BALTIMORE BULLET KEVIN LOUGHERY--THE OVERLOOKED STAR
by Rick Benson (bio info from Wikipedia)
On a team with flamboyant stars like gold-toothed Gus Johnson and Earl “The Pearl” Monroe and league MVP Wes Unseld, it would be easy to get overlooked. But the one constant throughout the majority of the Bullets history in Baltimore was a 6-3 shooting guard from Brooklyn, NY who was affectionately called “Murph.”
Kevin Loughery, like his backcourt mate Monroe, had his best seasons in Charm City. He exceeded his 15.3 career ppg four times in Baltimore; including back to back 20 plus point seasons in 1968-69 (22.6) and 1969-70 (21.9). As the Bullets continued to improve in the standings from their early days coming from Chicago to their perennial Eastern championship seasons, so did Loughery. Prior to being traded in 1972 along with Fred “Mad Dog” Carter to the Philadelphia 76ers for Archie Clark, Loughery spent nine season with the Bullets and is the Baltimore career leader in points scored (9835), assists (2361), free throws (2185), games (591) as well as personal fouls (2094) and disqualifications (54).
Loughery had a noteworthy coaching career after his playing days; despite starting out as a player-coach midway through with the 1973 season with the 76ers, who had a then historical worst ever 9-73 record. He was replaced by his former Baltimore coach Gene Shue and retired as a player. After that disastrous season, Loughery became head coach of the American Basketball Association's New York Nets the following season. With superstar Julius Erving, Loughery won two ABA championships in three seasons. After the ABA disbanded and the Nets joined the NBA, Loughery continued to coach the Nets for their first five seasons in the league. The team would struggle in their first couple of seasons without Erving, whose contract was sold to the Philadelphia 76ers due to financial struggles. The team would also move to New Jersey and become the New Jersey Nets. He was fired midway through the 1980–81 season and replaced by Bob MacKinnon.
Loughery was hired by the Atlanta Hawks the very next season and he guided them to two straight playoff appearances, including one with rookie Dominique Wilkins. He was fired once again after the 1982–83 season and replaced by Mike Fratello.
The next two seasons, Loughery coached the Chicago Bulls. In his second season with rookie Michael Jordan, the Bulls made the playoffs. In the book The Jordan Rules Michael was quoted as saying that Loughery was the most fun coach he ever played for and that Loughery allowed him to free-lance and play the style he wanted.
Loughery went to the Washington Bullets the next season as an assistant to Gene Shue. When Shue was fired with 13 games left in the 1985–86 season, Loughery guided the team to the playoffs and once again the next season. The Bullets got off to a bad start in 1987–88 and Loughery was fired once again.
After working in broadcasting, Loughery was hired by the Miami Heat as their second coach three years after they joined the league as an expansion team. Loughery guided the Heat to their first ever playoff appearance and again in 1993–94.
Catching Up With ... Kevin Loughery
by Mike Klingaman, The Baltimore Sun 10/25/12
He was a gritty 6-foot-3 guard from the Bronx with boundless energy and a long, sweet jumper that seemed to kiss the Civic Center's ceiling before finding its mark.
"Bullseye!" Baltimore Bullets broadcaster Jim Karvellas would exclaim as Kevin Loughery scored again.
For eight years, Loughery starred for the Bullets, averaging 16.6 points and helping the club to five playoff appearances and the NBA finals in 1971. Only forward Gus Johnson (nine years) spent more time here before the Bullets, after a decade, moved to Landover in 1973 and eventually become the Washington Wizards.
"I had a long run in Baltimore and enjoyed every minute of it," said Loughery, 72. He ranks fourth in franchise history with 9,833 points, despite having played before the advent of the 3-point shot. Many of his baskets came from 20 feet or further.
His best years were from 1968-70, when Loughery teamed with three Hall of Famers — the flamboyant Johnson, bulwark center Wes Unseld and legendary guard Earl Monroe.
"Heck, I averaged over 21 points a game because of them," Loughery said. "Wes set great picks and had the best outlet pass of anyone who ever played. Gus had the body of a player today, without having lifted weights. And Earl revolutionized the guard's play, with his spins and twists. Other teams had their top defensive players guard Earl.
"Any one of them could have played today, easily."
Loughery went on to coach seven pro teams over 23 years, including a stint with the Washington Bullets (1985-88). Now retired, with two children and two grandchildren, he lives in Atlanta with his wife, Sheila. They wed in 1962.
"I play golf four times a week, and Sheila plays tennis," he said. "I guess that's why we're still married after 50 years."
Loughery's favorite Bullets' memory? Defeating the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals in 1971. The Knicks had booted the Bullets from the playoffs in the previous two years; worse, Baltimore had been ousted by New York teams in the Super Bowl and World Series, too.
"Joe Namath and the Jets had upset the Colts, and the Orioles had lost to the Mets," he said. "It was very important that we beat the Knicks, not only for us, but for the city.
The Bullets won the seventh and deciding game, 93-91, in Madison Square Garden.
"How great was that, for a kid from New York to go in there and win it?" Loughery said. "The circus was playing the Garden then, and you could smell the animals during the game. My brother-in-law was in the stands, and when the buzzer sounded, he stood up in a crowd of Knicks fans and shouted, 'Bring on the circus, the Knicks are gone!' "
The Bullets had yet another incentive to win that game, Loughery said:
"Beforehand, owner Abe Pollin gave the greatest pre-game speech we'd ever heard. He said, 'Boys, if we win this one, you can have my share of the gate.' "
Pollin kept his word. Never mind that the Bullets then lost the NBA finals to Milwaukee in four straight games.
"We still got way more money for the playoffs than the Bucks did," Loughery said.
Dogged by injuries, Loughery tried to play through them. In 1970, he suffered four fractured ribs in a collision with Milwaukee's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Loughery returned several weeks later, wearing a corset, but shot poorly and took off the undergarment, in disgust, at courtside during a playoff game. He then scored 17 points in as many minutes.
Had he not entered coaching, Loughery said, he'd have settled in Baltimore.
"We lived in Dulaney Valley, near a ton of athletes," he said. "Our first dog, a collie, came from one of [Colts coach] Don Shula's litters. We named it Bullet."
Dealt in 1971 to the Philadelphia 76ers, in a swap that brought guard Archie Clark to the Bullets, Loughery played two more years, then picked up the clipboard.
"Know how I learned I'd been traded? I was standing in line at McDonald's, waiting for a hamburger, when [Orioles pitcher] Jim Palmer walked by and said, 'Sorry to hear about the trade.'
"I'm just fortunate I had the opportunity to play [in the NBA]. When I joined the league [in 1962], there were only nine teams, with 99 total players. Now there are five times that."