The next level

By MONTE DUTTON

Jalen Slawson in the SoCon Tournament (Elena Davidson photo).

There’s an old story, told cheerfully by both men, about Les Robinson, then head coach at The Citadel, asking Furman’s Joe Williams out to lunch when he was passing through Greenville.

“Can’t,” Williams said, “gotta go to graduation.”

“They don’t even make me go to graduation down here,” Robinson said.

“Clyde and Fessor are graduating.”

“Well, I’ll go with you,” Robinson replied. “I want to see that for myself.”

It hasn’t quite been 50 years, from Clyde Mayes and Fessor Leonard to Mike Bothwell and Jalen Slawson. Furman has had many outstanding senior tandems in all the time since, but no two who so captured the fans’ imagination with their complementary artistry.

In both cases, separated by all those years, those players made the Paladins both successful and, oh, so much fun to watch.

Both tandems won NCAA Tournament games. Mayes was the 22^nd pick, chosen by the Milwaukee Bucks, in the 1975 NBA draft. The draft was then more than two rounds, and in the fourth, the 7-1 Leonard was chosen by the Washington Bullets. Mayes played for four teams in his two-year NBA career and spent the remainder of his career playing in Europe. Leonard was found dead of carbon-monoxide poisoning in his apartment near Lugano, Italy, on Feb. 20, 1978, at age 24.

I only saw Mayes and Leonard on TV. I covered dozens of games in the past two seasons distinguished by the presence of Bothwell and Slawson, who complemented each other in every way.

Mike Bothwell against Belmont at Timmons Arena (Elena Davidson photo).

Bothwell is a man of great artistry who demonstrates by his virtues how beautiful basketball can be. Slawson is a man of great power and spirit. He is an irresistible force sweeping to the basket. Both are extraordinarily unselfish, which is why they excel in such a range of statistics. They shot, they scored, they rebounded, they distributed the ball, interfered with the opposition and enlivened the workings of Bob Richey’s systematic approach.

In addition, they conducted thoughtful interviews, which gave writers like me so much material that it challenged us to bear down and do it justice.

To borrow a frequent saying of baseball’s Dennis Eckersley, it was a beautiful thing.

I watched Slawson play in a post-season all-star game and pro-tryout games. He played just like he did for the Paladins. He passed up shots, set up teammates and grabbed timely rebounds. Everyone else on the floor was showing out for scouts. No one was returning Slawson’s favors. I thought to myself, knowing that observers more skilled than I were watching, he’s the one who’s making the impression.

Slawson, from Summerville, went in the second round of the NBA draft to the Sacramento Kings. It’s a good team, one that happens to wear purple. Bothwell signed a summer-league contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the city where he once starred for the Cornerstone Christian Academy Patriots. Only Frank Selvy, Jonathan Moore and Darrell Floyd scored more than Bothwell’s 2,016 Furman points.

Seventeen Furman men’s basketball players have been selected in the NBA draft. Only Frank Selvy, Jerry Smith and Mayes were picked higher than Slawson within the first two rounds. Slawson was the 54^th overall pick, exceeded only by the three above, Nield Gordon and Darrell Floyd.

Much has changed. Lisco Thomas was a 15^th round pick. Slawson was the first Paladin drafted since George Singleton in 1984.

Bothwell and Slawson are both going to get their shots clearing out space in much thicker forests. They’re exactly where they always wanted to be. The Furman experience, on court and off, has prepared them well.

That’s why they graced us with their presence so gloriously long.

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