Parting the waters: newly-minted hall-of-famer Moses Malone wasn't only an underappreciated player, he was a true pioneer in today's preps-to-pros NBA - basketball player

MOSES MALONE GLANCED toward Temple coach John Chaney and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski during his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame and said, "If I would have played for you, you would have been here six years ago."

Malone, a Petersburg (Va.) High School star, once was headed for the University of Maryland. He would have played with guards John Lucas and Maurice Howard, under head coach Lefty Driesell. Instead, he applied for the ABA draft and signed with the Utah Stars, beginning his pro career.

In 1974, right before Malone played his first pro game, Wali Jones, who was a member of the Philadelphia 76ers' 1966-67 NBA championship team, brought Malone to the City of Brotherly Love to play in Sonny Hill's Baker League All-Star Game at Temple's McGonigle Hall. Jones remembers Malone's first appearance in Philly, when the center was all of 19 years old.

"I had a home in Petersburg," says Jones, who played with Malone in Utah. "I watched Moses play a lot in high school. Man, the guy could really play. When he decided to go pro, I brought him to Philly. The Baker League always had some great players. Not too many people from Philly knew about him. But after [the Baker], everybody knew Moses was serious."

Ironically, the Philly fans had no idea Malone would one day return and lead the Sixers to the promised land, winning an NBA championship in 1983. And they didn't know that he would do it in dominant fashion.

Former Sixers owner Harold Katz had made two trips to the NBA Finals in '80 and '82 only to come up short against the Los Angeles Lakers. So, Katz went after the best free agent in pro basketball. He signed Malone to a hefty contract that paid $2.2 million per year. The owner had seen how well Malone played against the Boston Celtics, the Sixers' nemesis. Katz also remembered that Malone had some terrific games against the Lakers.

In 1982, Malone was coming off a monster season where he averaged 31.1 points and 14.7 rebounds per game. The Rockets matched Katz's offer and traded him to Philadelphia for Caldwell Jones and a 1983 first round draft choice.

Malone joined Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks, Andrew Toney, and Bobby Jones and led Philly to the league crown. The Sixers posted an impressive 65-17 regular season record en route to a sensational 12-1 postseason mark. That was the year Malone made his "fo, fo, fo" prediction. It ended up being fo, five, fo; Malone was almost right.

"We had a great team in Philly," Malone says. "But you know what? I remember everybody was asking me who's team was this? I told them this was Doc's team. This wasn't my team. I just came here to help them win a championship. I wanted to blend in with him, Andrew, Maurice, and Bobby Jones.

"Everybody thinks we beat the Lakers four times that season. We beat them six times, four times in the Finals and twice during the regular season."

Cheeks, Philadelphia's point guard and now the coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, remembers how dominant Malone was on the floor. "Moses was unbelievable that year. It seemed like he got every rebound. He scored inside and outside. He played great defense. Obviously, he was a big reason why we won the championship. This was a big moment for him. Prior to Moses coming here, he had done a lot of things. The only thing missing was an NBA title."

Malone proved how great a player he was before he arrived in Philadelphia. In 1980-81, he took the Houston Rockets to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Celtics in six games. The Rockets weren't loaded with talent, finishing the regular season 40-42--they are, in fact, the only team with a losing record ever to make the NBA Finals. Houston had some pretty good players in Calvin Murphy, Robert Reid, and Rudy Tomjanovich. But Malone put them on his back the entire year, finishing second in the league in scoring at 27.8 ppg and first in rebounding with 14.8 rpg.

"I was 6'10" with a lot of heart," Malone says. "I played hard all the time. I never stopped working. Some people considered me a superstar. I never considered myself a superstar. I always wanted to help my teammates. That's the sign of a great player."

Malone inspired others to give a maximum effort, too. He made an enormous impression on Charles Barkley during Barkley's rookie season with the Sixers. Barkley, like Malone, was selected as one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1996. "I learned a lot about basketball just from watching him play," Barkley says. "He went after every rebound. He could get his shot off against anybody. He played good defense around the basket. In addition to watching him, he took me under his wing. He always encouraged me to do well. He helped me become a better player."

Barkley wasn't the only elite player Malone had an impact on. During his playing days with the Rockets, he schooled Hakeem Olajuwon. The two would play for hours at Fonde Recreation Center in Houston while Olajuwon was a rising star at the University of Houston. With help from Malone, Olajuwon developed into the No. 1 overall pick in 1984--two spots ahead of Michael Jordan.