Terry Pluto

“Right after we signed {George} Gervin, I took him to one of our games and he sat in the stands next to me. After it was over, we walked down to the court. George was wearing a T-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes. He said, 'Why don't they use the 3-point shot more?'

I said, 'Coach [Al] Bianchi doesn't think it's a good percentage shot unless we're behind at the end of the game.'

George said, 'Suppose you could make 15-of-20.'

I said, 'George, that's a really long shot.'

He said, 'But say you could make 15-of-20.'

I said, 'Then Al would probably change his mind.'

The game had been over for a while and the lights were dimmed. It wasn't dark, but it wasn't easy to see the rim, either. George wanted a ball and someone threw him one. He went behind the 3-point line and starting shooting. He took shot after shot and swish after swish.

Then he said 'That's 18 out of 20.'

I said, 'Hey George, let's go make sure that the ink is dry on your contract.'

-Johnny Kerr”
― Terry Pluto, Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association