The son of a shoemaker, he grew up in the Detroit suburb of Hamtramck, a working-class neighborhood. He can remember his father taking out a little black ledger and recording 25 cents for a boot heel. The boy wondered how the family would make it. A bigger concern for the boy was baseball.
He was a good player, but not good enough to please an uncle, who supplied equipment for the Little League team. A second-string player on the junior-high team, he was cut from the freshman team and had to challenge the coach to a game of one-on-one.
The coach, an ex-football player, thought it was a fumble each time the ball hit the floor, and pounded the boy mercilessly, but wound up taking him on the team. That year he sprouted from to A measure of his progress was seen on the playgrounds, where he graduated from side basket to center court. He could shoot the ball, and in the afternoon the guys coming home from the factory in their heavy boots would stop to watch. In fact, he was the second player taken, right after Maravich.
The then-San Diego Rockets selected Tomjanovich, but the local papers were not impressed. The Rockets moved to Houston a year later, and Tomjanovich became a starter. After learning there was more to Texas than tumbleweed, he grew to appreciate the place--and Murphy. I used to be thin-skinned and get upset when people referred to us as salt-and-pepper.
But we never pacified each other. We cared enough to be honest. I could count on him for the square lowdown. Tomjanovich, who became an all-star forward and the second-leading scorer in Rocket history, would stay up all night talking basketball with Murphy. In fact, he would argue with me about my temper. He tried to talk me into being more peaceful. I was standing about 10 feet to the right of Kermit, and I saw it all developing. I saw Kermit turn and plant himself.
Tomjanovich was attempting to intervene on behalf of Kunnert, who was fighting with Washington. I still had things to prove. And, to be honest, I was so happy to be alive. I still had my family, you know. I still had all the things people talk about having after a tragedy. What he also had, somehow, was a sense of compassion. That amazes Murphy, who delivered Christmas presents to the Tomjanovich household while Rudy was recuperating from surgery.
I could never be so forgiving. Maybe he appreciates life more. He used to spend time listening to music. Tomjanovich is lyrical when he talks about what shooting a basketball can do for him.
When I get a string going, I can get lost in that feeling. I know the shot is going in. Kermit Washington was traded to the Boston Celtics Dec. He said goodby to his wife and a 9-day-old son, then boarded a plane for Boston. He arrived during a blizzard. Then it really got cold. I knew every eye was going to be on me. I felt they all wanted me to play poorly. Washington was staying on the 20th floor of a hotel in downtown Boston.
Each morning when he got up, he would run up and down the 20 flights of stairs five times. He did it again before going to bed at night. I would almost faint on the steps. Sometimes I fell.
This is your life. This is what you want. His life has been full of tragedies, he said, and he skimmed over some of them. His mother suffered a nervous breakdown when he was 3. For the next five years he lived with a great grandmother, who was In the fourth grade, he went to live with his father and stepmother, who was insensitive to him.
He grew indifferent to life. Later, there were deaths that wounded him. A brother committed suicide. Both his mother and grandmother died. I know that people identify me with the fight, but it means nothing to me now. Psychologically, I always need a challenge. My dream is to find a kid who wants to be the greatest ever, and who will work with me. That would give me joy. Stanford Coach Tom Davis, who helped recruit Washington for American University 16 years ago, refers to his protege as inspiring.
There is this chasm between the public image of the man, and the person he has become. I remembered how he made himself into a player at American. Davis questioned whether Washington understood what being a college assistant was all about: recruiting, letters, calls, office work. So far, Washington has been superior, Davis said. Washington likes to think of himself as a training assistant.
He loves to lift weights with the Stanford players. For a year after he retired, he worked out at a gym in Los Angeles. He is now , , 40 pounds of muscle over his playing weight, with arms Mark Gastineau or Howie Long would envy.
He never knew himself as a kid and never experienced much joy until he went to college and became a star basketball player. But when he was drafted by the Lakers in , it was back into the old rut. After two unhappy years, facing the expiration of his contract, he sought out Newell to help become a power forward. He had never had to pass, or put the ball on the floor or run the court. But he realized he had limitations, and he knew he had to change if he was going to stay in the league. Washington spent several summers working out under the tutelage of Newell.
After practices, he rode his bike through the hills of Palos Verdes, where both men lived, and would stop to chat with construction workers. He kept Newell informed about the price of new homes. He spared himself very little when he was working with me. His current mentor, Davis, said Washington has the stuff athletic directors are looking for: motivation, knowledge, the ability to mix with people.
The thing he must add, Davis said, is a philosophy, a style of play. He felt excluded from life as a kid, but he developed an ability to read people that he still carries with him. I can tell what they really want. And with his imposing physique and his polished way of expressing himself, he does have an inspiring presence. All I can do is try to supplement what is already there.
After a few more minutes he was able to walk off the court. While being led back to the locker room, Rudy ran into Washington, who had been ejected from the game and was being held in the hallway by security guard s. Both of the men began yelling at each other and Tomjanovich began to walk toward Washington, but the security guards stopped him. This was a good thing, as if he had been hit again he would have certainly died.
Tomjanovich was taken to an ambulance and brought to the hospital, there the X-rays revealed that the posterior portion of his face was way out of alignment. Cerebrospinal fluid was leaking out of a skull fracture and into his mouth.
Rudy Tomjanovich was able to go home after staying in the hospital for two weeks and he needed five separate surgeries to repair and reconstruct his face. Washington ended up being traded to several different teams over the rest of his career, until finally retiring in Tomjanovich was able to return to the Rockets the next year, but he was never the same. A series of debilitating injuries finally ended his playing career in , but he went on to become the head coach of the Rockets and won two championships in and Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.
The Punch: Kermit Washington vs. Rudy Tomjanovich. Sign in Login Password remember me Lost password Sign up. New Writeups A family is only as sick as its secrets. Mon Oct 21 at
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