Greensboro wasn’t just naming a concrete slab with hoops on each end at one of its neighborhood parks for native son, UNC Tar Heel and Los Angeles Laker Bob McAdoo.
The best Black players once lobbied for playing time at that court, a fabled proving ground where South Benbow Road, New Castle Road and South Side Boulevard meet. Dudley High School’s Curly Neal put up shots on the roughly 94 feet long by 50 feet wide slab of concrete before the Harlem Globetrotters made him an international legend. Hall of Famer Lou Hudson, who also played at Dudley, was showing future NBA moves.
Other local legends, considered among the best at the game who never got the notoriety, made their mark there as well while drawing huge crowds, with names like Calvin “The Helicopter” Williamson and Layman “Flame” Williamson. Back then, players called “next” and waited it out. As long as you won, you stayed on the court. But when the local superstars came around, others might never play that day. And if they didn’t get the chance to play, they sat on the nearby hill watching. All day.
But before that, McAdoo was just their childhood friend, the son of a schoolteacher and custodian at A&T, and one of the Benbow Park Originals who often played there.
The Originals, now grayer themselves, were there Sunday — including Sam Rhodes, Ivan Williamson, Ike Oglesby, Freddy Cundiff, Skip Isley, Sigmund Fitzgerald, Walter Evans, Chuck Hayes, Wade Nash, Dale Tonkins, and Pella Stokes Jr. — cracking jokes, boasting of real and imagined prowess as boys on the court, and reliving those memories as that slab officially became the Bob McAdoo Basketball Court at Benbow Park. It is now covered with a mural of his likeness and No. 11 jersey with the Lakers.
Five takeaways from the naming ceremony:
‘Shout out’
Some of the athletes and others in the audience who got their start in the Greensboro area or had local ties got a “shout out,” but it was more like a history lesson for the crowd. McAdoo wanted to recognize the achievements of others before his own.
Among those he mentioned: Freddy Clark, a childhood friend who later officiated CIAA conference football games and is now in the CIAA and MEAC conferences Hall of Fame as a referee; Gil McGregor from Raeford, who he first saw in a high school all-star game and would go on to be one of the first Black basketball players at Wake Forest in the ’60s, with the college scheduled to raise his jersey at the Joel Coliseum later this year; and Ethel White, one of the pioneers in the Women’s Basketball League, which preceded the WNBA, and who grew up down the street from his family. She’s now in the High Point University and Guilford College Halls of Fame.
Also, Maurice Spencer, who played football at Benbow Park and Page and was later an eight-year starter for the New Orleans Saints.
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The storyteller
McAdoo, who played at Smith High School, had the audience spellbound and doubled over in laughter at times while using his moment with the microphone to interact with the crowd.
“I can’t forget him because he’s one of the guys who beat me in high school,” McAdoo said while pointing out Stahle Vincent, a three-sport star at Dudley High School who would later play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. “They beat us at the Greensboro Coliseum, before one of the biggest high school crowds of all time. ”
“James Sparrow, from New York. Went to A&T State University and was drafted by the Indiana Pacers,” McAdoo deadpanned before grinning, while pointing out another player who would later make it to the NBA. “While at A&T he used to come down here, and he used to get spanked good, by the boys at Benbow Park. But he did his thang.”
“Gene Banks. Duke came in last place (in the ACC conference) the year before he got there and he took them to the Final Four,” McAdoo said of Banks, who would go on to play for the San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls. No one watching could forget one of those games between the Lakers and the Spurs, he said.
“We still tease Magic Johnson because he got 45 points on Magic one night and we haven’t let him live that down yet.”
Khakis not by chance
McAdoo accepted the honor and picked up the key to the city in his khaki pants. The symbolism: McAdoo was known by some of those closest to him as “Khaki Mac” because of his penchant for khakis with a fresh crease that were long enough for his frame.
Bennett Belles
A contingency of Bennett Belles came with a plaque for McAdoo just being a decent guy. He was part of a living room gathering at Lola McAdoo’s home in the ’70s to raise money for Bennett College while he was also making a name for himself as a top athlete. He would later find out that he and the Bennett alumna were cousins.
“Basketball legend, trailblazer and champion for education,” read Bennett Belle and state Sen. Gladys Robinson, one of the day’s speakers who was also there that day as the group came up with a fundraising goal, “In recognition of your steadfast support of Bennett College, your commitment to advancing women’s education and your place on the Bennett Team.”
Mindful
He did not leave Sunday’s events, even with the sun bearing down, until he had signed every autograph and piece of paraphernalia with personalized notes, including copies of his Sports Illustrated cover. Even as Banks and others were reminding him they were late to their reservation at the Historic Magnolia House.
“Bob, we’re late,” Banks repeated.
He wouldn’t move.
Nancy.McLaughlin@greensboro.com
336-373-7049
@nmclaughlinNR
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Nancy McLaughlin
Faith and Values Reporter
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