at the International Ampitheater. I saw him play live several other times and on TV countless times in ensuing seasons. I grew up on da Bulls of Sloan/Walker/Love/Van Lier. Sadly, the Fat Lady repeatedly sang on Dick Motta in the LA Forum in that era.
As a gift, I took my father to a Heat-Jazz game just before Christmas '88. It proved to be their first home win. I suspect that Sloan was the only one who was involved when my father and I attended Bulls and Heat games in their inaugural seasons.
I met him in a hotel lobby in Miami during the '90 NBA ASG w/e. I was w/ a friend from Marist HS in Chicago who was the Mavs' Director of Media Services then. Sloan was very gracious during our brief discussion.
It's ironic that the same franchise for which he couldn't quite win a title as a player* denied his 2 best chances to win 1 as a HC. It would've been nice for him to have picked up a ring SOMEWHERE along the way. It's equally ironic that he died shortly after being a bit player in The Last Dance. The clip from his presser after the 96-54 blowout in the '98 Finals was priceless.
He will be missed.
*The '73 and '75 Bulls both blew double digit Q4 leads at, respectively, LA and Oakland in seasons in which they had a clear title shot.
Williams was briefly touted as the next Jason Kidd and then his career fizzled post Utah.
Guessing Sloan was probably not aware of his screen time in the Last Dance. Terrific NBA guard, particularly on the defensive end.
Always remember 70's Bulls teams- Sloan, Van Lier, Love, Walker, Gilmore, etc.
His playing days were before my time. The fact that he coached the same team for so long speaks volumes about him - that is not an easy feat in the NBA.
When I was at ND (75-79) the Chicago Bulls and the Milwaukee Bucks played a preseason game at the ACC. A buddy of mine and I walked over to see the game. We noticed Jerry Sloan sitting in the stands, so we decided to go over and ruin his evening with questions. He was actually there on business as a scout. Sloan was remarkably tolerant conversing with a couple of jamokes while still watching the game and writing notes on his clipboard.
Sloan played the game with everything he had to give and got every last drop out of the ability God granted him. If there was a floor burn hall of fame, Jerry Sloan would have a plaque hanging.