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By Mel Holbrook
New Post
Other than Bubas and Rupp, Mullins was recruited by a fellow named Joe B. Hall of St. Regis College in Denver, Colo.
"Hall was such a good recruiter," said Mullins. "He talked to me several times about my attending there. I was impressed with him."
Mullins says he chose Duke over UK and Maryland after a family meeting.
"My father emphasized to me how important it was to attend college away from home," Mullins said. "If I had attended Kentucky, I would have lived at home and commuted back and forth. It would have been like high school all over again. I couldn't mature as quickly unless I moved away."
And he chose Duke over Maryland because he didn't like Maryland's slow-paced style of basketball.
"Besides that, Duke is well-known for its academics," added Harris. "It had a good business school, which his father liked. And Bubas is a great coach. Duke just had too much going for it at the time."
At Duke, Mullins was a three-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference performer, helping the Blue Devils reach the NCAA Final Four in both 1963 and '64. He was a first team Ail-American selection in his senior year.
In three seasons, Mullins accumulated 1,888 points and 767 rebounds in only 86 games for averages of 22.0 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.
He played against Kentucky and Rupp only once, in the finals of the Sugar Bowl Tournament at New Orleans in his senior season. Duke lost to UK in that game.
"My good friend and old buddy, Terry Mobley, hit a field goal to win it for them," said Mullins. "He banked one in from way out. After the game, I told him that he forgot to yell 'board!' I'll never forget that game."
While at Duke, Mullins, a business major, was a Rhodes Scholar candidate. He lost out to Bill Bradley of Princeton, who is now a U.S. senator from Massachusetts.
At the end of his stellar collegiate career, Mullins was invited to try out for the 1964 U.S. Olympic squad, making the roster and competing on the American team that captured the gold medal at the World Games in Tokyo. Mullins played with former collegiate stars Walt Hazzard, Bill Bradley and Larry Brown, among others.
"I remember running into Coach Rupp again in Hawaii while training for the Games," said Mullins. "He came over and shook my hand and was very cordial. Our relationship was always great, despite some reports that said we were at odds. Nothing could have been further from the truth."
Mullins was a first-round selection of the St. Louis Hawks of the National Basketball Association. He spent two seasons as a reserve in St. Louis before the Chicago Bulls selected him in the 1966 expansion draft. But before Mullins ever wore a Chicago uniform, he was traded to the San Francisco Warriors.
Ten years and 802 games later, Mullins would retire at the age of 34 with 13,017 career points, an average of 16 points per game. He was a five-time NBA all-star at the guard position and was a member of the Warriors' 1975 World Championship team. Although he was a starter throughout most of his career, Mullins was the key "sixth man" in the Warriors" drive to the title that culminated with a four-game sweep of the Washington Bullets in the championship series. He retired following the 1975-76 season after being voted one of the most popular players in the Bay area.
"The highlight of my pro career was, of course, the World Championship," Mullins stated. "But I remember when I first started out in St. Louis. I remember Bob Petit and Cliff Hagan.
Taking Over Helm At UNCC Driving Down The Lane
As A Member Of NBAs Warriors
especially. Bob and Cliff showed me the way around, how to travel, how to take care of yourself. There were only nine NBA teams at the time, so there wasn't as much travel as there is now. But I learned a lot from those guys about what it takes to make it in professional basketball."
Mullins said he appreciated the opportunity to play basketball for as long as he did.
"I feel so fortunate to have had a very fulfilling career," he stated. "I would have loved to stay in one city, but I was in San Francisco for 10 years. That gave me an opportunity to get involved with the community."
Mullins returned to Duke and North Carolina for one year as the associate athletic director before taking on his car dealership. But he wanted to get further involved with basketball again.
"You have to use basketball, not let it use you," Mullins stated. "You hear about all those kids out there who are not taking advantage of the opportunities afforded them for playing the game. If you can't play professionally, you at least have the opportunity to get an education and land a good job."
"When I first heard about him taking the UNCC job, I couldn't believe it," said Harris. "It shook us all up. He'd been offered several jobs at bigger schools. He could have had the job at the University of Hawaii, but he turned that down. I don't know why.
"I told him he wasn't mean with anybody, so how could he be a coach?," Harris continued. "He said you don't have to be mean to be a coach. He also said he liked Charlotte because there are no professional teams there. And there are plenty of good athletes in the local high schools. Besides that, they're going to build a new 25.000-seat arena later on."
"There is some apprehension about taking on a brand new responsibility." said Mullins. "But it's not like we're starting over. We're in the selling business, and I've been involved with that for quite some time. I have to use some of my marketing skills I learned in the automobile business. But that's all a part of life."
Mullins With His 1985-86 Squad
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