Remembering an Era: 2002-03

What’s the over/under on the number of months before everyone figures out that the problem was the Pistons and not Iverson?

I’d guess the realization comes around December, but it could come sooner.

The hex is in full effect, and it’s gonna be that way for a loooooong time.

Lol, this article is really good. Brought a smile to my face.

So maybe we have too much talent now.

Good article.

That factoid about Curry is :) He scored 236 points that entire season (played in 78 games)! I think he can safely be described just as “a horrible player and a horrible coach.”

“The hex is in full effect, and it’s gonna be that way for a loooooong time.”

Meh, the White Sox won the world series four years after letting go of Harold Baines. We’ll be fine.

Since we’re talking about hexes…

let’s hope a Pistons’ fan does like the Cubs’ fans did yesterday

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,515197,00.html

I don’t know if I’d giggle to myself or laugh out loud if I saw Allen Iverson’s head at the entrance to the Palace signifying a curse on the franchise.

and Gabe..

I think we can all agree that you don’t have to be a great player in any league to be a good coach.

Michael Jordan is a below average front office executive, but was the greatest guard to ever play the game.

I think Curry will be fine… he is AFI, but I think he’ll be fine.

@Boney- True, true. Although Curry was such a horrible player it makes me wonder if he just doesn’t understand the basics of basketball. And he actually stated out loud that his greatest coaching influence was/is Doug Collins!!! So he also has that going against him (seriously, Michael Curry, the player, learning about coaching from Doug Collins, that’s just bound to lead to something bad…).

@Petey- does the hex extend to Detroit casinos??:
http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/pistonsblog/index.php?blogid=1886

hmm, post didn’t appear :(

@Boney- True. Except Curry was so bad as a player it makes me wonder if he just doesn’t understand the basics of basketball. And he stated that his greatest coaching influence was/is Doug Collins! Curry the player learning the coaching ropes from Doug Collins is bound to lead to something bad.

@Petey- does the hex extend to Detroit casinos?:
http://apps.detnews.com/apps/blogs/pistonsblog/index.php

How dare the casinos kick Iverson out! The basketball gods do not like it when you disrespect a player of AI’s abilities (career 42% fg)…

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/04/13/iverson-banned-from-2-detroit-casinos/

that leads to another question…

Why the fuck is Allen Iverson still in Detroit?

He can collect his unemployment check while sitting on his tired ass at home…

Duys,

I dink dat joo been doo har d’on Bay-I. Dee is a dood pwayur, d’and bee kood beely yooz heem in da playoff.

Bay-I,

If yoo lisden’n, kummon bak okie? D’I dow dat bee day Duckey dart bee dood door diz kuhrear dut… dour dindo closind d’and dee deed dour d’skeyills.

Dank joo,
Bikeul Durry

“”http://www.detroitbadboys.com/archives/2009-04-05/pistons-bobcats-game-thread-2/#comment-179078" rel="nofollow">Yes. I won’t be harping on about this past this thread. Then I really would be a troll, and that’s never my intention. "

Dude, you just don’t give up do you.

Remembering an era.

This is what old people do when they aren’t capable of doing anything else.

Writing this as I read in real-time.

Why Cliff Robinson, who was only about 130-years-old at the time. And fans who currently like to gently remind Rasheed Wallace that maybe he shouldn’t take his three or four three-pointers per game at a 35 percent clip should remember that Uncle Cliffy invented the power forward jacking up more than three threes a game genre in Detroit. He owns the patent.

You forgot Terry Mills!

Carlisle insisted on starting Michael Curry (more on him in a minute)

My interest has been piqued.

The Pistons fleeced Washington in the Jerry Stackhouse trade before the season started. Stackhouse was a high-volume scorer, not a great defender and a pretty bad perimeter shooter. They got Hamilton, who was younger, a more efficient scorer, a more willing defender and made less money. The only category Stack wins in: he once punched Christian Laettner.

My younger, more ignorant, more naive self was very upset when this trade was first made, because I didn’t understand the important difference between scoring totals and scoring efficiency.

And speaking of Curry, many new fans may only know him as a pretty bad coach. But remember, before he was a pretty bad coach, he was a pretty bad player. While Prince sat on the bench for half of his rookie season, Michael Curry was busy compiling the fourth-worst PER in NBA history for a player who played at least 1,500 minutes in a season.

Holy hell.

Lol @ AI. And I refuse to respond to trolling, and I suggest others do the same.

