Forgotten Blue - Rudy Tomjanovich

Submitted by mGrowOld on

This past summer my new BFF It's Harambe took on the thankless task of asking his fellow MgoBloggers to rank the top 25 Michigan athletes of all time.  As the list was revealed it was clear to this reader that some of the most notable players who competed during the athletic stone age (pre-internet) had been forgotten about.  This weekly diary will take a look at the more notable players from our past to remind everyone of what they did and why they deserve to be honored and remembered.

RUDY TOMJANOVICH

Image result for rudy tomjanovich michigan

On hearing the news of having his jersey retired ... "I had never really even thought about it because it doesn't happen as much in college basketball as it does in pro basketball. I thought the University of Michigan had given me so much already in the chance to play here and an education so I felt I won out in that deal."

Rudy Tomjanovich used an outstanding jump shot and a knack for grabbing rebounds to average 30 points and fifteen rebounds per game and earn All-America honors in 1970. An outstanding high school player in Hamtramck, Michigan, Tomjanovich's accomplishments in the first three years of play in Crisler Arena (1967-1970) made him one of Michigan's basketball immortals.

Over the course of three seasons, the 6-7 forward corralled 1,039 rebounds, still the highest total in Michigan history, and twice led the Big Ten in rebounding (1968-69 and 1969-70). He led the team in scoring in each of his three seasons, totaling 1,808 point, sixth on the all-time list. His 25.1 career scoring average ranks second only to Cazzie Russell. Tomjanovich still holds the Crisler Arena records for single game scoring and field goals (48 points and 21 field goals vs Indiana, 1/7/69) and single game rebounding record (27 in Michigan's first game in Crisler Arean vs Kentucky, 12/2/67). His best rebounding effort came against Loyola in 1969 when he grabbed 30 caroms - tops on the Michigan all-time list.

Image result for rudy tomjanovich michigan

Rudy was selected in the 1970 NBA draft as the second overall pick by the San Diego Rockets  (the franchise relocated to Houston in 1971), for whom he would play the entirety of his NBA career. He was also drafted in both 1970[ and 1974 by the Utah Stars of the ABA. In his eleven years in the NBA, Tomjanovich had a scoring average of 17.4 points and a rebounding average of 8.1, earning five All-Star Game selections in the process (1974–1977, 1979). He is the third-leading scorer in Rockets history behind Hall of Famers  Calvin Murphy and Hakeem Olajuwon. Because his last name was so long, the back of Tomjanovich's jerseys would read "RUDY T.", rather than his 11 character name.

Despite Tomjanovich's noteworthy career as a player, he is perhaps best remembered for an infamous occurrence at the height of his playing career. In a December 9, 1977 game, the Los Angeles LakersKermit Washington punched Tomjanovich. The blow shattered Tomjanovich's jaw and face and inflicted life-threatening head injuries, leaving him sidelined for five months. He eventually made a full recovery, but his playing career slowly came to a halt and he was forced to retire in his mid 30s. The story and aftermath are recounted in the John Feinstein book The Punch: One Night, Two Lives, and the Fight That Changed Basketball Forever.

Image result for rudy tomjanovich michigan

 

On February 10th, 2003 Rudy’s #45 joined Cazzie Russell’s #33 as the only two jersey numbers ever retired by the University of Michigan.  On that day Rudy said the following;

"This is a highlight in my really blessed basketball career. The reality of it all is they didn't have to do this for me. They've done enough because they made my dream come true back in 1966 when I got to play here. It was my dream. I was a highly recruited player and I read the letters but the only place I wanted to be was right here because I just love the basketball program. When I got a chance to play here, it was a dream come true. I really got a great basketball education here. They helped me to get drafted high as the second pick in the NBA. I love both my coaches -- Dave Strack, and Johnny Orr was just getting started."

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudy_Tomjanovich

http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/baskmen/baskmaa/tomjonaa.htm

https://www.michigandaily.com/content/rudy-t-honored-m-basketball-jersey-retired

http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/020803aac.html?wappref=std

http://www.mgoblue.com/genrel/061009aaa.html

Edit:

For those wondering I downvoted myself cause I was looking at the post and accidently clicked the down arrow and there's no way to undue the action!

