didn't see any threads on him in Sports so i thought I'd put one up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Manigault

Quote :

"Earl was famous for his street basketball abilities where he could double dunk (he would dunk it and catch it with the other hand while still in the air and dunk it again)"

Quote :

" He was only 6'2" but ... It was rumored that Earl had a 52-inch vertical leap"

Anyone ever see the HBO special on this guy....... scene where he takes off the ankle weights after everyone leaves the court, and starts dunking at like age 12 was awesome.

[Edited on March 31, 2006 at 1:17 PM. Reason : tt]

3/31/2006 1:16:52 PM

the Goat...he is fucking nasty man...6'2 and could grab stuff off the top of the backboard...got in trouble with drugs...sad story...helluv aplayer though

3/31/2006 1:24:04 PM

i think there was a thread about this dude a long, long time ago

he's fucking awesome

3/31/2006 1:28:03 PM

yeah, sorry if it's a repost. I tried about 10 variations of earl manigault and didn't see anything.

I saw the clip of Kareem at the LA forum saying Earl was the greatest player he ever played against and thought he deserved a thread.

Someone said Earl dunked on Alcidor during the NYC high scholl championship and although he was like 6'1 then, the top of kareem's hand was only at Earl's elbow.

3/31/2006 1:32:03 PM

who played him in the movie, wasnt it Don Cheadle?

3/31/2006 1:33:05 PM

Quote :

"The Goat Born: in 1943 in New York, NY Died: in May 1998 in New York, NY Height: 6'1" Vertical Leap:51 inches. "One of the greatest players the Rucker has ever seen," said Joe "The Destroyer" Hammond. "The best basketball player his size in the history of New York City," said Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Called "the king of his own generation of ballplayers, and the idol for the generation that followed" by Pete Axthelm in The City Game, Earl Manigault never realized his incredible potential as a basketball player because he succumbed to the lure of drugs in the Harlem neighborhood of his youth. The Goat dazzled fans in NY with his one-on-one comps and his dunks on future NBA stars such as Jabbar, Willis Reed, and Connie Hawkins. Manigault was a frequent player in Harlem's Rucker Tournament, which often drew top-level players. "His jumping ability, in particular, struck awe in onlookers, and he could pick a quarter off the top of the backboard even though he was only a little over six feet tall." He is often credited to creating the double dunk, in which he dunked a ball through the hoop, catched it with the other hand, then dunked it again before touching ground again. One time he dunked a ball backwards 36 times in a row to win a $60 bet. "His ability to play like a man who was 6'9" was incredible," noted Rucker Tournament organizer Gene Williams, in the New York Times. "He was a phenomenal player. And he's still a legend to the kids today." Manigault became a star at Benjamin Franklin high school averaging 24 ppg and 11 boards. He was flourishing in high school but would soon be derailed when he was kicked out of Benjamin Franklin for smoking weed, a charge he still denies. The Goat went on to Laurinburg Institute where he played one year earning his high school diploma. There he averaged 31 ppg and 13 boards. After, he started to get hundreds of recruitment letters from major college programs. But Manigault was in the streets and that drew more of his attention than colleges and he felt he wouldn’t be able to make it. He chose instead to go to Johnson C. Smith University and the decision would backfire and he would continue to struggle in the classroom. Feeling depressed he went back to his old dangerous neighborhood and got hooked on drugs again. He then got arrested for drug possession. But his legend continued to grow while behind bars and ABA Utah Stars owner Bill Daniels offered him a tryout when he was released in 1970 at age 25. He lasted midway through the preseason and was then cut. After this, he returned to Goat park and started up the Goat tournament. Despite his good intention his drug habit resurfaced and in 1977. He had a plan to steal 6 million dollars but was busted and sent to the Bronx House of Detention and the State Prison in Ossining. After this occurrence Earl turned his life around and conquered drugs. Later in 1989 he had already been through two surgeries one on two valves. It seems his undercova drug life had caught up to him. In May 1998, Earl Manigault died of congestive heart failure in Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital. He was 53. His rise to prominence in the streetball world was nothing but magnificent. The things he did on the court were shocking and left many in awe. His remarkable leaping ability allowed him to soar over taller opponents. He was a Streetball Legend. "

Damn...We need a video of this dude.

3/31/2006 1:38:24 PM

I met him near the end of his life.. He really turned in to a great human being.. (no homo)

3/31/2006 1:41:47 PM

^^^ can't remember but that sounds familiar.

and I love me some Don Cheadle. ......

^ doesn't sound homo.

[Edited on March 31, 2006 at 1:42 PM. Reason : tt]

3/31/2006 1:41:55 PM

it was def don cheadle

"rebound"

http://imdb.com/title/tt0117450/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnx0dD0xfGZiPXV8cG49MHxrdz0xfHE9cmVib3VuZHxmdD0xfG14PTIwfGxtPTUwMHxjbz0xfGh0bWw9MXxubT0x;fc=1;ft=23;fm=1

3/31/2006 2:43:23 PM

his story is a sad one

the cliched talented black youth with an oppurtunity that gets taken by drugs

3/31/2006 3:04:11 PM