Julius+Erving



[|Julius Erving], the great and wondrous "Dr. J," was the dominant player of his era, an innovator who changed the way the game was played. He was a wizard with the ball, performing feats never before seen: midair spins and whirls punctuated by powerful slam dunks. Erving was one of the first players to make extemporaneous individual expression an integral part of the game, setting the style of play that would prevail in the decades to follow. A gracious, dignified, and disciplined man, Erving was the epitome of class and an ideal ambassador for the game.
 * Julius Erving**

Julius Erving was born on February 22, 1950 in Hempstead, Long Island. He grew up in a housing project the son of a single mother with two siblings. His father left the family when Julius was only three, and Julius’ mother worked as a domestic to support her three children. Life was difficult for Julius without a father at an early age, but Mrs. Erving worked to instill a sense of self-worth in her children. Soon young Julius realized his gift for basketball could be a ticket to a brighter future. Julius played on a Salvation Army team at age ten and was averaging eleven points a game. When Erving was 13, his mother remarried, and the family moved to Roosevelt, New York. There, Julius had a very high academic average and played on the high school team, all-county and all-Long Island teams competing in statewide tournaments. Erving acquired the nickname "the Doctor" while still at Roosevelt High. His teammates made this to [|"Dr. J"] later on in his career. The basketball coach at Roosevelt High, Ray Wilson, introduced young Julius to Coach Jack Leaman of the University of Massachusetts. After high school, Erving entered the university, where Ray Wilson was hired as assistant coach the following year. At Massachusetts, Julius broke freshman records for scoring and rebounding and he lead his team through an undefeated season. The next year he had the second best rebound tally in the country. Over the summer, he joined a NCAA all-star team touring the Soviet Union and Western Europe. Julius Erving left the University to go professional after his junior year. He is one of only seven players in the history of NCAA basketball to average over 20 points and 20 rebounds per game. In 1971, Julius Erving began his professional career with the Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association. The ABA was fighting an uphill battle to gain the same recognition enjoyed by the more established [|National Basketball Association (NBA).] Julius Erving, or Dr. J., as fans now called him, did more than anyone else to win that recognition for the new association. In his first season as a pro he ranked sixth in the ABA in scoring, third in rebounding. He was voted ABA Rookie of the Year at the close of the season. The following year, he led the ABA in scoring, averaging 31.9 points per game. In 1973, Dr. J. attempted to sign with the Atlantic Hawks of the NBA, and found himself in the middle of a complicated legal wrangle. Erving remained with the ABA to play for the New York Nets. Once again, Erving led the league in scoring and led the Nets to an ABA championship, winning four-out of-four games against the Utah Stars. In the first of these games, Erving scored 47 points, sparking comparisons with the greatest players of all time.
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In the 1974 season, Erving suffered from knee pains and was forced to wear knee braces on the court, but it didn't stop him from another great season. After being voted Most Valuable Player in the ABA from 1974 to 1976, Dr. J. moved to the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association. He remained in Philadelphia for the last eleven years of his pro basketball career, leading the 76ers to an NBA championship in 1983. When Dr. J. finally retired in 1987, he had scored over 30,000 points in his professional career; he is one of only three players in the history of the game to achieve this award. After retiring from professional basketball, Julius Erving became a commentator for NBC and appeared in the feature film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh. Julius Erving now serves on the Board of Directors of Meridian Bancorp and of the Philadelphia Coca-Cola Bottling Company. He is also President of the management and marketing firm JDREGI. He is, of course, in the Basketball [|Hall of Fame], and in the memories of everyone who ever saw him play the game of basketball.
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Works Cited Julius Erving - In The Beginning

Watcher, Jerry. "Julius Erving, the Great and Wonderous Dr. J." 2002, Oct. 2004. NBA Media Ventures. 

Wikipedia, Wikipedia. "Julius Erving." __Julius Erving__. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.,. 24 Feb 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Erving

Eggert, Mike. “Julius Erving.” //Contemporary Black Biography//. Vol. 18. Ed. Shirelle Phelps. Detroit: Gale, 1998. 35-38. http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Erving__Julius.html