O-R-S-E."
Wanzer was a modest man who wasn't above playing full-court pickup games with students at lunchtime.
"He was in his early 50s at the time," recalls Rick Salomone, who played for Wanzer from 1973-77. "He had his rubber suit on, which he wore constantly."
"It wasn't uncommon to see him mopping the floor before an intramural basketball game or setting up fields for intramural football or softball."
Wanzer won't be mopping the floor at Varsity Gymnasium, but starting today his name will be all over the hardwood.
JMAND@DemocratandChronicle.com
St. John Fisher dedicating its court in honor of Wanzer
The ex-Rochester Royal was the college's first men's coach
Jim Mandelaro
Staff writer
(February 11, 2006) — Bobby Wanzer enjoyed the kind of basketball career most pro players only dream about.
An NBA championship.
League MVP honors.
Induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987.
The ex-Rochester Royals guard was one of the best players of the 1950s.
But if you were on his St. John Fisher College teams from 1962-86, you'd never know it by listening to him.
"He never really talked about that," says Mark Johnson, a Greece Arcadia graduate who played point guard for Wanzer's Cardinals in the mid-1980s. "We'd have a year-end party at his house, and I'd see pictures of him posing with (fellow Hall of Famers) George Mikan and Bob Cousy.
"As an 18-year-old, I looked at that with my jaw hitting the ground. But unless you asked him about his career, he didn't bring it up."
Wanzer will have a harder time hiding his latest honor.
Before today's 4 p.m. game against Elmira, Fisher will name its court at Varsity Gymnasium "Bobby Wanzer Court" after the first coach in program history. The name is in thick, black block letters on both sides of the floor near midcourt.
It is the first time an area college has named a court after a person, and Fisher is expecting more than 40 former Wanzer players. A representative from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is scheduled to attend, along with fellow Naismith Hall of Famers Dolph Schayes and Arnie Risen.
"I feel very honored," Wanzer says. "The great thing is that some of my former ballplayers will be coming back. It feels great that I had a relationship with them."
One of those players is Paul Hewitt, a 1985 graduate who is forging a standout coaching career at Georgia Tech. Hewitt says much of his offensive strategy was learned under Wanzer in the early 1980s, when Fisher was a Division II team.
"When I played in high school, it was more about taking the ball to the hoop," Hewitt says. "Coach Wanzer taught us spacing on offense, and opening up the offense. Now, I teach guys to share the ball and the shots."
Hewitt says playing under the low-key Wanzer was "a stress-free environment."
"He was competitive and wanted to win," says Hewitt, who took Georgia Tech to the 2004 national championship game. "But once the game was over, he didn't hold grudges.
"I've adopted that from him. I'm tough and demanding on the court, but not after the game."
Wanzer, 84, lives in Pittsford in the summer and West Palm Beach, Fla., in the winter. His wife of 57 years, Nina, died last April and he spends a lot of time visiting his son in Dallas and his two daughters in the Rochester area. He still golfs two days a week and is a member of Oak Hill Country Club in Pittsford.
A New York City native, the 6-foot, 172-pound Wanzer attended Seton Hall but had his college career interrupted by a three-year tour of duty in the Marines during World War II. He returned to Seton Hall after the war, and his No. 8 jersey eventually was retired.
Wanzer began a 10-year pro career with the Royals in 1947. A five-time All-Star, he helped the Royals win the NBA championships in 1951, led the NBA in free-throw shooting in '52 (shooting an astounding 90.4 percent) and earned Most Valuable Player honors in '53.
"He was a great teammate and a great guy," says Risen, a former Royals center who is making the trip here from Cleveland. "Our guards played a generals' role. Guys like Bobby and Bobby Davies and Red Holzman were the backbone of our team. Bobby wasn't one to blow his own horn, but he was a great ballplayer. Not just in Rochester, but anywhere."
Wanzer served as Rochester's player-coach from 1955-57 and was an All-Star coach in '57. He remained the coach when the team moved to Cincinnati until he was replaced by Tom Marshall in the 1958-59 season, after the Royals started 3-15.
As a player, Wanzer was known for tenacious defense and innovative shooting.
"He came to have a unique style of holding the ball with his fingertips at a time when most players were palming the ball," says Schayes, who lives in Syracuse. "Bobby had an incredibly perfect style, with a great follow- through, and I adopted it."
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Schayes did Wanzer proud. The 6-foot-8 Syracuse Nationals star retired in 1964 as the NBA's all-time leading scorer (19,249 points).
Wanzer spent three years after leaving the NBA selling stocks and bonds locally. In 1962, Fisher fielded its first varsity program — men's basketball — and the prospective players asked Wanzer to be their coach.
"We would go to the CYO (for practice) at night, and being a good Catholic school my pay was zero," Wanzer says, laughing. "I think we only played about four games in each of the first two seasons."
Wanzer also served as Fisher's golf coach and athletic director, helping build men's and women's programs. He was 311-239 in basketball over 24 years, with 15 winning seasons.
Like many great players, Wanzer expected the same work ethic from his Cardinals.
"He wasn't a guy who had too many words for you," says Johnson, vice president for an embroidery franchise in West Palm Beach. "He expected you to go out and play hard. If you didn't, he wouldn't yell, he just wouldn't play you."
"The Wanz" spoke little about his outstanding career.
"He invited me and my parents to spend a day with him at (St. John) Fisher when he was recruiting me," Rick Salomone says, "and he talked all about Fisher and his commitment to making sure his players graduated. He didn't say a word about his pro career."
It was intentional.
"It was over," he explains. "The career was over."
Though Wanzer was modest, he wasn't above showing his players some of his skills.
"He'd shoot free throws left-handed and still beat us," Hewitt says. "He'd make 17-foot hook shots and beat us in H-O-R-S-E."
Wanzer was a modest man who wasn't above playing full-court pickup games with students at lunchtime.
"He was in his early 50s at the time," recalls Rick Salomone, who played for Wanzer from 1973-77. "He had his rubber suit on, which he wore constantly."
"It wasn't uncommon to see him mopping the floor before an intramural basketball game or setting up fields for intramural football or softball."
Wanzer won't be mopping the floor at Varsity Gymnasium, but starting today his name will be all over the hardwood.
JMAND@DemocratandChronicle.com
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