"In 1978, I was a player-coach for the Tucson Sky. The All-Star Game was held in El Paso, and I was coaching the East team. Wilt was playing, and a journalist from the major El Paso paper called me a couple of days before for an interview about the game. I found out later that this guy didn’t like Wilt, and he asked me specifically, “What do you think about Wilt?” And we had all been kind of primed not to say too many negative things about Wilt. Wilt was, by and large, a very effective hitter. The rest of his game was spotty because he hadn’t played that much. His blocking and ball handling were not too strong, and his hands were so big he couldn’t set the ball. It was like setting a softball or a baseball. And his passing wasn’t that strong, either. But it didn’t matter. It was a specialized game at that time. There was no rotation. And he was very effective in his role. There were some world-class players at that game, and also the best American players, who were getting better all the time with the competition. So we got to El Paso, and the morning of the match, I was at breakfast. And Dodge Parker, an old friend who was on the other team, said, “Did you see the headline in the paper? Why did you say that?” And I said, “Say what?” So I looked at the paper, and it said something like “Shewman says East will go after Chamberlain’s weak ball handling.” When we got to the gym before the match, the owner of the league came up in a panic and said, “Byron, you’ve got to go over and talk to Wilt. He’s threatening not to play. And if that happens, we’ve got no TV.” And I’m stammering, and I see Wilt. And it was one of those hot El Paso days, and he was over there sweating in his tank top. He looked like Godzilla. It looked like he had steam coming off his forehead. So I went over and said, “Wilt, can I have a word with you?” And he said, “Don’t even bother,” and he turned his back on me. After warm ups, they introduced both teams, and we were kind of behind the bleachers. And for some reason, I was the last guy to be introduced for the East and he was the last guy from the West. I’ll never forget standing next to him. We were back in this corner, like in a cave. And here was this giant of a human being still seething at me, and I just wanted them to introduce me so I could get out of there. “And then Wilt went out and played-and I’ve seen three Olympics and a lot of world-class, high-level volleyball-and he played as well as any hitter I’ve ever seen. He was playing against some world-class players, and I can’t remember his stats, but it was something close to a 90-percent kill rate. I guess a lot of it was attributed to me and that headline. After the game, I ran up to the writer and said, “You’d better get over there right now.” I made sure that guy wrote a letter of apology to let Wilt know that he misquoted me, which he did. And he did write it. I saw Wilt maybe a year later on the beach and we laughed and he said, “Don’t worry about it.” Byron Shewman, former professional Volleyballer
A friend of mine is an former olympic volleyball player. He was telling me about a master thesis a guy did in biomechanics "Which NBA player's Abilities Would Translate best to Volleyball" and aid the guy concluded bill Russell would have the physical ability to be the best VB player ever. He thought had he ended up in San Fran today, he would be the best Vball player of all time. A lefty, with the length agility quick hops, power, timing, etc. Same guy said stories of Wilt being agood volleyball player were largely myth. Wilt's fame helped Vball so they all played along.
@@kingyoung3192 That's some master BS. For starters, basketball is one sport with 2 main different set of rules (FIBA and NBA), indoor and beach volleyball are much more different between them and no wonder a hard transition to make. It is more a team sport as you literally can't make a play on your own unlike bball, there really isn't talk about who's the best VB player ever, in reality you just mention who your favorite player is. Basketball players aren't used to the timely reactions and dives of indoor volleyball so it doesn't surprise me Chamberlain only played 5 games with that team and instead preferred beach volleyball, the same with the NBA player who later became an olympic beach volleyball player (I think he played for the Bulls).
Quite a few new clips of Wilt playing, that's very nice. It's clear that Wilt lacked technique to be a well rounded volleyball player, but he did look intimidating as a striker.
@70sfan A friend of mine is an former olympic volleyball player. He was telling me about a master thesis a guy did in biomechanics "Which NBA player's Abilities Would Translate best to Volleyball" and aid the guy concluded bill Russell would have the physical ability to be the best VB player ever. He thought had he ended up in San Fran today, he would be the best Vball player of all time. A lefty, with the length agility quick hops, power, timing, etc. Same guy said stories of Wilt being agood volleyball player were largely myth. Wilt's fame helped Vball so they all played along.
@@kingyoung3192 I also think Russell had better tools for volleyball. Do you think Wilt wouldn't be able to be elite player had he started playing at young age?
I played him at Manhattan Beach Pier around ‘79-‘80 summer. Can’t remember who I played with that day at the beach but was able to squeak out a win @18-16. Never forget…
I don't know "Who You are" with those NEVER unseen footages in this quality, but I'm glad that You are! Can You do Elgin Baylor? If ANYONE can have some footage of Him, beside those 5-10 seconde from ESPN, then it must be You!
hey man. i remember when your channel was named lugano with a bunch of numbers. so many iconic videos you published back then are still in my memory today. the emre belezoglu with the carry on song, the rustu receber losing my religion video and alpays ozlalans video with nelly furtado playing in the background. i grew up watching your videos man. i hope i have the right channel lol. would love to see you repost them!
A friend of mine is an former olympic volleyball player. He was telling me about a master thesis a guy did in biomechanics "Which NBA player's Abilities Would Translate best to Volleyball" and aid the guy concluded bill Russell would have the physical ability to be the best VB player ever. He thought had he ended up in San Fran today, he would be the best Vball player of all time. A lefty, with the length agility quick hops, power, timing, etc. Same guy said stories of Wilt being agood volleyball player were largely myth. Wilt's fame helped Vball so they all played along.
Perhaps he is arguably the greatest volleyball player ever. But Michael Jordan was the greatest basketball player. If the late career 15 ppg Bill Russell is regularly ranked above and much higher than the late great Wilt Chamberlain because Bill Russell’s Celtics dominated Wilt’s teams 9 or 10 years for world championships, then Michael Jordan is greater than Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, COMBINED!! Thus Michael Jordan is the undisputed greatest basketball player of all time!
Chamberlain could be the greatest basketball player ever. Wilt is not even close of being nominated in volleyball. He was inducted into the volleyball hall of fame mainly as a contributor. The volleyball in the USA skyrocketed after Chamberlain. I'll give him that! Imagine if Chamberlain trained like Chase Budinger, the former NBA player who became a pro volleyball athlete [I can't think about another person transitioning from said sport to this one]. Budinger played those two sports since his youth, contrary to Chamberlain who took volleyball late... which explained Wilt’s not so great volleyball techniques.
That last quote is total bullshit. Like idiots who claim the fish they caught was double the size it was, it’s all embellishment to make the story seem more interesting 🤦🏼♂️