Mike, so true. But it beats talking about how they matchup with Cleveland in the first round, right?

Iverson, though, has been banned mostly for his boorish behavior. He is a bad loser, and he loses a lot, often throwing his chips or cards at the dealer. He has been warned about improper behavior at the tables repeatedly. He is often loud and disruptive, according to witnesses, rude to dealers, other players and the wait staff.

Tee hee.

Last year during the Playoffs, I forget which game, Barkley was talking about the Stons and their inconsistency. He claimed that the Piston organization had been living off the glory of past championships and had failed to do what was necessary to win another.

At the time, I thought he was silly.

But now, I can’t help but wonder if he was right — and if we will end up spending the next couple years more nostalgic about the past than enjoying the present.

Meh, the White Sox won the world series four years after letting go of Harold Baines. We’ll be fine.

Kevin, we brought him back as a coach though and he was part of that World Series team. I don’t think the Stones are bringing AI back as a coach…but then again, Harold Baines wasn’t a whiny little bitch.

Fleecing is Cliff Robinson for Jud Buechler and John Wallace. Why would Phoenix make THAT deal? Uncle Cliffy played another 484 games (of quality ball) in the league after the Suns traded him, Wallace and Buechler a combined 149 games (of suckitude), both of the were out of basketball within 2 seasons.

When Petey means “hex,” he means Allen Iverson is temporary herpes. It’s the only infection of its class that you can actually get rid of … it’s been a party, every day, now that the BTD (basketbally-transmitted-disease) has left the Pistons bloodstream.

Detroit now calls the place you gamble a ‘csno’. You know…no AI.

This was a nice memory trip. These guys are going to fit in just fine, here.

OT: this is some bad juju: “Indiana plant that gave name to NBA’s Pistons closing”

http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090414/News01/904140264/1130

No mention of Jon Barry and the Alternatorz? One of the best benches in the league, if I remember correctly, unless I’m wrong of course.

curry not just forgetable COACH, but also forgetable PLAYER. if not for GOOD 50-win seasons, would be FORGOTTEN player. just epinion

Actually, Curry fits the profile of the kind of player that makes a good coach. From what I hear, Phil Jackson and Pat Riley were unathletic players that survived because of toughness and basketball IQ. I think Larry Brown was supposedly better. Popovich, I don’t know. Or Sloan. Doc Rivers is probably the best player of the bunch. Nate McMillan wasn’t bad either.

It’s the really talented players that make bad coaches: Magic, Isiah, Bird. Maybe because they can’t understand players’ limitations.

Fun post, or at least as much fun as we’re going to have in the next couple of weeks.

It’s also a reminder of how much better the East has gotten in the last few years. Detroit was able to put together that season in a really weak East. Unfortunately, in two of the last three years, the best team in the NBA — or at least the team that was playing the best in the playoffs — was also in the East.

@QD- You’re definitely right that the “high b-ball IQ” types seem to end up being the best coaches, but maybe unfortunately for us, all the coaches you mention were much better players than Curry (look particularly at the per/36 numbers):

http://www.basketball-reference.com/fc/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=1&=c&p1=currymi01&y1=2005&=r&p2=rileypa01&y2=1976&=j&p3=jacksph01&y3=1980&=s&p4=sloanje01&y4=1976

I guess I’m just curious if there is a cut-off where if someone is as horrible of a player as Curry was, whether that horribleness at playing the game translates to being horrible at coaching also.

I remember Curry being a decent player. Granted, I also remember saying “where the fuck has this guy been?” when Tay emerged in the playoffs that year.

Considering he went from undrafted to full time NBA starter without anything close to MFWB athletic ability to make it possible, he must have been smart, tough, and hard-working back then.

Nice article, looking forward to seeing the 03/04 recap.

I guess I’m just curious if there is a cut-off where if someone is as horrible of a player as Curry was, whether that horribleness at playing the game translates to being horrible at coaching also.

MC was a bad player. He’s also been a bad coach thus far. But I’m not convinced the two always coincide.

Undoubtedly, there are a whole lot of factors that contribute to what makes a good coach.

1) Good players. See Phil Jackson, Doc Rivers, Red, and on and on.
2) Good Bball IQ. See above. I’d also add Jerry Sloan, because I think he’s a helluva coach who just hasn’t had luck on his side. Also, Rick Adelman, and maybe even Flip Saunders.
3) Good communicator and motivator. Ugh, I’m getting depressed the more I write … all I can think about are bebounds.
4) Good GM. One who understands the needs of the team, the chemistry of the team, and the style of the coach.

