Matt Moore and Rob Mahoney had asked me to do an audio piece about the financial side of the NBA for a money-themed edition of “Voice on the Floor.” That particular edition never made it out for public consumption, so the audio has been sitting on my computer (actually, two different ones) for about 7 months, collecting dust.

This morning, I started playing around with it, and added a video aspect to it. It’s here for your viewing pleasure.

As I said, this was written back in January. There are things we know now, that we didn’t know then, but while some specific might change if I were to write it today, the sentiment would not.

Note: Most of the ABA footage taken from a YouTube series called History of the ABA (with 6 parts). It is apparently from an HBO Series called “Long Shots: The Life and Times of the American Basketball Association”

Once upon a time…

No ABA team drew more fans, won more games, won more titles or had more stability than the Indiana Pacers. They won ABA titles in 1970, 1972, and 1973. They lost in the 1969 and 1975 finals, so they played for the title in five of the ABA’s nine years.

That’s from Terry Pluto’s definitive work on the ABA – Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association. It’s in the opening to the chapter dedicated to the Indiana Pacers, describing them as the “Boston Celtics of the ABA.”

The Pacers were, without question, the class of the ABA. Yet, until yesterday, the only member of any of those Pacer teams that had been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame was Gus Johnson. Gus was a great player, a favorite of my brother and brother-in-law, who regaled me with stories – legends, if you will – of Johnson’s heroics.  However, Gus’ glory was earned as a Baltimore Bullet, and his stint on the 1972-73 was as a 15-minute per game player at the very end of his career.

But with yesterday’s announcement that Mel Daniels was a Direct-Elect induction into the Hall of Fame, that is no longer true.

Mel Daniels’ number 34 is hanging high above the floor in the rafters of Bankers Life Fieldhouse as one of the franchise’s four retired numbers, and he holds the Pacer records for highest career PER (20.1), Defensive Rebounds (5,461), and Total Rebounds (7,643). With leads of more than 1,600 in those final two categories, it seems likely that Mel will hold those forever. He also starred on all three ABA title teams, played in seven ABA All Star games, named to five All ABA teams (including four first team nods), was named ABA Rookie of the Year, and was a two-time ABA Most Valuable Player.

But he was so much more than that. My words are insufficient, so I will use those of his teammate, Billy Keller, also from Loose Balls:

Mel Daniels was emotional, dramatic, hardworking,  and intense. As a coach, you can look at certain players and instantly know, “There’s a guy who can help a team win.”

Mel was that kind of guy.

He played a man’s game inside. He set picks, he got the rebounds, he blocked the shots, and he was in the middle of every fight. He scared people out of driving the lane against the Pacers. If he went for the ball and ended up with someone’s head in his hands, he was just as likely to put a headlock on the guy as let him go.

Players like Dale Davis and Charles Oakley are direct descendants of Mel Daniels. Every time you see a big man play with force, or step to the aid of his teammates, he is playing like Mel Daniels and those of his time and ilk. Mel played at an extremely high level for as long as his body allowed him. He is a player that coaches knew could help them win, and who players wanted on their side.

His inclusion in the Hall of Fame is well earned, and it is a cause for joy. I am thrilled for Mel, and I offer him my heartfelt congratulations.

But, it remains bittersweet.

I would much rather this post be an unfettered celebration of what is a true honor for one of Indiana’s own, but it is almost impossible to ignore the years of waiting. We are just a few weeks short of the 36th anniversary of the Indiana Pacers’ final ABA game, and a few more weeks short of the 39th anniversary of the Pacers winning their final ABA title. There are only 17 current players who were alive for the former, and just four alive for the latter. It has been 35 years since Daniels’ retirement, and Mel has been eligible for 30 years.

Too long.

It is almost impossible to ignore the fact that he is (at present) the lone representative of the core of those great Pacer teams in the Hall. That George McGinnis – as dominant and productive a player in the ’70s as virtually anyone in either league – still waits. That Roger Brown – Rajah, an ABA Finals MVP – has been dead for 15 years, but isn’t even considered. That Bobby “Slick” Leonard coached 529 winning games in the ABA & NBA along with three ABA titles is on the outside looking in. That Mel is alone as someone whose career and accomplishments exist primarily in the ABA. That players like Louie Dampier, Mack Calvin, and Freddie Lewis aren’t there to greet him.