 

Comments

Glennsta

October 4th, 2016 at 12:12 PM ^

He still gets back here now and then.  Stops at many of the same establishments and sees locals that he grew up with.  He's just a nice, approachable, modest guy. 

Tex_Ind_Blue

October 4th, 2016 at 1:50 PM ^

He also led Houston Rockets to their only two NBA championships in mid-90s, sandwiched between the two sets of Bulls' Triples. Later on he suceeded Phil Jackson at LA Lakers, again sandwiched between Jackson's two stints. 

I didn't know much about him before I moved to Houston. It's a moment of pride to see a Michigan alum being revered in H-town.

Unsalted

October 4th, 2016 at 2:48 PM ^

I remember watching Rudy when they used to show Big 10 basketball on Saturday afternoons. I was pretty sure Rudy T was going to be great (I was in elementary school) but I really had no idea he was going to be one of our all time greats. I'm glad he got the recognition from Michigan he earned and deserves.

Ben v2

October 4th, 2016 at 5:42 PM ^

"I have one thing to say to those non-believers: Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion." - Rudy T after the Rockets won the 1995 Finals.  The 2nd of two straignt championships...

 

mGrowOld

October 5th, 2016 at 8:39 AM ^

But nationally I think that's unfortunately his lasting legacy.  And as a very successful head coach as others have noted.

The shame of the punch is that Rudy was just hitting his prime in 77 and deinitely had many great years ahead of him IMO.  Rudy had made the all-star team four straight years when the incident occurred and while he would go on to play until 1981 (and even make the all-star team in 79) he was never really the same afterwards.

BTW - I tried like hell to find the Garret Morris as Kermit Washington SNL skit to post in this thread and could not find it.  While dark humor it was an absolute classic from the early days of the show.

WNY in Savannah

October 5th, 2016 at 5:29 PM ^

Thanks again for doing these.  I still maintain that Cazzie and Rudy T are the best players in (modern) Michigan history. No way for me to compare back to the really early days. I know there have been other great players in the last 40 years and that Burke even won player of the year, but no one will be able to convince me that any of them were better than Cazzie and Rudy.  I think because so many people are biased toward the very recent, I am automatically biased toward the past.  Someone older than me could complain that my bias doesn't go back far enough.

ChalmersE

October 6th, 2016 at 11:52 AM ^

Rudy T was one of my favorite Michigan athletes, perhaps because I did play pick-up with him once and was one of the Daily's basketball writers when he was a senior.  I will say, however, that a few of his rebounds were suspect. One night, covering a game, I did nothing but note how many touches various guys had after missed shots. Virtually every Michigan player was credited with a couple of more rebounds than seemed plausible based on my counts.

mvp

October 6th, 2016 at 12:19 PM ^

In a factoid most of you are unlikely to care about: My dad played with Rudy at Hamtramck High graduating one year before Rudy.  My dad doesn't talk about it very much, but my understanding is that my dad's senior year (Rudy's junior year) they went to the state championship game and lost.

mGrowOld

October 6th, 2016 at 4:30 PM ^

I love that factoid.  As a matter of fact the single thing I've enjoyed the most about this series is that in every case (well every case except Willie Heston that is) somebody here had a personal story to share about the athlete I selected.  To me that's so cool - hearing and remembering that each of these athletes was first and foremost a STUDENT at Michigan and as such intreratcted with a lot of people here on the board.  I love the story right above yours about the poster who played pick-up ball with Rudy and noticed that his rebound total might be just a bit high thanks to home-cooking with the stat sheet.

In your case it was your dad in high school.  Still cool IMO - thanks for sharing that.

rob f

October 8th, 2016 at 12:56 AM ^

MGrowOld! And I almost missed one, as fast as this went off to the back pages.

Due to his Polish heritage, Rudy T was a bit a hero to many at my Catholic high school. Being half-Polish myself, Tomjanovich was the first Michigan basketball player whose career I closely followed. Sure, I knew of Cazzie, but only because practically nobody in Michigan who read the sports pages back in the late 60s could possibly NOT know of Cazzie.

But Rudy T? He instantly became the first Michigan basketball player I continued to follow AFTER moving on to the NBA.