What am I missing?

Edward:

The Alternatorz were the year before, in 2001-2002, with Damon Jones, Barry and Corliss. Corliss and Barry were still on the 02-03 team, but by the end of the season, I think Barry had fallen out of favor. He got fewer minutes all season and wasn’t playing much at all in the playoffs.

@brgulker- Great list, I’d add “good teacher” which I think would include Larry Brown and Popovich (both have been especially good at improving the play of their teams guards). Flip definitely deserves to be in the Good Bball IQ column, he knows the game as well as the very best coaches in the league.

I think another helpful thing to think about is what makes a bad coach (other than just bad luck and bad players).

The first two parts of my list would be:

1) Too Stubborn. A lot of the worst coaches crash and burn from not being flexible enough to use the talent they actually have, rather than the talent they wish they had. Perfect example of this was P.J. Carlesimo with OKC, and how they improved after he got fired. I’d also say being flexible was what made Pat Riley a great coach, he always crated his teams and their strategy according to his actual roster and the leagues shifting rule book.

2) Crappy X’s and O’s. I think we’ve seen some of that this year from Curry. A lot of coaches struggle with this- i.e. Doc Rivers and Mike Brown the last few years, but it can be overcome with good players, and good defensive assistants. Also, D’Antoni is an example of how a great X’s & O’s coach can really help a team.

Also, just the reverse of your #‘s 2-4 are also signs of bad coaches (bad bball IQ, bad communicator, bad GM), there’s definitely more…

• oops: “…Riley always crafted his teams strategy according to his actual roster…” *

I’m looking forward to these yearly recaps (at least more than the upcoming playoffs). This year does seem to signal a true “end to an era,” so why not review it? And the ‘03-’04 review will be especially fun.

But after that, I think we’re going to be reminded of stuff we already know. After ‘04, Detroit’s biggest problem was a lack of a decent bench. I guess we can debate again whether Larry/Flip didn’t play the bench guys enough or whether they didn’t have the talent. I’m in the latter camp. Beyond Dyess and some games by Lindsey H., what have Darvin Ham, Mo Evans, Carlos Delfino, Smush Parker, Carlos Arroyo, etc., done since their Detroit stints?

Of course, Darko didn’t work out, and we can all wonder What If we had drafted Bosh (or any of several other current stars).

So, we had a great starting five, but we had to play them too many minutes because we would lose leads when the bench came in. We never found a true replacement for Ben (although I’ll still be one of the handful to stick up for Chris Webber). Detroit seems uniquely unable to find a 4 or 5 with a post game. The league made it harder for Detroit to play the kind of defense it did from ‘03-’05, and while the offense was often efficient, it was hardly explosive, especially in the Ben/Nazr period. ’Sheed got older, and — if you believed folks around here — Chauncey got too slow to guard the new, superquick PGs.

Could we have gotten a better bench? On the one hand, how hard is it to get a decent backup SF and shooting guard? On the other hand, Detroit was in a tough position re trades. None of the starting five was considered a true “superstar,” yet Detroit’s whole was always greater than the sum of its parts, so subtracting any one for “equal value” was always a risk — and hey, look how trading a Detroit starter for a “superstar” worked out this year. And of course we never had good draft pick numbers.

Still, this year (and, I worry, next year) are going to make the 50+ win but no championship years seem really great. And in a lot of ways, they were.

Doc Rivers is no good coach.

Good to see you guys staying the course in the online media game. Good recap!

I didn’t mean to say he was, just that he had really good players — for the record.

I agree with that “he had really good players” sentiment. That’s the same tag I give Flip Saunders.

You could probably give that same tag to Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, Red Auerbach, Greg Popovich, and anybody else that’s won a championship or two in the last century. You don’t win without really, really good players. That’s all there is to it. There is no magical shaman out there coaxing championships out of a D-League squad. You need studs. And don’t talk about our ‘04 team— Ben was one of the greatest post defenders in the history of the game and was in his prime, and we’ve all seen how good Chauncey really was now that we’re watching him take somebody else to an elite level. We had our superstars (just without the salary/name recognition).

Red had the greatest defender of all time. Riley had Magic, Kareem, D-Wade and Shaq. Phil had Jordan, Pippen, Kobe, and Shaq. Popovich had/has the greatest PF in history, an elite 6th man, and an elite PG.

