Oscar Robertson
Oscar Robertson
Oscar Palmer Robertson, nicknamed "The Big O", is an American retired National Basketball Association player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks. The 6 ft 5 in, 220 lb Robertson played at point guard and was a 12-time All-Star, 11-time member of the All-NBA Team, and one-time winner of the MVP award in 14 professional seasons. He is the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season. He was a key player on the team which brought...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth24 November 1938
CountryUnited States of America
Some players are more physical than others, some play with more finesse. Some are just really great all-around players. So you have to change your game.
Look, I think you should promote the game, but I think you should make it what it ought to be. Not some kind of a side-show.
You look at today, it's a different situation. You have a game that has been transformed into a game where almost every shot is either an outside shot - a three-point shot - or a dunk.
You need a teaching coach who understands the game of basketball, not just some guy coming on the court talking about Xs and Os.
The Olympics were great, because you had to make the team, and then go to the games. Now, I don't know, these guys today don't want to do anything like that.
I don't know hardly any of the players who have the in-between game like me, who can go to any position on the court.
You don't cut anywhere, don't pick down anywhere, don't double screen, no weak side picking. All these things that should happen in a game of basketball don't happen anymore.
Basketball wasn't what it is today, ... Being brought up in the ghetto, my parents were told, long before I came along, that education was the way out.
Pete Newell was the Olympic coach and was a fine person. It was a great honor to play on that team, ... Jack McMahon of the Royals was another coach I enjoyed playing for in the NBA and I got the opportunity to play with and against so many great players.
So many kids think that, ... But when you look at the history of players coming out (of college) early, only a handful really make it.
Of course I think with my 14 years in the NBA I never made a million dollars,
There have been a couple of coaches there, through the years, that I didn't always agree with what was going on, ... Today, a lot of these guys at the university have my cell phone number.
I've got a system in place where the university gets a lot of money from me, especially when I die, ... I will still help the basketball program, too.
It's just good to be out here, ... I'm just glad to supply these guys.