Cavaliers GM is a student of the game
DAYTON - Jim Paxson Jr. approached academics the same way heapproached basketball. The legendary Dayton Flyer was studious,organized and always trying to get better.
'I would say Jim was always a very serious person, highlymotivated,' said Paxson's godfather, Don Donoher, who coached UD from1964-89. 'He was well trained at home. I can give you an example:When we had our first academic advisor, we brought in a professorthat first year. The first time he sat down with Jim, the professorthought it'd be a big-time blowoff because Jim was a star athlete.
'Well Jim showed up with a notebook and a pen and was as attentiveas could be. That defines him.'
Paxson would earn academic all-American honors his senior year andwould graduate with a degree in business marketing. The 6-foot-5Kettering native would go on to have a stellar, 11-year NBA career.He was a two-time All-Star with Portland and was named second-teamall-league in 1984. He now is the Cleveland Cavaliers' generalmanager. Still, his college days remain close to the hearts of theFlyer Faithful.
From 1975-79, Paxson scored 1,945 points at UD, fourth all-time atthe school. Donoher called him the most fundamentally sound player heever coached (as proof, Donoher would use a film of Paxson as ateaching aide to his players after Paxson graduated). But Paxson hadno excuse for not knowing the basics. He was taught by the best atevery level.
His high school coach at Alter was Joe Petrocelli, winner of threestate titles. His college coach was Donoher, who has the most wins inUD history. His pro coach was Dr. Jack Ramsey, who won an NBA titlein 1977.
'I think I was very fortunate at every level to play for thesecoaches and have players around me, even in high school,' Paxsonsaid. 'We had four players go Division I out of my senior class.There was always the right form of discipline within the structure ofhow you play as a team from these coaches, but there was freedom togrow and express yourself and become the player you could become.
'I had that from Petrocelli, Donoher and Jack Ramsey.'
Paxson's greatness also was a product of his desire and the thingshe did in the off-season.
'In that era, weight-lifting wasn't that great a deal forbasketball players,' said Dayton Daily News sports reporter DougHarris, a teammate of Paxson at UD and Alter. 'It could mess up yourshot, we thought. Nautilus was getting big then, but I tried to avoidit. I hid when it was time to lift. Jim didn't.
'In between his sophomore and junior year, he put on 15 pounds oflean muscle and his game went to another level. I was thinking, `Man,I wish I had lifted those weights.' '
Paxson did other things to improve his game. He attendedbasketball camps religiously, before camp-hopping became a big thing.Donoher took him to the NCAA Final Four in 1970, and the coachremembers his future star being mesmerized by the action, not sayinga word, taking it all in.
'He's the same way now,' Donoher said. 'He has a very keen eye.'
'He was a student of the game,' said Jack Zimmerman, a teammate ofPaxson at UD and Alter. 'He worked extremely hard at all aspects ofthe game. He was always putting in the extra effort other guysdidn't. He set a high standard for himself. Jim was workmanlike,fluid in the way he moved.'
So much so that his closest friends called him the Gazelle.
'He wasn't fast, but he was deceptively quick,' Zimmerman said.'He didn't jump high, but he wasted no motion. Every action he tookhad a purpose. He was a perfectionist, efficient.'
And he was tough to keep up with. Paxson was a master at runningdefenders into picks.
'But you can make all the cuts you want . . . if you don't finish,you're not a player,' Donoher said. 'He finished. Through theinfluence of his father (former UD player Jim Paxson Sr.), Jim becamea real student of the game. He was a triple threat. He could shootit, put it on the floor and pass.'
He didn't defend nearly as well, but unlike many scorers, heworked at it.
'I was never accused of being the stopper, but I was never accusedof being a poor defender,' Paxson said. 'It's something where you'realways trying to get better at what you're doing. You have to finddifferent ways to motivate yourself or you get stale.
'I think I was always looking for an edge, even in the pros. Itwas something I always felt I needed: to be in great condition to getan edge.'
Contact Dave Lance at 225-7492.
