Walt Frazier

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Walt Frazier

Position	Point guard
Nickname	Clyde
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg)
Team	New York Knicks
Nationality	United States
Born	March 29, 1945 (age 62) Atlanta, Georgia
College	Southern Illinois
Draft	1st round, 1967 New York Knicks
Pro career	1967–1980
Former teams	New York Knicks (1967-1977) Cleveland Cavaliers (1977-1980)
Hall of Fame	1987

Walter "Clyde" Frazier (born March 29, 1945 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a retired American basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently a spokesman for Just for Men hair products and a commentator for telecasts of New York Knicks games.

1 High school and college
2 Professional career
3 Broadcasting
4 Honors
5 Trivia
6 External links

[edit] High school and college

After having a great career at David Howard High School in Atlanta, Frazier's choices for furthering his career were limited. Due to the racial segregation policies of major colleges in Georgia, such as Georgia Tech^{[dubious — see talk page]} and the University of Georgia as well as all other major universities in the south, that did not admit African-Americans, Frazier chose to attend Southern Illinois University.

Frazier wasted no time in becoming one of the premier collegiate basketball players in the country. He was named a Division II All-American in 1964 and 1965. In 1965, Frazier led SIU to the NCAA Division II Tournament only to lose in the finals to Evansville 85-82 in overtime. In 1966, he was academically ineligible for basketball.

In 1967, with Frazier playing at point guard, SIU won the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), beating Marquette University 71-56. Frazier was named MVP of the 1967 tournament.

[edit] Professional career

Frazier was drafted by the New York Knicks and played for them during which time he picked up the nickname "Clyde" because he wore a similar hat to Warren Beatty who played Clyde Barrow in the 1967 movie Bonnie and Clyde. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1968. He was an NBA All-Star seven times (and was named MVP of the 1975 All-Star Game), was named to the All-NBA First Team four times, the All-NBA Second Team twice, and the All-Defensive First Team seven times. With Frazier, the Knicks captured the NBA championships in 1970 and 1973.

Frazier ended his career as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Frazier held team records for most games (759), minutes played (28,995), field goals attempted (11,669), field goals made (5,736), free throws attempted (4,017), free throws made (3,145), assists (4,791) and points (14,617). Patrick Ewing would eventually break most of those records, but Frazier's assists record still stands.

Frazier was also one of the first players to make stealing the ball an art form. He would make sudden steals and surprise the offense. When asked about his defensive success, he answered that he did not believe in contact defense. Instead, he defended in such a manner that it appeared he was not playing defense. When he did so, the offensive player was often tricked into letting his guard down whereby Frazier would steal the ball with his quick hands.

[edit] Broadcasting

Frazier would move on to become a commentator for New York Knicks games; first on radio and then on television. Knick fans love him for his quirky phrases and exclamation, many of which rhyme. Some favorite Frazier quotes from his days as a Knicks commentator: 'swishing and dishing along the baseline'; 'shaking and baking'; penetrating and creating; 'Ewing . . .doing!'; 'swooping and hooping.'; 'toasting and posting'; 'hustle and muscle.' '...with the matador D.'; 'The Knicks are playing swiss cheese defense--the Hornets are finding all the holes.'; '...with the good stuff.' (after a stylish dunk). 'The Knicks with the knack.; 'vociferous crowd....'; 'precocious neophyte (referring to a scared rookie), "articulating and devastating", "dancing and prancing", "wheeling and dealing", "Frye is starting to percolate with that shot right in front of the Heat bench", and "off to an auspicious start", "The Knicks get a fortuitous bounce".

[edit] Honors

Walt Frazier's #10 jersey was retired by the New York Knicks on December 15, 1979.

In 1987, Walt Frazier was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame along with Pete Maravich and Rick Barry.

In 1996, he was elected to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.

[edit] Trivia

Frazier also was one of the "new breed" of athletes that emerged in the 1960s, such as Joe Namath and Dick Allen. While playing in New York, he was famous for dressing in a blaxploitation-inspired style that included long fur coats, fedora hats with feathers, sunglasses, and shirts with butterfly collars.