by Lenny Wilkens went on to become one of the greatest coaches of all time. He coached in Atlanta, Toronto and New York before retiring from the bench in 2005. By the time his career was over, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame again, this time as a coach. He won 1,332 games as a head coach. By the time he retired from active coaching, he had the most wins in NBA coaching history, before Don Nelson broke that record in 2010. In 1996, the NBA voted Wilkens as one of its all time ten greatest coaches.
Craig Ehlo also shares his admiration of Coach Wilkens, “It was unbelievable as I had watched him with his Sonics teams. He had a mild mannered deposition, but he had a “rip your heart out” competitiveness in him as well. You may not see it in his body language, but that was the way he plays and coaches. I loved that and that’s exactly what I wanted to be like. I remember I rode with him on the plane the first day I got there and he was trying to explain to me some of the offensive things we were going to try and do.
I remember after that the game when I didn’t play, he called me in and told me I would play the next night, which was a great thing because he really took me under his wing. He made me feel wanted and needed and it was all because of him having that kind of demeanor and it was all because of him. He loved us no matter what because it was a hard-working town and hard-working team. The people of Cleveland still loved us no matter what happened.”
Larry Nance wrapped up his playing career after the 1994 season, retiring as a Cavalier. The Cavs decided to retire his jersey #22, which now proudly hangs in the rafters at Quicken Loans Arena. Larry finished his career as a three time All Star and was known for being one of the best shot blockers of all time. While playing in Cleveland, Nance was voted to the All Defensive team once and the All Defensive second team twice.
Nance describes his ability to play defense and shot block, “Those are the stats I love because to me I consider those to be effort stats. I learned how to block shots from my uncle because he told me that most people are right handed, so if I learned how to block shots with my left hand it would keep me out of foul trouble. So, I had a god given ability to be able to jump and I loved blocking shots because it was a definitive positive and sign of hard work. It was something I loved to do, and a lot of time once you start blocking shots the other team will start looking to avoid shooting on you, then you know you have them. As long as what I do on the court can help my team win, I’m all about that stat, it is the only one that matters.” N
ance also discloses how it feels to have his jersey number retired, “It feels great because this organization is filled with classy people and great owners. I think the owner now makes it a great place to be. I still live in Akron, Ohio, the same place I lived when I play here because I love the fans, not the weather.”
Nance enjoys spending his retirement with family as discussed here, “Right now, I have a son in Wyoming, a daughter who just graduated from Dayton and thirteen year old son who lives with us. I spend a lot of time with them. I’m close to opening up my own basketball facility down in Akron to teach basketball to kids. I want to teach these kids old school basketball of playing the game the right way. I would love to have my hands in the racing but it is so expensive and I can’t do it without sponsors. I still love racing just as much as I always have.”
Brad Daugherty would be celebrated as one of the greatest players in Cavalier history. By the time his career ended in 1994, he had five All Star game appearances. He averaged nearly 20 points a game and, to that point, was the all-time Cavaliers leading scorer and rebounder. He went on to hold both of those records for several years. His jersey, #43, also proudly hangs in the rafters of Quicken Loans arena. His career could have reached even greater heights if he hadn’t been forced to retire at the age of 28 because of chronic back injuries. Larry Nance was in awe of his teammate, Brad Daugherty, “Brad was very skilled and didn’t beat his chest, but he killed the best in the league on a nightly basis. He was also the best passing center and had a true understanding for the game. He could score and rebound with the best of them.”
Mark Price is widely considered as the most popular player to ever wear a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform. He seemed to be good at everything he did on the court and the fans loved him for it. He knew how to score, how to pass, and how to shoot fouls shots at the precision seldom had ever seen before. He left the Cavs after the 1995 season and spent a few more years in the league before retiring. He would be remembered as one of the league’s most consistent shooters, finishing with an incredible 90% foul shooting percentage and a 40% rate from beyond the 3 point arc. His retired jersey also hangs proudly in the rafters of Quicken Loans Arena. Larry Nance gives his opinion about Mark Price, “A great, smart, energetic point guard who made everything easy for his teammates around him. He just knew how to play ball!”
Craig Ehlo followed Lenny Wilkens to the Atlanta Hawks for a couple of years before ending his career in Seattle as a Supersonic. Nearly 30 years after his time in Cleveland, Ehlo is still seen as one of the most beloved figures in Cleveland sports history. He had a solid career and was respected by his teammates and fans because of his work ethic and approach. Larry shares about playing with Ehlo,“A hard worker who came to play hard every game and always gave 100% of his effort. He always had to guard the toughest guys and that was okay with him because he wanted.” Ehlo has also had a few chances to meet Michael Jordan since he has retired. He describes that experience, “I took my son down to Santa Barbara to Jordan’s camp he runs for kids. On the last day, he signs autographs for everyone, as they put him in the middle of a room. When my son came through there he asked Jordan to sign his shoe. When Michael asked who he was, my son said, “I’m Austin Ehlo.” and Jordan called him in closer. He told my son that I had hit the shot to put the Cavs up before the “shot” took place right after that. I thought that was pretty cool of him to do that.”
Ehlo has led a happy and busy life since retiring from the game, “I was lucky that after basketball, after I retired, I was able to get into broadcasting with the Seattle Sonics television. I got to announce with Kevin Calabro, who was one of the best play-by-play guys in the business. I did that for two years before arriving in Spokane, where I started broadcasting Gonzaga basketball for the next seven years.
I was able to work with Fox also doing PAC 10 games. I coached high school for a couple years after that because I love being around the game and as a broadcaster you don’t have ownership in wins and losses. Sometimes after broadcasting a game, you would go home feeling vacant because of that fact. Now I’m 51 years old with a 24 year old daughter that just graduated from college that I never thought I would hear myself say.
I have a 21 year old who is playing football for Eastern Washington. I am currently coaching as an assistant football coach here with Eastern Washington. I spend my days in the gym as well as having a sophomore in high school. He is a football player too; I grew up in Texas so we have a love for football in our family as well. I come to work happy because I’m in shorts and a tank top which is something that I did my whole life.”