Too few.

It is almost impossible to ignore the way he finally was inducted – as a Direct-Elect from the ABA Committee. I recognize and appreciate that this is an attempt to rectify the problem. I also recognize that such a committee probably means that the belated honor will be coming for many, if not all of those mentioned above. However, this still has the feel of being invited in through the servants’ entrance. These men deserve better.

Too much.

Well, what should have been a congratulatory post has become a complaint. No one is to blame for that but me. It seems to me that Hall of Fame voters, hidden behind a veil of anonymity, focus too much on keeping contributors out and not enough in making sure that no one who is deserving is left out.

There is no formula set in concrete that marks a “Hall of Famer.” It is, after all a Hall of Fame, and fame is a subjective thing. My thought is that those who have made basketball special are those that belong. Mel Daniels – and his Pacer and ABA brethren – made basketball special for a lot of people.

They made it special for me, and I will be eternally grateful.

In any case…congratulations, Mel. I hope you aren’t alone for long.

I was looking for Mel Daniels highlights, but as you can imagine, there is not a wealth of those – or ABA highlights – available. So…I put this together with clips from the ABA Pacers I could find. Seems somehow more fitting. I think Mel would like the fact that he would be sharing this with his teammates. (Click Here for No Music version)

If you haven’t heard now, the Pacers’ mascot Boomer recently took his talents to Hancock County High School to display his talents for the school’s pep rally. However, things went wrong when Boomer dunked off a trampoline during the halftime show and broke the backboard.

Luckily, no one was injured and the Pacers have announced that they will pay to replace the shattered goal.

In other news, to celebrate the ABA’s 45th anniversary, Indiana will be rocking some retro uniforms for the NBA Hardwood Classics month. They will be wearing it for the following games, via Pacers.com:

Indiana will be wearing the blue road uniforms they had when they were in the ABA from 1971-1974.

I like it. What do you guys think?

It’s hard to pluck just a few lines from such a great piece (just one of a great series of Lowdowns), but this is a nice microcosm of a guy’s career who deserves to be remembered far more than he is. Harris excerpted this passage on Buse from a Sports Illustrated piece in 1977

In Boston, the public-address announcer had to ask Don Buse how to pronounce his name. In Milwaukee, a sportswriter burned out his typewriter criticizing the Bucks’ guards for being victimized by a “nonentity” named Don Buse (Boo-See). In Atlanta, Lou Hudson, a 10-year veteran, said he had “never heard of him” before playing against Buse for the first time. New Orleans’ Pete Maravich had “heard of him but never seen him.” Presumably that held true the night Buse swiped the ball from Maravich four times.

Then he further explains the road Buse took from obscurity to mild fanfare.

Over the next three seasons, Buse would team with Paul Westphal, Walter Davis, Truck Robinson and Alvan Adams for a high octane Suns team that won 49, 50 and 55 games. His assists totals took a hit as everyone but Robinson was a superb passer and averaged over 4 a game, but his skills remained undiminished as he fit like a glove into their defense-leads-to-offense scheme.

I must admit that I appreciate Boo-Boo more retroactively than I did when I was watching him – but I’ve got an excuse. Don’s first stint with the Pacers spanned from my 6th year on the planet to my 11th. I was just a touch more fascinated with Dave Starsky’s red-and-white Gran Torino than professional basketball at that point in my life.

Another thing that prevented me from “getting” Buse was that, at my tender age, he wasn’t much more to me than “not Billy Keller” at that point. Billy, you see, was my first favorite Pacer.

But, it’s never to late to give a really good player his due, and it’s always the right time to give yourself the gift of reading the work of a guy like Curtis. Enjoy.

How this summer plays out — including who becomes coach, which free agents are signed, who the team drafts and, most importantly, what happens with the Collective Bargaining Agreement — will have a big effect on the long-term future, but things certainly look to be headed up.

So it’s time for every Pacer fan to re-engage with the team.

Here are five things you might want to consider tracking down to show your support.

#5. This Amazing Basketball Card

It’s been far too long since I have checked in with our good friend Fat Shawn Kemp. He routinely posts fantastic sports cards, posters and otherwise fantastic images from yesteryear. I was about to link to this Reggie/Detlef/Fleming/Dreiling doozy. But then I saw the one above. They just don’t make them like that. It’s a veritable “who’s who?” of “who’s that?” If you can find this card, buy it.