Coaches aren’t shit without players. I don’t care how great a “teacher” or “motivator” they are.

Oh, totally forgot about that Hall of Fame center that Pop had for a while too…

@Joel

You mean Nazr? Just kidding, of course.

Joel,

I agree completely.

But, isn’t there something to be said for coaches who take average talent and make them competitive?

I would argue that’s what Carlisle did in Detroit.

=====

I want to add one thing to my list:

5) Putting players in a position to succeed.

Or, you could say something like maximizing each player’s potential, if you like.

I think this gets at things like chemistry and rotation. Good coaches are able to discern which parts work best with each other and in different situations.

That’s one of the things I love about Pop. He’s been able to convince Manu that the best thing for the team is for him to be a super-sub.

Of course, he’s been right.

TP and TD are able to hold it down in the starting line-up, and throwing Manu in as the 6th man gives SA a completely different look.

We, of course, have had an 81-game lesson in how to not manage rotations effectively (and maybe even longer, because I never liked Flip’s rotations come playoff time).

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Video-Walter-Herrmann-s-flick-trick-shot-from-t?urn=nba,155719

Hermann hits a trick shot from the bench, via Ball Don’t Lie.

About tagging Phil Jackson, et cetera ..

Not really … you can have all the talent in the world on a team and still blow it, like Flip Saunders, and Avery Johnson.

Avery Johnson is a world class idiot. I wish him to join up with a team like Denver, so that he can shoot them in the foot with his adjustments and rotations come playoff time.

All-knowing Sauce, whose intellect is only matched by his typical internet anger— who would be a good coach for the Pistons then? Do you have any ideas to offer? How about offseason acquisitions? Are there any players in existence whose presence in Detroit wouldn’t set you off in a retarded little childlike rant about how “fucking stupid” everyone is for wanting him on our team? Just curious. I see a lot “that won’t work” but not a lot of “here’s what would.”

You can read emotions in text, Joel? That’s news to me. I can read intelligence, though, and your thoughts are pretty fucking stupid!

See, you felt left out of that ‘not wanting’ festival of mine, so I included you. I’m a sharing, caring kind of guy.

Doc Rivers has a championship. Plus, he had that team playing hard night in, night out. And seeing as though the posters on this site like to blame the coach first when the Pistons don’t play hard, then you have to give Doc credit for Boston bringing it every night.

I thought he outcoached Phil Jackson in the Finals. He also kept the team from panicking when they went 7 games against Atlanta and Cleveland and lost game 2 against Detroit.

Avery Johnson got that toughness-impaired team past the Spurs. And they would have won a title if the refs didn’t hand Miami Games 3 and 5.

He also got that Warriors team past his own, due to the lack of strengths you seem to purport, QD. And Phil can’t win ’em all … Detroit should know that well enough.

If we wanted “not good,” “half-assed,” “idiot” coaches, let’s just keep Curry.

Ahhhh, 2002-2003. Good times. Good times. It’s weird to me that I don’t remember Okur being on that team at all, and yet I remember Zelly Rebraca, Don Reid, and Danny Manning.

@Sauce- I’m not a big fan of Avery’s either, but I am actually curious, who would you take to be a non-idiot coach that is up for grabs this off-season?

@Garrett- :) I liked Zelly, though the random player I still remember too well is Jon Barry (but I hate his ‘persona’ on ESPN), and the random TV color commentator I still remember too well is Kelly Tripucka (who does some Knicks games now, and is still pretty good).

I remember thinking the Pistons had the deeper and more talented team (especially with the emergence of Prince) against the Nets, not to mention homecourt advantage. I also remember thinking that the Wizards were making a mistake in trading Hamilton for Stackhouse. Jordan and Stackhouse never seemed to have good games at the same time. He had better chemistry with Hamilton.

There are none up for grabs, Gabe.

Meaning, there’s no point in overpaying for someone who won’t do much better a job than Curry. So, if Curry is that bad, and I’ll agree on a poor assessment of Curry, there just isn’t much to savor from his debut, then let’s get another assistant from someone …. try someone new … instead of paying for sure garbage.

Find out what it takes to get Thibodeau, or is that guy crap? Why would he be crap … too old? Isn’t a leader, just a helper? Why not someone that hasn’t been tried before, instead of waltzing in more colossal failures like Avery Johnson?

