BELLEVUE , Wash. — Willie Wise was indescribable.
Simply put, his former Utah Stars' coach, Ladell Andersen, said, "Willie Wise was the best player I ever coached in my entire career. Period." Coming from Andersen, that's a mouthful.
Wise, 54, faced every bizarre situation while playing for the American Basketball Association's Utah Stars, and there wasn't a challenge he didn't love. Or conquer.
No matter what Wise did, the 6-foot-5 ABA All-Star always would greet people with his contagious smile. He loved to play.
It's actually hard to believe Wise is 54 years old. There always was a boyish charm inside him reaching out to fans, courting respect.
That comes from both on- and off-the-court endeavors. He played the game because he loved it. His boyish zeal in a man's body was something that overcame any shortcomings.
"Willie came to play," said former Indiana coach Bobby Leonard. "And that meant we had to play him. No one did the things he did on the court. He might have been the best two-way player the ABA ever had. By being a two-way player, I mean he came to play at both ends — offensively and defensively.
"I actually think he liked playing defense more than offense. That's a trait you don't acquire. That's just plain desire. You have to love the game to want to do that type of dirty work. But he did. His match-ups against Roger Brown were some of the best the league ever had. I always loved Willie Wise. I wish he had played for me."
That's saying something coming from your biggest rival's coach.
At the same time, Leonard was right.
"My first and only goal coming into the ABA was to be a great defensive player," Wise said. "I loved playing defense. It was always a challenge to see if I could stop guys like Rick Barry, John Brisker and Roger Brown. But I didn't like to think of myself as the best defensive player in the league. That's because when I started to think about that I might have let down."
Wise never wanted to call attention to himself. But his efforts grew into legendary proportions. Sports Illustrated did an article on Wise, saying he was the "best two-way performer in pro basketball." Others followed.
With his efforts offensively, he would carry the Stars on his back for stretches at a time. Wise would always look to what the team needed at the time and quietly go about accomplishing that.
Three times in his Stars career he averaged more than 20 points per outing for the season. That wasn't his thing, however.
"What really made it so enjoyable playing for the Stars were that the entire team was so team-oriented. Everyone just wanted to win. That's why I loved playing there. I had such great teammates. We won one ABA championship. But my only regret was that we didn't win more. We should've. There is no question about that. But the fans in Utah were always great to me. It was mutual respect. Believe me."
Offensively, Wise had both an inside and outside game. Sometimes, after watching game films, he would shake his head and utter to himself, "Did I do that?"
"Wondrous Willie," as longtime Stars broadcaster Bill Howard called him, was never in awe of himself.
For example, in August 1997, at the ABA's 30th reunion in Indianapolis, he wondered if Julius "Dr. J" Erving would remember him. Wise said to me, "There's 'Dr. J' (Julius Erving). I wonder if he will remember me?"
Wise had just been chosen among the 30 best ABA players in the league's history and still was in awe of Erving and others.
"I always thought of myself as a lunch-pail type of player," Wise said. "I never was really gifted. At least, that's the way I feel. I just worked hard. I always thought if I was going to make it at the professional level, it would come, like I said before, from my defensive play. But with Bill Sharman coaching our team, he really helped me with my offensive skills. Still, I didn't think I belonged in their class."
Not only did Erving remember him, but he praised him.
"Willie Wise was one of the toughest competitors I ever played against," Erving said. "He came to play every night. I really respected him. Willie was one of those players that the NBA fans never had a chance to see the best he had. That's because Willie was injured a lot when he played in the NBA. That was a shame. Willie Wise had game. A great game." Former Pacers star George McGinnis echoed those sentiments. "The best thing I can say about Willie is that he had game," McGinnis said. pointed out, who, with his strength, shooting ability, and quickness at 6-9, 250-pounds, was considered the Karl Malone of the ABA.
McGinnis had many looks at Wise's game. Maybe too many.
In the deciding game of the ABA's Western Division Playoffs in 1974, Wise retreated from his offensive skills, leaving that effort to Jimmy Jones, who scored 35 points, and attempted to stop the Pacers' George McGinnis. Wise held him to nine points, and the Stars won the right to meet Erving's New York Nets for the ABA championship, losing 4-1 in the series.
"I don't recall," responded Wise. But that was the nature of his being, only being able to recall team-oriented things.
Losing to the Nets in that championship series was unfortunate in many ways for the Stars. They not only lost the ABA series, but it was the last time Zelmo Beaty, Jones and Wise would ever play again together on the same court.
It was very costly. Wise was thrust into the politics of the game. And he lost his innocence for the game.
"It hurt me to see a player like Zelmo Beaty, who at one time the Stars were billing as the franchise, get treated the way he did," Wise said. "I knew if they would treat Zelmo that way, because he was in the twilight of his career, that none of us were safe.
"Zelmo was my mentor. He taught me everything about the game. But most of all, he taught me how to be a professional. You remember when we were up by nine against Indiana in game seven (1971), before we went on to win the ABA championship against Kentucky, I was joking around at the foul line after I was fouled, Big Z walked over to me and said, 'Willie act like a professional. Make these foul shots.'
"You just knew Zelmo was all business, and it carried over to the rest of the team. We still only live five minutes from each other. And I try to e-mail something to Jimmy every day. Yes, we're into the 21st century in accomplishing things. We're just hoping that someday we can get Gerald Govan to join us.
"But," Willie laughed, "that might be pressing it."
What hurt Wise is that when Stars' owner Bill Daniels sold the club to Jim Collier, all the former wanted to do was try to sign the prep star, Moses Malone. And Collier forgot what Beaty had meant to the Stars' franchise. He let him go to the Los Angeles Lakers and didn't pick up the option on Jones' contract.
And of course, franchise-builder Vince Boryla was history, too. He left after the ABA finals with the Nets. And left behind was Wise, having no one to trust.
The franchise was in chaos the fall of 1974. And so was Wise emotionally. He reported to camp, which was at Randolph Rich High School, and played some exhibition games, but it wasn't the same for him. The hurt ran too deep. Then, at the Stars' annual press and picture day, "Wondrous Willie" vanished. Never to return again.
Wise ended up playing for the ABA's Virginia Squires, a team much like the Stars, in utter chaos. But the Squires' roster had long been gutted, leaving them without two future hall of famers — George Gervin and Erving — and another excellent player, Swen Nater.
That Virginia franchise was in such chaos that Wise became an interim player-coach until he was able to talk Beaty into coaching the final two months of the season.
Still, Wise never was able to wake up the echoes of his past glories. The business aspects of the game reared their ugly heads, and his knee injuries caught up to him.
He later played in the NBA for the Denver Nuggets and Seattle Sonics, but it was never the same.
Wise retired and went into a business venture for himself, something he always wanted to do: drive a truck. A big truck. He started his own truck line.
"The economics of the 1980s proved to be my undoing," Wise said. "I lost my shirt. Now, I'm just a driver. And I'm loving it. I always wanted to be a truck driver. I'm just part of the work force. I am very happy with my life.
" I hardy ever get to a pro basketball game anymore. It's just different for me. I don't live in the past. Don't get me wrong. I still treasure my memories, especially of playing for the Utah Stars, and of course, with my teammates. What we accomplished as a team, winning the ABA championship (1971) has never left my heart. But I don't want to dwell on them. I want to open my eyes to other things and accomplish new goals. But most of all, I want to be the best father I can be. I don't want my children to ever do without."
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