#4. Pacers Hard Hat

Popularized by sign man Matt Ason (seen here sans hard hat with Bill Walton), this one is just a 90s’ Pacers classic. It also will protect you if you happen to find yourself in any of the first five rows while Dahntay Jones is attempting three-points. Pick up your Pacers hard hat here.

#3. Larry Bird “The Pace Setter”

I have no idea what this is. But I found it on eBay recently and think it’s wonderful. Kind of reminds me of the George Costanza pose from Seinfeld, but I’m not sure why. Here’s what the the description says: “This is a limited edition Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics print called “The Pacesetter”. It is signed by the artist David Taylor. You also get the paperwork with this that tells how many were made and the original selling price which was very expensive.” Paperwork included? Go place your bid now.

#2. Bobbleheads

I recently got the Jeff Foster one and my life hasn’t been the same since. We eat breakfast together at my desk most mornings. His head bobbles and he has a creepy smile that shouldn’t be allowed within 500 yards of a school. Go here to pick up Jeff, Danny Granger, Tyler Hansbrough, Paul George, Darren Collison or Roy Hibbert (who looks more like a member of New Edition than the Pacers).

#1. ABA Pacers Pennant

Most people won’t remember — and I wasn’t alive — but the Pacers were once champions. The 1970s were a crazier time, and the recent resurgence to playoff status by no means means that they are anywhere approaching that again in the new future. But Indiana fans can dream. And while they dream, they can wave around a pennant that has a guy dunking a tennis ball on it. This, too, can be yours if you head over here. (Even if Google doesn’t believe you actually want one. “Did you mean: packers pennant?” Oh, Google.)

Here’s the Pacers list.

Reggie obviously dominates, but after that there are a lot of guys who stuck around for quite a while, including “Rogera Brown.” He was good, I hear.

In Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks, director Dan Klores recounts one of the NBA’s most underrated rivalries in a beautifully crafted tale that centers around three Pacers/Knicks playoff series from 1993 to 1995. I saw it yesterday and it certainly lives up to its heralded billing as one of the best films in ESPN’s ongoing 30 for 30 film series.

Pacer fans will see it as the story of their adopted son leading their team to national prominence by slaying the hated Knicks.  Knicks fans are likely to see it as somewhat less epic. (And those of us who are more enlightened — and much better looking — will, of course, view it as inspiration for the name of a great blog.)

The documentary will also be entertaining for all sports fans regardless of how familiar they are with the rivalry, as Klores brings plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in a work he calls “fun” and a “comedy.”  He provides a nice framework to allow the principle characters — the players, coaches and members of the media — to tell the story in their own words, so the uninitiated will quickly be brought up to speed with first-hand anecdotes of playoff heroics.  By the time the documentary reaches the moment for which this site is named, even those who dislike the NBA will be pretty engaged in the drama of the rivalry.

And for those of us who feel as though we lived through those battles as soldiers in the fight rather than just passive onlookers, it provides so much more. It is both a reminder of the days when “Pacer Pride” actually meant something and a look behind the curtain.  Even though the Pacers/Knicks battles of the 90s are almost part of my DNA (and I still have the scar from the headbutt Starks gave Reggie to prove it), Klores still was able to provide vignettes that were new to me.

For me, however, Winning Time was even more than that.  It was a reaffirmation of who I am as a Pacer fan.  The movie, and the anticipation of it, triggered strong memories.  These aren’t limited to Reggie’s heroics. I found my entire life as a Pacer fan flashing before my eyes.

These are just some of the random fragments:

• When the Pacers won their last championship in 1973, I was 7 years old.  I have  distant memories of going to the Fairgrounds Coliseum, but very little of the game play.  My favorite player was Billy Keller.  What I remember of the games is walking to and from the car with my dad and my godfather, his best friend Dick Perry.

• I’m the youngest of nine children, and 10-and-a-half years younger than the second youngest.  My only brother is 16 years older than me, and I spent most of my childhood being vaguely afraid of him.  At one point, he convinced me that he kept a pet coyote (“ky-do-te” to my young mind) and water buffalo downstairs next door, which somehow frightened the bejeezus out of me.  However, my most vivid memory of the ABA Pacers comes from listening to them playing the Dallas Chaparrals on a radio with Terry in his room one night.  I don’t even remember the score, but I remember the sounds and the light of the room and the dark outside.

