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In the Community
"(Dave) Allred was overseeing another player appearance, an Adrian Dantley basketball clinic for 500 at Salt Lake Boys and Girls Club last week. He'd held court for an hour, delighting the crowd by playing tricks on volunteers, but now he could go home and enjoy the rest of a rare night off during the NBA season. The club director stepped in to announce that his guest would have to leave, but Dantley waved him off. The kids kept coming. 'He just kept signing,' said Allred."
Deseret News, Feb. 9, 1986
"Dantley purchased 15 season passes for Central City children last season. It was his way of doing something for kids. (when asked about it Dantley replied) 'When I was young, I didn't have the opportunity to see professional basketball games. It's a lot of money to some people. Their parents can't afford it. Besides, I love kids.'"
Spectrum, Oct. 21, 1981
Moe Forsyth, physical therapist who worked with Dantley six days a week for several months following a wrist surgery in 1983 relates "He was friendly to everyone, especially those in the geriatric section."
Deseret News, July 31, 1983
Hall of Fame
"He should be in the Hall of Fame without a doubt. He was a great player and he taught me a lot of things. He taught me how important it is to train in the summertime. He always prepared himself, which is something I learned from him. I think he should have his (Jazz) jersey retired. I don't make those decisions, but if it were up to me, they'd retire his number."
Karl Malone, Deseret News, Feb. 23, 1998
"That's kind of a political thing more than anything else. The powers that be are the ones who make that decision and I'm not going to get in the middle of that. A.D. was a great player. He carried the Jazz for a long time and he had a great NBA career. Statistically, he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. I had a great time playing with him."
Mark Eaton, Deseret News, Feb. 23, 1998
"Nobody questions Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's credentials, but he was always aloof and distant especially with the media. Nobody -- and that includes opponents, teammates, media or fans - ever accused Rick Barry of being a charmer. Walt Bellamy was widely considered an underachiever for his good-game, bad-game pattern of play. And Indiana coach Bobby Knight is in the Hall of Fame, even though few have done more to embarrass the game of basketball. Heck, Knight probably has destroyed more budding young basketball players than he's developed."
"Dantley didn't do drugs, he never got arrested, he never choked his coach. He just showed up, night after night, did his job and did it better than the vast majority of his peers. If he didn't do it with a smile on his face, so what?"
Deseret News, Dec. 19, 1999
What A.D.'s peers say about retiring his number
"I think we'd look foolish if we didn't (retire Dantley's jersey). It would be too vindictive and would be too mean. I don't think anyone deserves that. I have nothing against Dantley. I admire the guy. He was a great player, one of the greatest players ever to play the game. …if, in fact, he gets an opportunity to get his jersey retired - fine. I would not vote against it. I would not stand in his way. Dantley and I have made our peace."
Frank Layden, Deseret News, Feb 23, 1998
"That's kind of a political thing more than anything else. The powers that be are the ones who make that decision and I'm not going to get in the middle of that. A.D. was a great player. He carried the Jazz for a long time and he had a great NBA career. Statistically, he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. I had a great time playing with him."
Mark Eaton, Deseret News, Feb. 23, 1998
"He should be in the Hall of Fame without a doubt. He was a great player and he taught me a lot of things. He taught me how important it is to train in the summertime. He always prepared himself, which is something I learned from him. I think he should have his (Jazz) jersey retired. I don't make those decisions, but if it were up to me, they'd retire his number."
Karl Malone, Deseret News, Feb. 23, 1998
"You know what's amazing about that? I got into a big showdown with Donald Dell and David Falk, Dantley's agents, and we fought over a hundred thousand dollars! Today, that's chump change! Biggest mistake of my life. I acted like it was my money."
Frank Layden, Deseret News, June 11, 1997
"I can't say it will never happen because you look at history and his numbers were pretty dog-gone good."
Larry Miller, Deseret News, Feb. 23, 1998
"Dantley had a Hall of Fame career, scoring more than 23,000 points in 15 NBA seasons, and his best years were in Utah. That's why he deserves to have his number retired by the Jazz. He is the only Jazz player since the franchise has been in Utah to lead the league in scoring. He scored 13,000 points here, more than anyone in franchise history until Malone and John Stockton passed him. He also averaged six rebounds a game, shot 56 percent and had more than 500 steals in Utah. …Darrell Griffith averaged 16 points a game and never played in an All-Star game but the Jazz retired his number. That's not a knock on Griffith because he deserved it, but Dantley averaged 29 points a game for the Jazz and made the All-Star team all six seasons he was in Utah."
