Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Discussion of the league and of our favorite team.
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Charlie Smithy!
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Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by Charlie Smithy! »

We've undoubtedly seen a lot of memorable players come through our organization since 1968. But then there are those players, speaking for myself, that we only remember because they happen to be on the Phoenix Suns' roster on NBA Live 95.

With that in mind, I'll start us off with one Herman "Skeeter" Henry:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/pl ... ysk01.html



Image

Dude appeared in all of four games with us, including briefly in the playoffs.

Does anyone remember anything about him? All I know is, is that out of curiosity, I tried to use him in NBA Live 95. And that did not go well.

But yeah, what (or which) obscurely random Phoenix Suns players have lodged themselves in your guys' memories over the years?

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Cap
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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by Cap »

Mike Niles. I just remember him missing a breakaway dunk during garbage time (which was the only time he played).

ETA: Holy s, I just looked him up on Wikipedia and learned something I did not know.
“Are you crazy?! You think I’m going to go for seven years and try to get there? You enjoy the 2030 draft picks that we have holding? I want to try to see the game today.” — Ish 3/13/25

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The Bobster
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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by The Bobster »

Cap wrote:
Wed Feb 26, 2025 6:50 pm
Mike Niles. I just remember him missing a breakaway dunk during garbage time (which was the only time he played).

ETA: Holy s, I just looked him up on Wikipedia and learned something I did not know.
Yep, I ran accross that a few years back when I was looking for biogrphical information on him.
Author of The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts
Available from Scarecrow Press at - https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810890695

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Kryptonic
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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by Kryptonic »

The Bobster wrote:
Wed Feb 26, 2025 7:27 pm
Cap wrote:
Wed Feb 26, 2025 6:50 pm
Mike Niles. I just remember him missing a breakaway dunk during garbage time (which was the only time he played).

ETA: Holy s, I just looked him up on Wikipedia and learned something I did not know.
Yep, I ran accross that a few years back when I was looking for biogrphical information on him.

Killed his wife….
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm ... story.html

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Kryptonic
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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by Kryptonic »

My favorite obscure player was Horacio llamas

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Cap
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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by Cap »

Mustaf, Niles… do we lead the league in this stuff?
“Are you crazy?! You think I’m going to go for seven years and try to get there? You enjoy the 2030 draft picks that we have holding? I want to try to see the game today.” — Ish 3/13/25

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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by Kryptonic »

Cap wrote:
Wed Feb 26, 2025 7:37 pm
Mustaf, Niles… do we lead the league in this stuff?
Memphis might get there in time…

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Cap
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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by Cap »

I kinda posted it as a joke, but I wouldn’t be half surprised if Bobster comes back with a list of franchises that are really leading the league in murderers.
“Are you crazy?! You think I’m going to go for seven years and try to get there? You enjoy the 2030 draft picks that we have holding? I want to try to see the game today.” — Ish 3/13/25

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The Bobster
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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by The Bobster »

I'm going with Rich Kelley.

Kelley always looked disheveled and wasn't pretty to watch, but he was pretty effective as a player. One of the best backup centers in the league at the time.

Coming out of high school Kelley was pretty highly recuited and was offered a scholarship to UCLA, but they already had Bill Walton so he decided to go to Stanford instead and was third team All-American his senior year.

Kelley was the 7th pick overall by the Jazz in 1975 where he was a teammate of Pete Maravich and Truck Robinson. in 1979 he was traded to New Jersey for Bernard King and two other players in a lopsided trade....... in the Nets' favor (King's time with the Jazz was a nightmare).

After a half year in New Jersey, the Suns picked him up in a trade. Colangelo (and the Suns ownership) didn't much of a problem with picking up players with hefty contracts (like Kelley, Robinson, James Edwards, Maurice Lucas) in order to find a big man who could help shed the "finesse team" label.






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Available from Scarecrow Press at - https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810890695

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The Bobster
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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by The Bobster »

Cap wrote:
Wed Feb 26, 2025 7:37 pm
Mustaf, Niles… do we lead the league in this stuff?
And there's also former draft pick Jayson WIlliams.
Author of The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts
Available from Scarecrow Press at - https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810890695

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The Bobster
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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by The Bobster »

Cap wrote:
Wed Feb 26, 2025 7:40 pm
I kinda posted it as a joke, but I wouldn’t be half surprised if Bobster comes back with a list of franchises that are really leading the league in murderers.

Well, Javaris Crittenton is the only other one I can think of off the top of my head.
Author of The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts
Available from Scarecrow Press at - https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810890695

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Charlie Smithy!
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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by Charlie Smithy! »

The Bobster wrote:
Wed Feb 26, 2025 7:50 pm
I'm going with Rich Kelley.

Kelley always looked disheveled and wasn't pretty to watch, but he was pretty effective as a player. One of the best backup centers in the league at the time.

Coming out of high school Kelley was pretty highly recuited and was offered a scholarship to UCLA, but they already had Bill Walton so he decided to go to Stanford instead and was third team All-American his senior year.