• The only reason I ever got to see John Havlicek play in person is because my brother-in-law, Vince, thought it was something a 12-year-old should see.  The Pacers lost that night, but I distinctly recall the conversation Vince and I had getting out of the car.  A childlike discussion of the preceding summer’s telethon and strange, innocent feeling of pride surrounding the city banding together to save the team. Those of you outside Indiana — or just anyone under 30 — might not know, but the Pacers, once known as “the Boston Celtics of the ABA,” faced fiscal straights that would have forced the team to relocate had the community not literally ponied up their own hard-earned money to bail out the franchise and keep them in Indianapolis.

• Until late in Reggie’s career, my favorite NBA Pacer was Billy Knight.  That attachment was formed by listening to the Pacers on the radio every game during the 1980-81 season.  This was my freshman year of high school, and it’s when I formed my connection to basketball.  I spent that year listening to the Pacers on their way to their first NBA Playoff appearance, and the Indiana Hoosiers on their way to their fourth NCAA title.  I can still hear “Hockey” Bob Lamey’s calls of running-one-handers, and cheering for BK and Johnny Davis and James Edwards and Boo-Boo and the return of Big Mac.

• I remember a fleeting moment of glory in an otherwise disastrous 1985 season.  My brother’s best friend had a single season ticket (face value $4), and he couldn’t go to a January game vs. the Chicago Bulls.  The temperatures were frigid that night, but I was able to coax my ’72 Cutlass down to Market Square anyway.  I was joined by several hundred other fools, as we witnessed a rare Pacer victory.  The big moment came with the Pacers up one and the clock ticking down.  Michael Jordan isolated Jim Thomas, but Jimmy picked his pocket, securing the game.  I think I lived off that game for like two years.

• I was in Market Square Arena, with my brother Terry and my brother-in-law Vince as we cheered the selection of Wayman Tisdale, were stunned by the selection of Chuck Person, and did not boo the selection of Reggie Miller (though, in all honestly, we were hoping that Horace Grant would fall to the Pacers).  We also sat through all 7 rounds of that 1985 draft, with Terry and Vince begging the Pacers to take Tyrone Corbin from DePaul.  They did not.  The Pacers took Billy Martin and Dwayne McClain with their two second-round picks.  Tyrone Corbin went on to play over 1,000 games in the NBA.  Neither Martin nor McClain were quite that successful.

• Over the years, NBA Draft Night has risen to an equivalent stature in my house with the Super Bowl.  Though we missed last year, I have usually had my brother Terry and my friend Alex (who has written here at 8p9s) over to watch the draft.  The year we drafted David Harrison, I was in Kansas City on business.  I spent the entire evening on my cell phone “watching” the draft with Alex.

• I distinctly remember the look on Terry’s face on the night the Boomer was “born.”  If I recall correctly, the Pacers were playing in Milwaukee, when, with much drama, Eddie Doucette breathlessly told of breaking news back in Indy.  They cut to a grainy, Zapruder-quality video of some large stuffed animal breaking out of a box underneath MSA.  If you would like a re-enactment of my reaction, just look at John Starks’ face when he missed those free throws in Game One of the 1995 series.

• Prior to Game 4 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals, the crowd at Market Square had reached a fever pitch.  If you never had the pleasure, it is impossible to describe how loud that place could get.  However, the other thing about that building was that it was a dome and the floor was actually well above street level.  Market Street actually passed under it.  Therefore, the entire building actually felt unstable when the crowd went off.  As the teams huddled prior to tip, and the crowd rocked the building — both literally and figuratively — I spied second-year Knick Hubert Davis staring up at the crowd, slack-jawed, with an expression of awe that was teetering on the edge of outright fear.

These are just the old-school memories.  This doesn’t include the many other flashbacks that dot the years of my life as a Pacer fan like signposts.  These others cover the entire range of emotion from the elation of beating the Knicks or making the finals to the Larry Johnson four-point play and the gut-wrenching dread that slowly descended on me in the hours after the brawl.  I could go on for thousands of words without running dry.