Hot Rod Hundley, "You Gotta Love It, Baby," page 192
What the Press Says About Retiring Dantley's Number
"Dantley was Karl Malone before Karl Malone. He was a prolific, methodical scorer. He carried the Jazz. He brought credibility to a struggling franchise. Aside from John Stockton and Malone, what player did more for the Utah Jazz than Adrian Dantley?"
"His outward demeanor belied an intelligent, warmer man - not unlike John Stockton.
Doug Robinson, Deseret News, Oct. 27, 1999
"Adrian Dantley was one of the first players the Jazz acquired after their move to Utah from New Orleans in 1979, and he turned out to be the first true basketball superstar that Salt Lake City has ever seen. …he can be credited with almost singlehandedly lifting the Jazz out of the NBA cellar and into the NBA playoffs for the first time."
Salt Lake Tribune, Feb. 3, 1998
"Layden and Dantley have long since patched up their relationships, say Jazz insiders, and Layden wants to mount another campaign to get Dantley's jersey retired. Much will depend on (Larry) Miller."
Salt Lake Tribune, Nov. 14, 1999
On the Court
John Stockton on Dantley
"He's the best I ever saw at using his body; setting up guys so he could get an open shot. A.D. wasn't real big, but he could always get his shot."
John Stockton, Salt Lake Tribune, Nov. 14, 1999
"His ability to catch the ball is unmatched by anybody in the league. His confidence is another thing."
John Stockton, Deseret News, Feb. 9, 1986
Wilt Chamberlain on Dantley
"I've always said the only player who could score regularly from that position (close to the basket in an NBA traffic jam) were Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) and myself. Now there are three. I can't figure out how a 6-foot-5-inches can score inside like that. Elgin Baylor didn't do that. Elgin had great hands. He'd score off the break, or drive. But he'd never do like Dantley, stay inside and grab balls, go up two or three times and score. That's incredible, especially with all those leapers around. Scoring under the basket, if someone's guarding you, that's gotta be the toughest shot in basketball."
Wilt Chamberlain, LA Times, Feb. 23, 1982
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Dantley
"He was my favorite player to watch."
Darrell Griffith on Dantley
"He's one of the most unselfish players I've ever seen. He's extremely strong and utilizes his strength so well. He's intense. But he's also unselfish."
Darrell Griffith, Spectrum, Oct. 21, 1981
Dantley on Dantley
"When it comes to my job, I'm very serious about it. I have a lot of pride. I'm very goal-oriented, and I don't let anything get in the way of that."
Adrian Dantley, Deseret News, Feb. 9, 1986
Frank Layden on Dantley
"We love him. He's our piranha. He'll eat you alive. He would score in a raging storm at sea."
Frank Layden, Salt Lake Tribune, 1984
"All good players who have had a brush with playing on a bad team know they could contribute more if they were playing for a better team, but A.D. could play with any team in the league and make it better."
Frank Layden, Deseret News, Dec. 15, 1983
Jazz Assistant Coach Dave Fredman On Dantley
"He's probably the most dedicated athlete I've ever come across. He works at it."
David Fredman, Deseret News, Sept. 5, 1985
Former Jazz Coach Tom Nissalke on Dantley
"You couldn't ask for an easier guy to coach."
Tom Nissalke, Deseret News, Oct. 27, 1999
Dallas Coach Dick Motta on Stopping A.D.
"How do you stop Adrian Dantley?" asked Dick Motta, former coach of the Dallas Mavericks following a Jazz victory in November of 1980. "Get a gun."
Dick Motta, New York Times, November 11, 1980
What the press said about his game:
"The world is lucky he didn't go into picking pockets or lifting jewels. He's a master of figuring out how to go through defenses."
"His forte is points on the move - 6-5 against the world. And this is where Adrian Dantley's mystique comes in. Talk about guys they ought to nickname Magic. Time and again he'll charge into an opposing front line that looks like a mix between the Pittsburgh Steelers' front line and the Berlin Wall and 1-2 seconds later he's backpedaling on defense without a scratch on him and the scorekeeper has lit up two more points."
".A lot of people will shout 'How'd he do it?' like some audience watching Kreskin, followed by 'do it again.'"
"more than likely he'll be remembered as the 6-5 forward who could always score around the skyscrapers. Cousy was the guy with the flashy passes, West was the best in the clutch, Walton could always hit the open man and A.D. could score over (or under) absolutely anything."
Deseret News, Oct. 10, 1980.
"Footwork is quickly associated with Fred Astaire. And Muhammed Ali and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. But Adrian Dantley?"
