“Diante has been around basketball
and a lot of guys who have played in the NBA. A lot of this attention that he’s
had, I’m kind of looking at him and I don’t think it’s crazy at all,” Dick
Garrett said about his son.
Eldo (Dick) Garrett has been
instrumental in forming this new Cyclone’s game from day one, but many Cyclone
fans probably have no idea about the history that this proud papa has.
It all began at Southern Illinois where the elder Garrett played his
college ball. One of his teammates happened to be a guy by the name of Walt
Frazier, one of several of the game’s best 50 players that he would be
associated with in his career.
Frazier and Garrett teamed up for
one year for the Salukis and they captured an NIT championship with a win over
Marquette 71-56
in 1967. Dick was Frazier’s back-court mate long before the storied Earl “The
Pearl” Monroe
was.
Frazier and Garrett went from
being teammates, to cross-country rivals in the NBA. While Frazier made a name
for himself with the great Knicks teams of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Garrett
made his way to the left coast after being selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in
the second round. (Former Drake Bulldog great Willie McCarter was the Lakers
first round pick.)
Garrett averaged 12 points, 3
rebounds, and 3 assists on a team that featured Hall-of-famers Jerry West, Wilt
Chamberlain, and Elgin Baylor. But his old teammate got the best of Garrett in
the 1970 Finals.
“Walt got his bragging rights when
New York beat
us in the finals during my rookie year,” Garrett said about his friendship with
Frazier.
Though Jerry West and Garrett
don’t keep in touch anymore, Frazier is another story. Frazier, who is now the
color commentator for the New York Knicks, makes sure to stop by to see the
Garrett family every time he’s in town.
“I see Walt at least a couple of
times a year. I haven’t had a chance to see or talk with Jerry but there are a
lot of guys here that I’m still good friends,” Garrett said.
From L.A., Garrett then moved to Buffalo when the NBA expanded in late 1970.
“The NBA expanded to Cleveland, Buffalo and
Portland. I was
taken as the first pick in the draft. I spent the next three years with the
Buffalo Braves who are now the LA Clippers,” Garrett said.
After a brief stint with the New
York Knicks, Garrett then moved on to Milwaukee where his Bucks and young star
Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar once again came up short of a championship in the finals
with a loss to the great Boston Celtics, led by hall of famers John Havlicek and
Dave Cowens.
Dick Garrett played five years in
the association and he made two NBA finals.
“I put a lot of hard work into it
and to be able to play five years in the league was one thing that stands out. I
would have loved to win an NBA championship,” Garrett said. “I knocked on the
door twice but I didn’t quite get there.”
This was the point where Garrett’s
NBA career came to an end, mainly due to the politics of the game.
“They drafted a couple of guards
in the first round. No contact was a guaranteed contract so mine kind of put me
on the short end of the stick.”
You can see where Diante got his
basketball savvy. Not only was his dad in the NBA, Diante’s older brother played
major college ball as well. With this family’s love of basketball, you can
imagine that the competitiveness flows constantly in the Garrett house.
“We often joke back and forth
about things. I like to say ‘if I was a junior, I would have ate you up man.’ We
have a lot of fun with that. He says ‘Dad you couldn’t check me.’ I say ‘yes I
could.’ Garrett said while laughing.
According to Garrett, the
competition still rages.
“My oldest son (Damon) is ten
years older than Diante and they go at it. That’s a good battle right now. I
kind of get a kick out of it because they get serious. About a year or two ago
the older one could toy around with him. But now, if he’s going to beat Diante
he’s got to go all out. It’s about a draw right now,” Garrett said.
What about dad? Well, a hip
surgery is keeping ‘pops’ out of the wars.
“We go out in the driveway and
shoot. I had some surgery on my hip so I had to quit playing one on one with
him,” Garrett said.
Even though the two can’t play one
on one, that doesn’t stop the former NBA player from making some noise.
“Every summer we joke about who
has the best jump shot in the house. We kid each other about that a lot,”
Garrett said.
Though the two compete, they are
also great teammates, as dad isn’t afraid to tell his son how to get it done.
After all, he has been to the top of the basketball world.
“For as good of a kid as he is, he
really works hard at what he does. He doesn’t take it for granted. I think
that’s the thought that I try to put in his head. You get out of this what you
put into it. If you want to take it to the next level you have to put the work
in.”
And you better believe the future
Cyclone is soaking up every word.