If you’re going to go after somebody, you’d hope to snatch up a guy like Byron Scott, should the Hornets decide that contract extension was a bad idea … coaches get fired every year that didn’t deserve it, and Byron would be one of those guys, unlike Avery Johnson, who should have been let go after the Warriors brought down his goliath club.

Another assistant …

Probably we should pass on Chris Jent, since he’s an OSU douchebag. Just kidding … if the money talks, and he wants a crack at running the floor with the clipboard, then fine, there’s a better opportunity here than when he was an interim coach in wake of Johnny Davis’s canning. They trust him with personnel decisions, and I doubt he’d be as awful about adjustments if that’s the case.

At least Jent doesn’t sound like Mushmouth from “Fat Albert.”

See, I can produce names, and reasons. Why would you ever be curious, Gabe? I’m an annoying fucking grouch of an idiot who washes himself in the toilet and eats rocks for breakfast, and yells at people about his broken teeth!

i remember when tayshaun prince was a lockdown defender. times…

you know what I do if I’m Joe Dumars?

I call Phil Jackson at the end of the season and I say:

“You know what Phil? I know you got that cush job with the Lakers… I know it’s mostly about money at this point for you… Here’s 15 million, per season, for 3 seasons.”

and then I call up Kobe and I say “kobe, sign a 2 year deal here… then at the end of the 2 years, we’ll sign you to a max for the remaining 3 to 4 years of your career.”

and then I trade Rip to LA for Andrew Bynum
and then I sign Lamar Odom

Byron Scott, that would be ideal, even if he’s had problems with Kidd, he’s still coached a couple of the best PG’s in the game, he’d be great for Stuckey and Bynum, and he seems like a real motivator, and a guy that Rip and Tayshaun would take to as well as Rasheed if we some how re sign him to a small contract.

Fire Scott!!

and then I sign and trade McDyess, for Caron Butler
and then I trade Tayshaun Prince for back in time Bruce Bowen, like from 2005.

I remember watching Chris Jent playing for the North Melbourne Giants against the Perth Wildcats (on TV) in the NBL Grand Final series. It must have been 94 or something and he was one hell of a scorer of the basketball. My Cats won though, so it is a happy memory.

One thing about MCIAFI, what do his assistants actually do? Draw symbols on whiteboards as well?

Sauce, I read that Tom Thibadeau has got people skills that makes Rick Carlisle look like Pete Carroll.

I think the Pistons need to go back to fundamental Piston basketball. I came up with a formula:

Toughness + Unselfishness + Commitment to Defense = Piston

McDyess = Piston
Tay = Piston
Rip = Piston
Stuck = Piston
MFWB = Piston
Maxiell = Piston
Afflalo = Piston
Herrmann = Piston (that dude’s been through alot)

Sheed + Mental Fortitude = Piston (bye bye)
Amir + 20lbs of muscle = Piston (hit the gym)
Kwame + Mean Streak = Piston (learn martial arts)
Sharpe (not enough data)
AI + Commitment to Defense – Selfishness = Piston (bye bye)

Some Free Agents:
Milsap = Piston
Boozer + Sense of Loyalty = Piston
Odom + Mean Streak = Piston

@Boney- I’d only do that deal if LA adds Sasha into the package.

@Sauce- Just curious to hear who you were partial to, hadn’t heard of Chris Jent, he sounds decent.

I’m probably crazy, but I still think Laimbeer will be a good coach in the NBA someday, but with the look of things it probably won’t be with the Pistons.

There must be some bad history between Lamb and Joe or I think he would have already been a Piston coach .I think he would do a helluv alot better curry.

Remember how Carroll treated Sanchez when he said he was going pro? Sounds like Thibodeau is real trouble, QD.

Boney, Detroit Lakers sounds like a great idea. I can consolidate fandom. I’m on board with that.

@brgulker:
1) Good players.
2) Good Bball IQ.
3) Good communicator and motivator

1) good players: he’s a once-in-a-generation talent.
2) good bball IQ: he’s arguably one of the smartest in the league.
3) good communicator and motivator. as a player, he’s the loudest on the floor on defense, forceful on offense. as a motivator, he’s always in the ear of the other players on the bench, sometimes seen drawing x’s and o’s to the younger bigs.

Rasheed for coach! (funny thing is, I’m only 80% kidding)

@QD:
re: Pistons formula

I love it. I think we should start a DBB fund for two things for Kwame Brown, the first being martial arts classes.

