Chris Mullin's game demanded respect

by Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle / Friday, August 12, 2011

Interesting read on one of basketball's all-time greats:

-- Chris Mullin was a world-class shooter by the fourth grade. He entered a national free throw-shooting contest that year, nailed 23 out of 25, and walked off with the trophy. His was a natural-born gift, and he let not a single moment go to waste. Chris Mullin lived to shoot.

"It wasn't like I went out into my backyard, threw the ball out and dove on it," he said with a smile last week. "I wasn't out there practicing how to take a charge. I went out and shot. And shot and shot and shot, just by myself."

There comes a moment of truth, however, for every talented kid in New York City. It's not enough to be a neighborhood icon, as Mullin was in Brooklyn, or even a fabled high-school player. You have to get yourself uptown, straight into Harlem, where the real games take place. It was just as true back then, in the 1970s, as it is today.

MUCH MORE: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/12/SPMC1KLBAN.DTL

I met him once. Nice guy -- all class.

He was perfect for Lou.

he was the ultimate gym-rat player. Truly great.

St. John's University athletes mentioned in three different articles on the first page of the Sports forum right now.

Chris Mullin
Ron Artest
Keegan Bradley

Just saying. Not that it means anything.