THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE ... JERRY SLOAN STEPS DOWN

Enough Is Enough

"Hello darkness my old friend, I've to come talk with you again."

Jerry Sloan is old enough to appreciate the finer things in life.  For a man who never backed down from a basketball court challenge in his life, not from Rick Barry, not from Pete Maravich, not from Oscar Robertson, Sloan was smart enough to recognize when it's time to leave with your dignity in tact.  After 23 years of coaching and more than 1,200 wins, Sloan walked away from the Utah Jazz, escaping an avalanche of discontent.

A Hall of Famer, it's ironic that Sloan reached his boiling point while coaching against the Chicago Bulls, the team he earned his hard-nosed reputation with as a backcourt bookend alongside Norm Van Lier.  At halftime of Wednesday's game, Sloan and point guard Deron Williams' rocky relationship reportedly hit the point of no return.  Sloan, upset that Williams ran a different play than he called for from the bench, blew a gasket in the lockeroom.  The old Jerry Sloan would have probably opted to settle the matter with his fists, but this is the kinder, gentler NBA.  The Williams-Sloan relationship has been percolating for quite some time.

    "Fools" said I, "You do not know, Silence like a cancer grows. 

Hear my words that I might teach you, Take my arms that I might reach you."

But my words like silent raindrops fell,

And echoed, In the wells of silence ."

There's no question Williams has got serious game.  He's certainly in the discussion of the top five point guards in the league, but has he earned the status to force a legend like Sloan out the door,  three days after Sloan signed a one-year extension?  Williams becomes a free agent in 2012 and sources indicated he was leaning toward bolting if Sloan wasn't gone.  Seems the Jazz players banded together and decided Sloan didn't know who they were anymore, the familiar chant of  "lost the team" being thrown around better than his "flex" offense was being run.

Despite losing some key components from last year's squad, the Jazz, as of this writing, are 31-23 and second in the Northwest.  When Sloan realized ownership was listening more to the inmates than the warden, it was time to take his last charging call.

Replacing Sloan, for at least the remainder of the season, will be assistant Tyrone Corbin.  I hope Williams is pleased because if memory serves me right, Sloan achieved a measure of success with a little point guard named John Stockton.  Oh, yeah, he's in the Hall of Fame too.

"And the people bowed and prayed, To the neon god they made.

And the sign flashed out its warning, In the words that it was forming.

And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls

And tenement halls." and whisper'd in the sounds of silence."

TOUGH AS NAILS

I'm no home improvement expert but I know a nail when I see one.

Used to lock things down, a 6-1, 173 pound nail named Norm Van Lier passed away Thursday. He was 61. The former Chicago Bull partnered with Jerry Sloan in the early '70s to form the toughest defensive backcourt in NBA history.

Before kids started growing like beanstalks, the NBA had its share of tough little men in the 7os. Calvin Murphy, Nate "Tiny" Archibald and Gail Goodrich were a handful. While those players exhibited outstanding offensive skills, Van Lier was the hard-nosed defensive specialist that cast a giant shadow. Opposing guards literally hated going up against Van Lier and Sloan. They not only shut down players, they often left a mark and plenty of ill feelings.

Van Lier didn't care what size the challenge was. He'd try to run through a pick set by 6-11 Bob Lanier just as much as he would if it was Jerry West. The most famous graduate from Saint Francis of Loretto University in Pennsylvania was fearless, earning the nickname "Stormin' Norman."

A three-time all-star, Van Lier shot a paltry .414 from the floor, but he wasn't in the lineup to knock down jumpers. For that, Dick Motta's Bulls had Bob "Butterbean" Love and Chet "The Jet" Walker in the frontcourt. Center Tom Boerwinkle was there to provide a presence in the middle and run picks through. Sloan would get an occasional key basket but mostly, he and Van Lier specialized in frustration. That Bulls tandem never achieved the greatness of the Michael Jordan era, their playoff runs seemingly always getting derailed by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Van Lier survived in an period where there was no place for the faint of heart and a little man had to possess the biggest beat of all in order to make it.

Continuing a sad day for the Bulls, Johnny "Red" Kerr also left this world at age 76, after battling prostate cancer. Kerr was the franchise's first head coach and received NBA Coach of the Year honors for leading the Bulls to the playoffs in the inaugural 1966-67 season. Due to his declining health, the Bulls moved up a ceremony in his honor earlier this month, unveiling a statue of Kerr at the United Center. Kerr, a native Chicagoan, was a pivotal fixture in Bulls lore, serving as an avid announcer for numerous years. On hand for his emotional ceremony among others were Jordan an Scottie Pippen.

Jordan called Kerr “an inspiration to me as a basketball player and as a person,” while Pippen added Kerr "makes Chicago Bulls basketball what it is."

The 6-9 Kerr knew his way around a gym, having played 12 seasons (1954-1966) in the NBA for the Syracuse Nationals, Philadelphia 76ers and the Baltimore Bullets. From 1954 to 1965, the three-time NBA All-Star appeared in a then-NBA record 844 consecutive games.

A lot of Chicagoans shed tears of remembrance this week, recognizing two special people who gave their all.

Heaven enjoyed a good draft Thursday, having picked up a tough as nails point guard and a space eating big man.