The second? Hand replacement surgery. We remove Walter Herrmann’s hands (and hair) and surgically attach both to Kwame Brown.

“At 6’11, 270 pounds out of Charleston, South Carolina. The big man in the center with the flowing blonde locks, the monster hands of hell, KWWAMME BROWNN!!!!!!!”

Instant champions.

This team, as old as they are (they aren’t that old honestly,) even with AI and all his baggage, should have been right there with Atlanta battling for the 4th spot at the very minimum. It was clear that they would not be as good without Chauncey, but no one expected this kind of drop off. A better coach would have won those 5-7 games, to get that 4th spot. Could they have lost in the first round? Sure, the Hawks are much better, and losing as the 4th or 5th seed is no different than losing as the 8th, but this is what concerns me:

The Pistons shipped Chauncey to clear cap space in 2009-2010. A few months ago, it appeared that Detroit would be THE destination for a top flight free agent or two. I applauded the move.

However, after Michael Curry’s wrecking ball of a coaching job, this roster is nowhere near as attractive as it was at the start of the season. Hamilton is the one piece that remains attractive. Prince is behind him, but I still think he plays too tentatively at times, passing up threes, flipping shots up at the rim, etc. After them you are talking about Wallace who is aging and losing the mental capacity to perform on night in night out basis, you got McDyess who plays his heart out, but at this stage he is nothing but a role player. You got Stuckey who is talented, but clearly not ready to run a team, and its still unsure if he’s an actual point guard or shooting guard. The bench is nothing special, some talented pieces but nothing to write home about. What free agent would sign up for this?

It’s funny because all it took was a disaster of a coaching job to destroy this once appealing roster. That’s just what happened.

Millsap (undersized power forward) = Piston

TRUE!

@Boney:
hahahahaha

“At 6′11, 270 pounds out of Charleston, South Carolina. The big man in the center with the flowing blonde locks, the monster hands of hell, KWWAMME BROWNN!!!!!!!”

Interesting idea, MP, but how do you think Walter Herrmann would feel about this?

Herrmann: You wanted to see me, Mr. Dumars?
  Dumars: Yes, Walter. Come in and have a seat.
Herrmann: OK.
  Dumars: Walter, I’ve got some good news and some bad news. Good news is, you’re about to become a Pistons legend. Bad news is, we’re going to shave your head, cut your hands off, and give them to Kwame. You can have his hands if you want.
Herrmann: Can I use your phone? I think I have to call my agent.

@PS:
That’s the thing though, you don’t have to tell Walter anything. You just stand by, chloroform rag in hand, waiting for the bulb to flash at Walter’s next photoshoot for the upcoming romance novel of which he’s the cover. flash — next thing you know, he wakes up with cake hands and a shiny head.

Dumars: on the bright side, Herman (the extra syllables were also transplanted to Kwame), we’ll give you the finals MVP trophy.

MP and PS, I think it was Garrett? and I that came up with the Mythical Herrme, a creature with the body of a Kwame and the hands of a Herrmann (plus the wings of Pegasus).

@Quick Darshan:
That was thievery on my part. I knew it was only too good to be true, that idea. Looking back, I remember you (and likely Garrett) saying that now. That was all Q+G. May the mention of it here be only mentioned in honor of its original creators.

If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, consider you two flattered— because that is a damned good idea!

Long Live Kwamme Brownn!!!!

That’s the thing though, you don’t have to tell Walter anything. You just stand by, chloroform rag in hand, waiting for the bulb to flash at Walter’s next photoshoot for the upcoming romance novel of which he’s the cover. flash—next thing you know, he wakes up with cake hands and a shiny head.

It wouldn’t be fair to cut off Walter’s golden locks and leave him with nothing. He should get Kwame’s hair, on the condition that he grows it out into a Ben Wallace-sized Afro.

(Herrmann’s Afro should be the size of Wallace’s Afro, not the size of Wallace himself—although that would be super-cool.)

So, it’d be starting center Kwame Brrownn?

The mythical (and……beautiful?) Herrme was totally QD’s. I just took his funniness and drew a bad cartoon.

http://www.garrettelliott.com/herrme.jpg

After reading this I’m struck primarily with just how much we overachieved that year. I’m also struck by how severely the EC sucked that year.

Regardless, for many years we were the model of “doing more with less” (call it overachieving if you will).