Billy McGill was almost incredulous, as if the caller on the phone thought he lived on Mars or something when he asked the question, "Do you know who Keith Van Horn is?"
"Yeah, sure I know him," replied McGill. "I've been keepin' up with the Runnin' Utes. Hey, that's my old school."Not only did McGill know who Van Horn was, he also knew exactly how many points he needed - six - in today's game with Tulsa to break the all-time Utah scoring record of 2,321 that McGill has owned for 35 years.
McGill is 57 years old now and living in Los Angeles with his wife, Gwen. After working for Hughes Aircraft for 23 years, McGill was one of thousands in the aerospace industry laid off last year. Although he calls himself "retired," he's looking for another job and hoping "something might pop up" in the tight economy in his area.
In the meantime, McGill still follows college basketball, especially his beloved Utes.
"I watch them every time they come on cable," he said. "I wish I could see Saturday's game, but I don't think it's on down here."
So what does McGill think about his longtime record finally being broken?
"That's what they're there for . . . to be broken," said McGill, who nevertheless couldn't help pointing out that his record came in three years, while Van Horn did it in four.
McGill averaged an astounding 38.8 points per game his senior season after averaging 15.5 and 27.8 his first two seasons at the U. As a junior he led the Utes to the NCAA Final Four and a year later Utah went 23-3, but wasn't allowed to compete in the NCAA tournament for a rather minor violation that today might get a slap on the wrist. McGill was a consensus all-American and No. 1 draft pick in the NBA.
He said he had many highlights while playing for Utah, but three stood out.
One was beating then-No. 1 Ohio State featuring Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek at home in a thrilling 97-92 game during his sophomore season. Another was setting the Ute single-game scoring record of 60 points down at BYU his senior season.
But No. 1, he said, was "having President (A. Ray) Olpin and coach (Jack) Gardner retire my number right there at old Einar Nielsen Fieldhouse (in his final home game). That brought a few tears to my eyes."
McGill didn't fare as well in the pros, however. After his senior season, McGill was picked No. 1 in the NBA draft by the Chicago Zephyrs, the forerunner of the Chicago Bulls. He signed for - get this - $18,000.
"Nowadays he'd get $18 million," marvels Gardner.
Alas, McGill never made it in the pros and bounced around the NBA, playing for the Knicks, Hawks and Bullets as well as in the old ABA for several years before retiring in 1971.
"The pros made a mistake of playing him at forward," said Gardner, who also acknowledged that McGill, "wasn't big or strong enough" to play against the centers of that era such as Wilt Chamberlain or Bill Russell. At his heaviest, McGill was about 210 pounds, light even in those days.
McGill claims his main problem was a knee injury that he tried to keep secret.
"I had a real bad knee that I injured my junior year at Thomas Jefferson High," said McGill. "At first the doctors told me I wouldn't play again. Back then they didn't have arthroscopic surgery or anything. They told me they'd have to put an iron plate in my knee but they never did."
As for missing out on the huge salaries NBA players get now, McGill sighs and says, "Man, I don't even like to think about it."
He believes Van Horn will be one of those high-paid players and can't say enough good things about what he's seen of Van Horn.
"He looks like he has all the tools," said McGill. "He's big, strong and rugged with real good legs. He's a good passer and rebounder and plays good defense. It looks like he has every shot there is. He'll be a good pro and I think he'll fool a lot of people."
McGill hasn't been to Utah since 1986 when he was inducted into the Crimson Hall of Fame. He said he would dearly love to be in Utah next week when Van Horn is feted at brief ceremony honoring his accomplishment, but can't afford the trip up.
In lieu of that, McGill had one request to the writer on the phone.
"Get a message to all my old friends that still I love them."