Quote

When I started playing, I wasn't fast, I was gangly, my jumpshot was terrible.

Oscar Robertson

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Oscar Robertson
Age: 85
Born: 1938
Born: November 24
Basketball Coach
Basketball Player
The Big O
Oscar Palmer Robertson
Motivational
Terrible
Playing
Wasn
Started
Gangly
Fast
Basketball

More quotes by Oscar Robertson

Image
Now, I guess, people want stars. People are trying to invent stars.
Oscar Robertson
Image
People will think there are no other great ballplayers. Look at Garnett. Look at Duncan, Shaq, Kobe. Look at the players with Sacramento. The have a really good basketball team.
Oscar Robertson
Image
You've got to learn the footwork, the positioning, how to box out, how to pass, how to shoot your free throws. All these things are necessary, not to be the No. 1 player in the world, but maybe you can play against him.
Oscar Robertson
Image
They should have a rule: in order to be a sportswriter, you have to have played that sport, at some level high school, college, junior college, somewhere. Or, you should have had to have been around the game for a long time.
Oscar Robertson
Image
We're all Americans trying to compete. Magic was competing for his team and Larry for his team.
Oscar Robertson
Image
When you play against different people from all walks of life you can't do the same thing against every player defensively or offensively. You have to change up the way you go at a player.
Oscar Robertson
Image
But when I did it (the triple-double), I didn't even know it until someone told me.
Oscar Robertson
Image
I don't know hardly any of the players who have the in-between game like me, who can go to any position on the court.
Oscar Robertson
Image
It's a sad commentary when I have to say that sometimes in our country we are real sensitive to race.
Oscar Robertson
Image
The Olympics were great, because you had to make the team, and then go to the games. Now, I don't know, these guys today don't want to do anything like that.
Oscar Robertson
Image
I think that teaching coaches are the norm now.
Oscar Robertson
Image
There's so many young peoople who start to play basketball and never learn the fundamentals.
Oscar Robertson
Image
But I like to think an athlete is an athlete.
Oscar Robertson
Image
But if people are buying the products, naturally they're gonna use them.
Oscar Robertson
Image
It's like all guys want to do is make a dunk, grab their shirt and yell out and scream - they could be down 30 points but that's what they do. Okay, so you made a dunk. Get back down the floor on defense!
Oscar Robertson
Image
I think no one has written a history of the great coaches who were around 30 to 40 years ago who taught the fundamentals.
Oscar Robertson
Image
I don't blame David Stern because a player gets on the court and he doesn't put out competitively. No one can make you play if you don't want to play.
Oscar Robertson
Image
But after that you don't see a lot of real good fundamental play. You see a showboat-type basketball which is almost parallel to street basketball.
Oscar Robertson
Image
People say that, but I think the NBA was bigger than Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.
Oscar Robertson
Image
When you go into a game on offense, you make a couple moves and see what the defender is going to do. Then you pretty much can figure out what he is going to do against you - whether he carries his hands low or high, whether he is bumping or pushing, those type of things.
Oscar Robertson