Kelley was the 7th pick overall by the Jazz in 1975 where he was a teammate of Pete Maravich and Truck Robinson. in 1979 he was traded to New Jersey for Bernard King and two other players in a lopsided trade....... in the Nets' favor (King's time with the Jazz was a nightmare).
I've heard this about him as well, and as a brief segue of my own curiosity, why was that?

And my second question about Bernard king, because he was before my time, what type of player was he before his injury and then afterwards? I know he managed to make another All-Star team with the bullets in 1991, but I imagine that he had to have changed or adapted his game at that point.

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JeremyG
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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by JeremyG »

Cap wrote:
Wed Feb 26, 2025 7:37 pm
Mustaf, Niles… do we lead the league in this stuff?
I had no idea Mustaf died recently (October 28, on his 55th birthday).
"I'm a Deandre Ayton guy."--Al McCoy, September 21, 2022.

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JeremyG
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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by JeremyG »

I’ll go with Mario Bennett…from Arizona State. :P
"I'm a Deandre Ayton guy."--Al McCoy, September 21, 2022.

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The Bobster
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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by The Bobster »

Charlie Smithy! wrote:
Wed Feb 26, 2025 7:56 pm
The Bobster wrote:
Wed Feb 26, 2025 7:50 pm
I'm going with Rich Kelley.

Kelley always looked disheveled and wasn't pretty to watch, but he was pretty effective as a player. One of the best backup centers in the league at the time.

Coming out of high school Kelley was pretty highly recuited and was offered a scholarship to UCLA, but they already had Bill Walton so he decided to go to Stanford instead and was third team All-American his senior year.

Kelley was the 7th pick overall by the Jazz in 1975 where he was a teammate of Pete Maravich and Truck Robinson. in 1979 he was traded to New Jersey for Bernard King and two other players in a lopsided trade....... in the Nets' favor (King's time with the Jazz was a nightmare).
I've heard this about him as well, and as a brief segue of my own curiosity, why was that?

And my second question about Bernard king, because he was before my time, what type of player was he before his injury and then afterwards? I know he managed to make another All-Star team with the bullets in 1991, but I imagine that he had to have changed or adapted his game at that point.
King had a lot of legal issues in college at Tennessee and with the Nets, probably stemming form his substance abuse.

In Utah he was charged with forced sexual assault, but plea bargained it down to attempted forced sexualabuse and avoided jail time.

Before his knee injury King was extremely quick and almost impossible to guard. He was his own worst enemy back then too.
Author of The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts
Available from Scarecrow Press at - https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810890695

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The Bobster
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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by The Bobster »

JeremyG wrote:
Wed Feb 26, 2025 8:00 pm
Cap wrote:
Wed Feb 26, 2025 7:37 pm
Mustaf, Niles… do we lead the league in this stuff?
I had no idea Mustaf died recently (October 28, on his 55th birthday).
I got an email from Mustaf when he was running his low-level minor basketball league. I guess he was contacting everybody in an effort to publicize it.

I shit-canned that e-mail as soon as I saw who it was from.
Author of The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts
Available from Scarecrow Press at - https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810890695

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Cap
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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by Cap »

The Bobster wrote:
Wed Feb 26, 2025 7:55 pm
Cap wrote:
Wed Feb 26, 2025 7:40 pm
I kinda posted it as a joke, but I wouldn’t be half surprised if Bobster comes back with a list of franchises that are really leading the league in murderers.

Well, Javaris Crittenton is the only other one I can think of off the top of my head.
Don’t forget Vince Carter. Did you see what he did to Frederic Weiss?
JeremyG wrote:
Wed Feb 26, 2025 8:01 pm
I’ll go with Mario Bennett…from Arizona State. :P
Can’t mention Super Mario Bennett without Mighty Joe Kleine, and if you have any idea what I’m talking about, you’ve really been around a while.
Last edited by Cap on Thu Feb 27, 2025 9:30 am, edited 2 times in total.
“Are you crazy?! You think I’m going to go for seven years and try to get there? You enjoy the 2030 draft picks that we have holding? I want to try to see the game today.” — Ish 3/13/25

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Split T
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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by Split T »

I always randomly remember being a Trevor Ruffin fan…I think he only played 1 or 2 seasons with the suns in the mid 90s when I was like 8…I have no clue why I chose to remember him, but I do haha

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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by Superbone »

JeremyG wrote:
Wed Feb 26, 2025 8:01 pm
I’ll go with Mario Bennett…from Arizona State. :P
Which make me think of Eddie House.
Synchronicity and all that jazz, man.

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Cap
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Re: Name an obscure Phoenix Sun (as well as anything that comes to your mind about them).

Post by Cap »

Charlie Smithy! wrote:
Wed Feb 26, 2025 7:56 pm
And my second question about Bernard king, because he was before my time, what type of player was he before his injury and then afterwards? I know he managed to make another All-Star team with the bullets in 1991, but I imagine that he had to have changed or adapted his game at that point.
Did Paul Pierce make the All-Star team with the bullets, or did he have them removed?
“Are you crazy?! You think I’m going to go for seven years and try to get there? You enjoy the 2030 draft picks that we have holding? I want to try to see the game today.” — Ish 3/13/25

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