Max "Slats" Zaslofsky (December 7, 1925 – October 15, 1985) was an American professional basketball player and coach.
Zaslofsky attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn, and St. John's University. He was Jewish.
While playing for the Chicago Stags, Zaslofsky was named All-NBA First Team 1946–47 at the age of 21. He held the distinction of being the youngest player named such for near 60 years until he was surpassed by LeBron James (2005–06). The next season, 1947-48, he led the league in scoring. At 22 years, 121 days old, he was the youngest player to lead the league in scoring until 2010, when Kevin Durant broke his mark. In 1949–50 he led the league in free throw percentage.
After the Stags broke up, Zaslofsky joined the New York Knicks. In 1956 he ended his career as 3rd leading scorer all-time (up to that point), behind George Mikan and Joe Fulks. In addition to his 1946–47 All-NBA First Team honors, Zaslofsky was named to the All-NBA First Team in 1947–48, 1948–49, and 1949–50. He also played in the 1952 NBA All-Star Game.
Richard Joseph "Dick" McGuire (January 26, 1926 – February 3, 2010) was an American professional basketball player and coach.
One of the premier guards of the 1950s, McGuire spent eleven seasons in the NBA (1949–60), eight with the New York Knicks and three with the Detroit Pistons. McGuire led the league in assists during his rookie season with a then-record 386 assists, and was among the league's top ten playmakers for ten of his eleven seasons. He was an NBA All-Star seven times (1951,'52, '54-'56, '58, '59), and was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 1951.
McGuire became player-coach for the Pistons in his last season (1959-60), and coached them until 1963. He also coached the Knicks for three seasons, beginning in 1965. He compiled a 197-260 coaching record. McGuire was working as a senior consultant for the Knicks when he died on February 3, 2010 of a ruptured aortic aneurysm at age 84.
McGuire's brother Al was also a prominent figure in basketball who coached Marquette University to the 1977 NCAA basketball championship. They are the only pair of brothers inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. His nephew, Allie, also played in the NBA.
Daniel Ricardo "Danny" Manning (born May 17, 1966 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi) is an American college basketball coach and retired player in the National Basketball Association. He is the current men's head coach at the University of Tulsa. After retiring from professional basketball Manning became an assistant coach at his alma mater, the University of Kansas. He won the National Championship with the Jayhawks in 1988 as a player, and again on the coaching staff in 2008.
Considered one of the greatest players in University of Kansas history, he led the 1988 Kansas Jayhawks to the National Championship against the Oklahoma Sooners. Manning left KU as its men's basketball program's all-time leading scorer and rebounder after leading the Jayhawks to the 1986 Final Four and the 1988 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship. The 6-foot-10 forward was the all-time leading scorer in the Big Eight Conference with 2,951 career points. He won the Wooden, Naismith, and Eastman Awards as the college player of the year in 1988. In Kansas's 83-79 victory over the University of Oklahoma in the 1988 NCAA Final, Manning recorded 31 points, 18 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 blocked shots. For his seemingly single-handed performance in propelling the underdog Jayhawks to the title, as well as the Jayhawks' less-than-impressive record going into the NCAA tournament (21-11, most losses of any NCAA champion), the 1988 Kansas team was nicknamed "Danny and the Miracles" and Manning was honored as Most Outstanding Player in the tournament. A two-time All-American while at KU, Manning was later named the Big Eight Player of the Decade.
Samuel (Sam) Lacey (born March 28, 1948 in Indianola, Mississippi) is a retired American basketball player.
A 6'10" center from New Mexico State University, Lacey played 13 seasons (1970–1983) in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Cincinnati Royals, Kansas City Kings, New Jersey Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers. Lacey averaged over 10 rebounds per game in his first six seasons, and was the third leading rebounder in the 1974–75 season. He also appeared in the 1975 NBA All-Star Game.
Lacey is one of five players (along with Hakeem Olajuwon, Julius Erving, David Robinson and Ben Wallace) to have registered 100 blocks and 100 steals in six consecutive seasons, and he has had his #44 jersey retired by the Sacramento Kings franchise. He is also one of three NBA players (along with Wes Unseld and Reggie Evans) to total a least 30 rebounds and fewer than 10 points in the first two games of the season.
Donald Neil Johnston (February 4, 1929 – September 28, 1978) was an American Hall of Fame basketball player at the center position who played 8 years in the NBA from 1951 to 1959.
He led the NBA in scoring for three consecutive seasons: 1952-53, 1953–54, and 1954-55. During the 1954-55 season, he also won the league's rebounding title. Johnston played his entire career with the Philadelphia Warriors, playing on their championship team in 1956. He played in six NBA All-Star Games, was an All-NBA First Team selection four times, and was an All-NBA Second Team selection once.
During his career, the 6 foot 8 inch Johnston was well known for his right-handed hook shot, which contributed to his leading the league in field goal shooting three times. Johnston was forced to retire after a serious knee injury in the 1958-59 season.
After his playing career, he coached the Warriors to a 95-59 winning record for the first two seasons of Wilt Chamberlain's NBA career.
Johnston also coached the Pittsburgh Rens, with Connie Hawkins, of the American Basketball League.