Dave Blackwell, Deseret News, Dec. 15, 1983
"Adrian Dantley: the man who couldn't be stopped. Go ahead name a time. One time. A 6-foot-5 forward, a sort of dinosaur of his age (these days 6-5 guards are called too short) and nobody could stop him. Least of all himself. More than any player in the history of the Jazz franchise, he brought professionalism to the arena. When they tipped it up, he was there to play."
Lee Benson, Deseret News, Aug. 23, 1986
"Even as the size of pro basketball players continues to increase, Dantley, at 6-foot-5, continues to be as team-mate Mark Eaton calls him, "the premier low-post player." Even as a generation of so-called skywalkers have attracted the public's attention with spectacular flights, Dantley stays on the ground and offers what is still the single most nature-defying act in pro basketball. Going inside while giving away as much as a half foot, at 6-foot-5 he is the most prolific scorer of his time. "
Lex Hemphill, Salt Lake Tribune
"Even though people have said he's too slow, too fat, too small and too offensive minded, he is now the most effective point producer in the game. He shoots field goals at a .582 clip. George Gervin and Larry Bird can score, sure, but they take 10 more shots a game."
Spectrum, Oct. 21, 1981
"Living low is a compliment in hoops. A stump among trees, Dantley will take anyone to the basket. Moses Malone or Bobby Jones; Wilt and Russell in their prime. Lots of players hunger for points; Dantley starves. He'll leap and lean, spring up and down as many times as it takes to score over, under or around much larger defenders. And usually sinks the foul shot that follows his mugging."
Washington Post, Feb. 23, 1982
"Yo, Adrian. Yo, Adrian Dantley. Welcome to the Motor City. Plant yourself on the blocks, spread those arms, call for the ball and use that all-world derriere like a battering ram. Pump, double-pump, lean, spin, head fake, pirouette, shoot, score, go to the foul line. Since Dantley's arrival from Utah in a preseason trade, Detroit has had a butt up on everyone else in the Central, the NBA's best division. How Dantley weaves his magic spell inside is one of the NBA's great mysteries. He's listed at 6'5" but appears at least an inch or two shorter."
Sports Illustrated, March 2, 1987
Dantley Versus Former 7-Foot-7-Inch NBA Center Manute Bol
"Dantley also scored a few baskets against (Manute) Bol on his own. This suggests that, at about 6-feet-4-inches, he might be able to find a way to outmaneuver the Washington Monument if it were between him and the basket."
Los Angeles Times, Dec. 20, 1985
Dantley on Playing in SLC
"Of all the teams I've been on, I had the best time in Utah. Utah was my favorite place to play. It suited my style of living, and that's where it all started. That's where I really blossomed as a player."
Adrian Dantley, Deseret News, Oct. 27, 1999
"This is really where it started for me. The people were nice. Of all the places I ever played, this is my favorite. For me and my family, it was great. It's too bad I didn't end my career here."
Adrian Dantley, Salt Lake Tribune, Nov. 14, 1999
Dantley and the Early Days of the Jazz in Utah
"The Jazz were bad when they first came to Utah. They would have been pathetic if A.D. hadn't been around."
Loren Jorgensen, Deseret News, April 4, 1999
"In a tough first year, Adrian was the shinning light. He gives us great hope for the future."
Frank Layden, Deseret News, Oct. 10, 1980
"It goes without saying, A.D. is most valuable to the Jazz. They don't call him 'The Franchise" but they should. If not for him a year ago, Al Hirt would have been playing taps by mid January."
Deseret News, Oct. 10, 1980
How did A.D. help develop the next generation of NBA stars?
How did A.D. help develop the next generation of NBA stars? The following are accounts of how he influenced the careers of some of the NBA's all-time greats.
"I remember how he would get himself prepared to play; I took a lot of that myself. And his knowledge of the game. He could tell me about every player I was going to play. That helped a young guy like me."
Karl Malone, Salt Lake Tribune, Nov. 14, 1999
"Adrian was my idol. He was my guy on the team."
Joe Dumars, Sports Illustrated, June 26, 1989
"I was this quiet guy from Louisiana, and A.D. showed me the ropes and reassured me, told me that I didn't have to change my personality to get along in the NBA. That's what I try to tell Grant (Hill)."
Joe Dumars, Sports Illustrated, April 24, 1985
"A.D. taught me everything - how to eat, how to pack. We called room service one afternoon and I ordered a burger, fries and milk shake. He ordered soup, half a sandwich, water and juice. I was dying by the end of the game. He was just rolling along. I learned about eating, real quick."
John Salley, Sports Illustrated, Nov. 6, 1989
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