13th&Jackson Posted December 14, 2023 Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 Loved watching him play. I was such a huge ABA Pacer fan as a kid. It hurt when he went to the NBA. He was an Indiana legend. https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39111567/hall-famer-aba-champion-george-mcginnis-dies-73 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drroogh Posted December 14, 2023 Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 From CBS Big George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IUFLA Posted December 14, 2023 Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 RIP Big George... My favorite IU player of all time... A good 15-20 years ahead of his time... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jv1972iu Posted December 14, 2023 Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 Watched his Washington team in 1969 at state finals on tv. George and teammate Steve Downing each went for 30+ points. Men among boys. I’m same age as George. Great ball player and as IUFLA said…years ahead of his time. RIP George. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IUFLA Posted December 14, 2023 Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 The 1969 IHSAA Semi Final between Indianapolis Washington and Marion... Great game... McGinnis is 44 in white, Steve Downing is 43, Wayne Pack (who played a short stint with the Pacers) is 23... Former Purdue star Jovon Price played for Marion... 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IUFLA Posted December 14, 2023 Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 8 minutes ago, jv1972iu said: Watched his Washington team in 1969 at state finals on tv. George and teammate Steve Downing each went for 30+ points. Men among boys. I’m same age as George. Great ball player and as IUFLA said…years ahead of his time. RIP George. That was a great Final 4... 3 undefeated teams (Indianapolis Washington, Vincennes, and Marion) and Gary Tolleston had 1 loss (to a team from Chicago)... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking6 Posted December 14, 2023 Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 Ahead of my time but the way my Dad talked about him tells me how dominant he was. My Dad graduated high school from Arlington in 1965 I believe but besides Oscar nobody was dominant as George. One thing that always stood out to me was this. McGinnis was obviously gone before Coach Knight arrived one year later but Knight always welcomed him with the program. Not necessarily something Knight always did with players he didn't coach. RIP George McGinnis. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cthomas Posted December 14, 2023 Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 Good article in the IndyStar by Greg Doyel about McGinnis. I watched him play in high school when the Indianapolis city schools were really good. Most years getting out of the city sectional was the toughest round of the tournament. He was maybe the most phenomenal athlete I ever saw and, by all accounts, a really good human being. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
13th&Jackson Posted December 14, 2023 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 “Probably my biggest disappointment is that I never played for Bobby (Knight),” McGinnis told Sports Illustrated in 1982. “I don’t know if it would have made me a better player, but I think it would have given me different values.” 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proud2BAHoosier Posted December 14, 2023 Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 RIP Big George! Really enjoyed those ABA Championship years.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuckerkorn Posted December 14, 2023 Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 Big Mac is a big reason I became an IU fan. One of my biggest heros as a kid. When he left the Pacers for the 76'ers he got overshadowed by Dr.J IMO. To those too young to have watched him play, I suggest watching some videos and marvel at that unique, one-handed shot. RIP 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cthomas Posted December 14, 2023 Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 3 hours ago, IUFLA said: The 1969 IHSAA Semi Final between Indianapolis Washington and Marion... Great game... McGinnis is 44 in white, Steve Downing is 43, Wayne Pack (who played a short stint with the Pacers) is 23... Former Purdue star Jovon Price played for Marion... Probably the best, highest level, high school game I ever saw. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IUFLA Posted December 14, 2023 Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Zuckerkorn said: Big Mac is a big reason I became an IU fan. One of my biggest heros as a kid. When he left the Pacers for the 76'ers he got overshadowed by Dr.J IMO. To those too young to have watched him play, I suggest watching some videos and marvel at that unique, one-handed shot. RIP I don't know if any footage of his one year at IU is available... I've never seen any... But if you ever saw Big George rip down a one-handed rebound, dribble the length of the floor (sometimes behind the back) and finish with a behind the back pass to a teammate, or his "faux dunk" (he'd flip the ball down through the rim without making contact with it because dunking was illegal) you'd never forget it... 6'7 dudes just didn't do that back then... Edited December 14, 2023 by IUFLA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cthomas Posted December 14, 2023 Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 8 minutes ago, Zuckerkorn said: Big Mac is a big reason I became an IU fan. One of my biggest heros as a kid. When he left the Pacers for the 76'ers he got overshadowed by Dr.J IMO. To those too young to have watched him play, I suggest watching some videos and marvel at that unique, one-handed shot. RIP Imagine McGinnis on the 73 IU team with Steve Downing. UCLA can kiss my a$$. That team would have been National Champions. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuckerkorn Posted December 14, 2023 Report Share Posted December 14, 2023 4 minutes ago, IUFLA said: I don't know if any footage of his one year at IU is available... I've never seen any... But if you ever saw Big George rip down a rebound, dribble the length of the floor (sometimes behind the back) and finish with a behind the back pass to a teammate, or his "faux dunk" (he'd flip the ball down through the rim without making contact with it because dunking was illegal) you'd never forget it... 6'7 dudes just didn't do that back then... Robin Miller used to tell some hilarious stories about George as a football player. Once he was rushing the punter and, with his speed and power, he literally picked the punter (with ball) up and carried himinto the end zone. I remember a game atMSA when Mac smashed into the goal support and it took a half an hour to move it back into place. "Baby Bull" was one of his nicknames. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iuvol Posted December 15, 2023 Report Share Posted December 15, 2023 I always thought he would have been an all pro TE in the NFL and that IU would have won the NCAA Championship if he had stayed for his Junior year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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