Even though it’s the middle of June, former MSU basketball coach Jud Heathcote can’t seem to stop thinking about snow.
That’s because Eric Snow, Heathcote’s point guard from 1991-95, is averaging 13 points per game for the Philadelphia 76ers in this year’s NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
But Snow’s recent success in the NBA is no surprise to Heathcote - or is it?
“When he was in a slump in his sophomore year and I was trying to bolster him any way I could, I said, ‘hang in there Eric, you are going to play in the pros,’” Heathcote said Monday from his home in Washington.
“Whether I believed it at the time or not, that I’d have to go back and remember.”
That wasn’t the only time Heathcote held back his true feelings to spare Snow’s confidence.
“I talked to him right after the (Eastern Conference Finals),” Heathcote said. “He said ‘Coach, if we can win that first game in L.A., we can really put the pressure on them.’
“I didn’t say it, but I thought ‘are you on drugs? Chances are slim to none.’ I didn’t tell him that I thought the Lakers would sweep in four (games).”
But after Philadelphia beat Los Angeles in Game 1 by a score of 107-101, Snow and the Sixers made a believer out of Heathcote. Even though the Lakers lead the series 2-1, Heathcote said the Sixers will send it back to California by winning Games 4 and 5, tonight and Friday, in Philadelphia.
As difficult as it is to reach the NBA Finals, this isn’t even Snow’s first trip to the championship series. As an NBA rookie, Snow went to the finals with the Seattle Supersonics as veteran Gary Payton’s backup, making him the only Heathcote product since Magic Johnson to play in a finals series.
Now Snow is back, but this time he played a huge role in getting the Sixers to the finals. While playing with a fractured ankle, Snow scored 18 points, including the buzzer-beating shot that forced Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals with the Milwaukee Bucks - the team that selected Snow in the second round of the 1995 draft before trading him to Seattle.
“I was pleased that in two games versus Milwaukee, he hit big shots that were against George Karl, his coach in Seattle,” Heathcote said. “You can’t blame Karl, Eric was playing behind Payton. At least he got to go back and beat the coach and club that he played for.”
Heathcote also recalls a time when Snow wasn’t the clutch shooter he has been in this year’s playoffs. And Heathcote cautions that Snow still has a lot of work to do, even though he has continued to improve his shooting.
“It’s amazing that shooting came that hard (for him),” Heathcote said. “He’s always struggled with shooting. No one works harder than he does (on his shooting). Now he can hit the open shot. I think in the off-season, his range will continue to improve.”
Snow’s success can be attributed to the rest of the Sixers, particularly NBA Most Valuable Player Allen Iverson, Heathcote said. Last season, Sixer coach Larry Brown moved Iverson from the point to shooting guard, thereby making room for Snow in the starting lineup.
“Iverson rubs off on all the players,” Heathcote said. “He creates so much attention offensively that he opens it up for other players to drive to the basket. No one wants to leave Iverson.”
