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HoosierSadaseci

Troy Williams returning to IU!!!!!!

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Downing and McGinnis were teammates at George Washington and then for one season at IU ( 1970-71 ) before Knight arrived.

 

I wish younger IU fans could have seen McGinnis in action. He was only here for a short time but he was amazing. Watching him play is something I will never forget.

 

( This is off-topic, I know, but people are discussing other IU players who left early. )

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According to this link, it sounds like it was Edwards' choice. However, he did experience academic issues and failed a drug test/did rehab. Not sure it matters, in the end.

 

The article also cites Isiah Thomas as the only other player to leave IU early under Knight (up to that time). I know that George McGinnis also left early for the ABA, so who knows how accurate anything in the article is.

 

http://articles.latimes.com/1989-03-29/sports/sp-759_1_jay-edwards

McGinnis never played for Knight. I was working at the Herald-Telephone (now the Herald-Times) in Bloomington as a sports writer and I covered the press conference where the Pacers signed McGinnis. Freshmen were ineligible to play on the varsity at that time, and Lou Watson left after that year. The Pacers of the renegade ABA offered McGinnis a million (hometown kid from Indianapolis Washington High School) and he took it. Rumors were flying about a pro merger, and the bidding wars wouldn't last if that happened. His high-school teammate, Steve Downing, played 3 years for Knight and was a really good player.

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McGinnis never played for Knight. I was working at the Herald-Telephone (now the Herald-Times) in Bloomington as a sports writer and I covered the press conference where the Pacers signed McGinnis. Freshmen were ineligible to play on the varsity at that time, and Lou Watson left after that year. The Pacers of the renegade ABA offered McGinnis a million (hometown kid from Indianapolis Washington High School) and he took it. Rumors were flying about a pro merger, and the bidding wars wouldn't last if that happened. His high-school teammate, Steve Downing, played 3 years for Knight and was a really good player.

 

Yeah, we've already sorted that out.

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McGinnis was a very talented player, but I don't think he could have ever worked into the disciplinarian defense-oriented strategies of Knight. I remember George in one freshman game getting the ball in the backcourt while we were being pressed and ordering the rest of the team (via a vehement arm gesture) to get out of the way so he could bring the ball up. Yes, he succeeded, but that kind of attitude would never have played on Knight's watch. It was best for all concerned that George took his money and ran. My boss at the time, Bob Hammel (co-author with Knight of the book "Knight") disagreed vehemently with me and argued that McGinnis would have prospered under Knight. I never bought into that idea...I think they were both too headstrong to ever find the common ground that would satisfy both of them.

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Downing and McGinnis were teammates at George Washington and then for one season at IU ( 1970-71 ) before Knight arrived.
 
I wish younger IU fans could have seen McGinnis in action. He was only here for a short time but he was amazing. Watching him play is something I will never forget.
 
( This is off-topic, I know, but people are discussing other IU players who left early. )

Agree. He was the best HS player I ever saw in person. That is why I went for The Baby Bull.

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George McGinnis, in a perfect world, would have given Bob Knight his first National Championship in 1973 - his first final four appearance.  In the real world, one would have killed the other had McGinnis not left under a hardship clause set by the NCAA at that time - as his father, the prior summer, had fallen from scaffolding and died.  I commonly went to Lou Watson's practices.  In one particular scrimmage I recall McGinnis at 6'7" going up for a short, one handed, jump shot.  Steve Downing, prior to his knee injuries, was getting ready to bounce the ball off George's forehead, when George changed his approach and, as opposed to passing the ball off, flipped the ball from behind his back and it careened off the backboard.  I quickly looked at Watson's face - and he was chuckling.  (Regarding Steve Downing, I recall the game when he scored 47 points and pulled down 25 rebounds - against Kentucky)

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George McGinnis, in a perfect world, would have given Bob Knight his first National Championship in 1973 - his first final four appearance. In the real world, one would have killed the other had McGinnis not left under a hardship clause set by the NCAA at that time - as his father, the prior summer, had fallen from scaffolding and died. I commonly went to Lou Watson's practices. In one particular scrimmage I recall McGinnis at 6'7" going up for a short, one handed, jump shot. Steve Downing, prior to his knee injuries, was getting ready to bounce the ball off George's forehead, when George changed his approach and, as opposed to passing the ball off, flipped the ball from behind his back and it careened off the backboard. I quickly looked at Watson's face - and he was chuckling. (Regarding Steve Downing, I recall the game when he scored 47 points and pulled down 25 rebounds - against Kentucky)



*Slow Clap*

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