Al Attles

[aggierattler]

I posted this here back on June 26, 2013:


In case you haven't seen this in another thread...this is taken from ESPN's 2010 edition of "College Basketball Encyclopedia - The Complete History of the Men's Game." It ranks all 330 college basketball programs that were currently in Division 1 at the time of printing. Because of transitions, North Carolina Central and Winston-Salem State were not included.

It is my intention to do a capsule of each MEAC men's basketball program over on MFZ... hopefully in alphabetical order. Here is the one on Aggie Basketball:

SCHOOL (with Sagarin Ranking): #231 North Carolina A&T State Aggies

OVERVIEW: The Aggies from this historically-black university have won 16 of 40 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament championships and played in 16 Division 1 postseason events. The reason? Legendary coaches Cal Irvin, Gene Littles and Don Corbett, and stars such as the great Al Attles and all-time leading scorer and rebounder Joe Binion.

FIRST GAME or FIRST SEASON: February 8, 1926

ALL-TIME BEST TEAM: 1987-88 Corbett's squad went a school-best 26-3 with 18 double-digit victories and claimed a seventh straight MEAC tournament title. Conference POY Claude Williams (1,648 points and 973 rebounds) and all-time assists and steals leader Thomas Griffis joined three other players who would top 900 career points: Carlton Becton, Corvin Davis and Glenn Taggart,

ALL-TIME BEST PLAYER: Guard Al Attles (1956-60) The famously tough guard led the Aggies to two College Division national tournaments, including one Final Four. Attles went on to play 11 seasons with the NBA's Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors and coached them another 14 seasons, including one NBA title. He is currently a senior executive for the club.

ALL-TIME BEST COACH: Cal Irvin (1954-72) Rarely does a school have two career 400-win coaches in its history, but the Aggies' Irvin and Corbett left such a legacy that their court in named after both. Irvin (brother of MLB Hall of Famer Monte Irvin) won six league titles, reached five national tournaments, two College Division Final Fours, and his 1958-59 team went 26-4.

GAME FOR THE AGES: Attles and Joe Cotton led the way to the 1959 NCAA College Division tournament. After running through Tuskegee and Florida A&M, the Aggies took down American by 17 to become the first historically-black college to reach an NCAA Final Four. The run ended with a 110-92 loss to eventual champion Evansville.

But the real "Game for the Ages" has to be an epic 132-134 triple-overtime loss in the semifinals of the 1968 CIAA Tournament to the Norfolk State Spartans, which has been regarded as one of the Top 100 basketball games in collegiate history.

FIERCEST RIVALS: A toss-up between Winston-Salem State and North Carolina Central. When either team comes into Ellis Corbett Sports Center, the gates have been known to be closed 20 minutes before tip-off because of overflow crowds.

BEST FIVE PLAYERS OF ALL-TIME:

*G Al Attles (1956-60)
*G James "The Bird" Sparrow (1975-79)
*F Elmer Austin (1969-72)
*F Joe Binion (1980-84)
*F/C Claude Williams (1983-88)

RECORDS

POINTS IN ONE GAME: 41 by James Jackson vs. St. Augustine's (1963-64 season)

REBOUNDS IN ONE GAME: 21 by Bruce Jenkins vs. James Madison (11/19/98)

PPG IN ONE SEASON: 24.9ppg by James Outlaw (1973-74 season)

PPG IN A CAREER: 18.8ppg by James Sparrow (1975-79)


LINK: bluedeathvalley.proboards.com/thread/3527/greatest-bb-player-history?page=18&scrollTo=135710

[SixtiesAggie]

Aug 22, 2024 20:50:41 GMT -5 aggie62 said:

Aug 22, 2024 17:52:54 GMT -5 pj said:

May I ask, what, as a Player at A&T in the CIAA made Him outstanding, getting Him drafted? Was He lighting up the League like Cleo Hill? or later, Earl Monroe?

The question is out of respect, because of How hard it Still is to play in The NBA.

I watched a lot of basketball games while at A&T but I did not play basketball. However I'll try to answer your question. In my opinion, on the court Al demonstrated a tremendous knowledge of the game and he combined that with his GREAT leadership skills. He was truly a coach on the floor and his fellow players like Joe Howell, Joe Cotton, Herb Gray and Walter Holtzclaw appeared to followed readily as if he knew best. Most of all, in my opinion, Al was truly a nice guy...

You forgot your classmate, Henry "Hank" Marshall who came to A&T in '58 as a star high school player. Started as a freshman.

[aggie62]

Aug 23, 2024 13:07:41 GMT -5 SixtiesAggie said:

Aug 22, 2024 20:50:41 GMT -5 aggie62 said:

I watched a lot of basketball games while at A&T but I did not play basketball. However I'll try to answer your question. In my opinion, on the court Al demonstrated a tremendous knowledge of the game and he combined that with his GREAT leadership skills. He was truly a coach on the floor and his fellow players like Joe Howell, Joe Cotton, Herb Gray and Walter Holtzclaw appeared to followed readily as if he knew best. Most of all, in my opinion, Al was truly a nice guy...

You forgot your classmate, Henry "Hank" Marshall who came to A&T in '58 as a star high school player. Started as a freshman.

You're right, Hank could really shoot the ball...

[DOOMS]

I know a lot of topics end up all over the place, but a topic for condolences should in no way, shape, or form deviate.

Al Attles has passed on. Who else could ball is immaterial in this thread.

Just my opinion.