As much as anything, the Pacers have been a part of my life.  While that may sound like a life of misplaced priority, I would invite you to look at those memories again.  Almost all of them mention family or friends.  Those that don’t were experienced in the company of family or friends.  At the end of the day, the Indiana Pacers have been a vehicle through which I’ve been able to enhance connections with my family and friends, and forge new ones with those who share my passion.

There’s no denying the dark cloud that has hovered over Pacerland for last few years.  Many fans have fallen away, regrettably with good reason.  The Blue and Gold haven’t faced this much futility on the court in over two decades.

So this documentary could not have come at a more opportune time to help remind me of the basis of my connection with the Pacers.  In fact, in the midst of an ugly basketball game earlier this season, the Pacers played a huge role in enhancing the most important relationship I will ever have.

If you’re a Pacer fan, do yourself a favor, and catch Winning Time.  Remind yourself of why you fell in love with the Pacers, and what it will feel like when they finally get back on track.  Watch it for the laughs and the new information contained as the insiders share their perspectives. And if for no other reason, watch it for the opportunity it will give you to relive moments and memories with those near and dear to you.

Feel good about being a Pacer fan again.

ESPN audiences will first see Winning Time on Sunday, March 14 at 9:00 pm.  However, those in the Indianapolis area can attend Special Premiere Movie Event at Conseco Fieldhouse at 8:00 pm on Friday, February 26.  Reggie Miller, among others, will attend and proceeds from the event will benefit The People’s Burn Foundation, Riley Children’s Hospital and the Pacers Foundation. Also, below you can check out a preview of what is obviously the favorite scene of someone who would create a blog called Eight Points, Nine Seconds.

Colangelo told the AP:

“This is another piece of the puzzle that is hopefully going to bring it all together,” Colangelo said at a news conference at the Air Canada Centre.

Raptors.com has all the press conference video links if you’re into listening to all the ho-hum banter that goes along with a new player acquisition, but there was actually one thing that jumped out at me from the AP story.

Jack is one of just 11 NBA players who appeared in all 82 games in each of the past two seasons — last season with Indiana, where he supplanted former Raptors player T.J. Ford for the starter’s job, and the previous season in Portland.

“To describe me in a nutshell is ‘being tough,’” Jack said. “There are things along the road, going through this NBA journey that you’re going to have to play through, and injury and not being 100 percent every night are part of it.

“It’s being there for your teammates and trying to be the best teammate possible.”

Jarrett really did give us more than we could have asked for last season. He played hard, he was aggressive, he was a good guy and he showed more scoring and team management ability than I think most of us believed he was capable of. I think Bird made the right move in letting him walk for that amount of money, but all things being equal, it would have been nice to have him return.

Indy Cornrows seems to agree and he eulogized Jacks’s single Pacer season very well by compiling a list of the Top Ten single-season Pacer players of all time.

There’s certainly no denying the impact Jarrett Jack had on the Pacers last season amongst fans who loved his hustle and heart and enjoyed his demeanor. But could he actually be the best single season Pacer ever? That’s the goal as I look to break down the single year Pacers from Abernathy to Zeno, from Reggie to Miller, from Devin Durrant to Rick(y) Robey(o) (that is not a stretch…) to find out where Jarrett Jack falls, and if he is in fact the best single season Pacer ever.

Check over there to find out where Jarrett ranks.

Meanwhile, Adrian Dantley made it pretty high on Cornrows list despite only playing 23 games in Indianapolis — as well he should have. Dantley was an absolute beast and, while this is something I plan to address further in the future, the fact that it took him so long to get into the Hall of Fame further illustrates why Springfield is almost completely irrelevant.

I’m sure any ABA Pacer fan could list at least two other reasons, namely Slick Leonard and Mel Daniels.

What I may have underestimated, however, is the fact that the other folks in the TrueHoop Network will probably end up making my job a lot easier by passing along tips and Pacer-related stuff. And sometimes, they’ll do it without even trying.

Case in point: TrueHoop founder Henry Abbott linked to the following video in his gracious introduction of Eight Points, Nine Seconds to the family. And through the wonders of copy/paste, I bring it to you.

UPDATE: Indy Star also has a good brief history of the written variety if anyone feels like taking a stroll down memory lane on this Wednesday afternoon.