[Lynn_Shackelford]

Wasn't Dave Debusschere a member at Garden City Golf Club?  Did anybody ever play a round of golf with him?
Man what a basketball player.  He made the clutch rebound, clutch basket and clutch screen.  A great "behind the scene" worker.  He wasn't afraid of anything on the court.

[Doug Wright]

Lynn,

Totally agree re Dave Debusschere. An integral cog of one of the purest professional basketball teams ever, the Reed-Clyde-Bradley-Debusschere-Monroe Knicks (with a gawky Phil Jackson coming off the bench) during what I think was the "golden age" of basketball, college and pro: 1964-1974. Basketball as it's meant to be played was played during that period.

All The Best,

[Steve Lapper]

  I had the pleasure of playing a few holes one afternoon (from 15 in) with Dave and his son Peter. As an unabashed former Knick fan, I was in total awe of walking alongside one my early sports heroes.
    My member host is a very good friend of Pete DeBusschere's and once Pete recognized who was behind them, asked if we would like to play the last few together.
    Dave reached out and introduced himself and asked what I thought of the course. I told him no matter how good the golf or course was, my day was already made by meeting one of the "real Knicks. As we hit our second shots on 17, he remarked how he missed being young and getting there in two. I made it to the front of the green in two and told him I gladly would have traded that ability for his to make clutch inside turnaround jumpers.
     We had a post-round cold one and I could drool on forever, but the fact was: I had met one of my legends and he was as equally a nice and friendly guy as he was a champoinship basketball player. Today is a sad day for all those who worshiped the golden day of basketball, but an even sadder day for those who cherish the classy human beings who once inhabited the world of professional sports.

   Yesterday the sporting world lost a great person....May he rest in peace.



  

[Tim_Weiman]

Lynn:

I've never played golf with Dave Debusschere, but I have had one memorable experience playing with an NBA player in Cleveland, Tyronne Hill.

Tyronne was not what you would call the most talented golfer. I remember playing a little bump and run seven iron onto a green and he stood there in amazement how anyone could do such a thing.

But, Tyronne did manage to hit the longest pitching wedge I ever saw. Playing uphill from about 220 yards for some unknown reason he selected the wedge and managed to hit it about 20 yards over the green. I swear to God wind was not a factor.......and it wasn't the least bit pretty as it never went more than about ten feet off the ground, but he did it.

Very nice gentleman, though. I'd be happy to play with him any time.

[Jamie_Duffner]

Never played with him, but he played through a foursome I was in at GCGC.  It was the 5th hole, he badly pushed a long iron off the 5th tee into Garden City's knee high fescue, but he hit some kind of recovery to about ten feet.  At the time, and this was probably ten years ago, I was told he was around a 6 or 7.  After he played we all broke into Debusschere stories both on and off the court.  He was a resident of GC and a very charitable person and well liked, but of course there was the other side.  He was taken home on several occasions by GC police in the wee hours of the morning.  They were extremely friendly and lenient to him.

Pete Vescey's column yesterday was a good piece on Debusschere.

[GeoffreyC]

Dave Debusschere was one of the all time clutch players.  The Knick management should remember the trade that sent him to the Knicks with fond memories.  It was the linchpin deal setting up their championship runs and probably the last good trade they ever made  

Lynn- his corner jumpshot still couldn't hold a candle to yours although I guess it helped that 5 guys all would collapse back on Lou before he kicked it back out to you in the corner.

[A.G._Crockett]

As a high school basketball coach for 26 years, beginning in 1974, you can imagine how I view those Knick teams.  They were a team in the finest sense of the word, greater by far than the sum of their parts, and Debusschere typlified blue-collar play.  He was a guy who made people around him better, didn't need the ball, wasn't afraid of the big shot, and was always and only about winning.  Put together with other guys like him, its no wonder that they were such a beauty to behold on the court.  They were worthy heirs to the Russell's Celtics, and there haven't been many like them since.  I think its possible that they, as a team, had the highest level of intelligence any of us will ever see from one team.
I know this isn't a golf-related post, but I too hate to see one of the great ones go.

[bethpageblack76]

I've played GCCC about a half dozen times and almost always #22 was at their fabled bar with a cold one and always gracious with conversation.
He was always a gentleman, and when I was introduced to him the second, third times always treated me like an old friend although he honestly didn't remember who I was. Made me feel ten feet tall.
David liked his cold ones and should have taken better care of himself, but he was never bitter and always a friend to any hoop fan.

[rgkeller]

DD was indeed a member of Garden City for more than twenty years although he did not play much golf there. One was more likely to encounter him at the mahogany after a day working in Manhattan than on the putting green on a weekend.

It was a treat when he joined a group watching an NBA playoff game. DD really knew the game.

I did play with him several times over the years. In the eighties when he played more, DD was a legitimate five handicap golfer with the expected considerable length generated by a very good golf swing. Had he invested in golf the time that many pro and former pro athletes do today, DD would have been among the best of that lot.

The membership was much saddened by his sudden passing. He had many true friends at Garden City Golf.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Lynn Shackelford,

I first saw Dave when he played for U of D
He was a great basketball and baseball player.

One of my favorite stories about Dave had to do with a fellow member of GCGC and Westhampton named George, who was known to wager, on a few things.

One day after being drubbed by Dave, he insisted that given a 10-20 yard headstart that he could beat Dave in a 100 yard dash.  Dave thought about it for a few seconds and then stated, that he thought that George didn't have an athletic bone in his body, and that he could run backwards and beat George in a 100 yard dash.  George was insulted, accepted the offer, and doubled the bet.  The race was set up, 100 yards...... the whistle blew, and Dave beat him by a mile.

After the race, as George was mumbling how he couldn't understand how Dave could beat him by running backwards, when he was running normally, Dave said, "George, I've been running backwards all my life...... on defense, against the greatest basketball players in the world".

That's when the light bulb lit up in George's head,
he'd forgotten that little, but important fact.

Dave was always exceedingly nice to me, and I'm saddened that he passed away at a relatively young age.

It's a reminder, that we should take care of our families, tend to our business, and then play as much golf as we can.

[ForkaB]

Thanks, Patrick.  That was a 3*** post if I have ever seen one.

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