Darvin and Draymond hook up in NBA playoffs, J-Rich enters Saginaw Sports Hall of Fame

Coach Darvin Ham of the Los Angeles Lakers and all-purpose standout Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors will have more in common than Saginaw High credentials when their teams meet in the NBA playoffs. with the best-of-seven series beginning Tuesday.

Both are known as top-notch defensive players at 6-foot-6, especially against taller foes. (More to come on Jason Richardson, also 6-6.)

Both are late-bloomers. Darvin didn’t even play basketball until his senior season at Saginaw High, 1991. Draymond led the Trojans to a pair of state titles in 2007 and ’08 and gradually emerged as an All-American at Michigan State, but he was a second-round draft choice into the pros who surprised the experts by developing even more, into a star. Darvin, meanwhile, wasn’t even drafted but still made it.

Both own NBA championship rings. Green has his four with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson and Coach Steve Kerr. Ham claimed his first playing with the 2004 Pistons and his second as lead assistant coach (defense) with the 2021 champion Milwaukee Bucks, which led to his promotion as a successor to such famous L.A. coaches as Pat Riley and Phil Jackson.

A trio of Trojans luminaries will not be asked to take sides in the upcoming Warriors-Lakers showdown. Instead, they offer the best of 49-year-old Darvin Ham and the best of 33-year-old Draymond Green.

Ernie Thompson, 1962 unbeaten state champs

“I first saw Darvin play for the Pistons and it was clear to see that he was a gritty, hard-working player, and these qualities also are true in his coaching. He played the game the way it is supposed to be played. He wasn’t the tallest player on the floor, but he played bigger than his height. It may seem odd to think of Darvin Ham as ‘undersized’ but in the world of pro basketball he actually was (at 6-foot-6).”

“The first time I had a chance to meet Draymond, he was still a junior at Saginaw High and Coach (Lou) Dawkins invited me to come up from Detroit and speak to the team during a practice. I noticed not only how intense he was, but also his degree of interest in the details. He came to work, even during practice, and even at that early point you could begin to see his instincts in moving the ball and passing it. He is undersized like Darvin, but he can defend the bigger opponents. He plays with power but he also has really quick feet. He came off the bench during his first two years at Michigan State, but that only gave him the drive and the impetus to play even harder. He needed that time to grow and to mature into the great athlete that he is today.”

Marshall Thomas, SHS coach, counselor, teacher

“At Darvin’s time, we would have as many as 200 tryouts for the team, and we only can keep 15, and so there would be some really good players who didn’t quite make the cut. Darvin didn’t make the team until he was a senior. He went through a late growth spurt, and even then he didn’t play much until the middle of the season, but he was a willing learner and when he had his opportunities he made the most of them. One of the opposing coaches who noticed was Stan Gooch at Flint Central. He called late one night to let me know that a junior college coach from Colorado (Otera J.C.) was signing two of his players and still was looking for a big man, and Stan suggested Darvin, who otherwise was thinking of enlisting in the (military) service. The rest was up to Darvin. Not everyone takes advantage of opportunities, but Darvin did, and all of his accomplishments are because of his effort and dedication.”

“I knew Draymond was different when he first came to Saginaw High as a freshman. He was the biggest guy out there, but he would bring the ball up the floor and pass it around. Some of our fans didn’t understand at first, and they would be like, ‘Get your butt under the basket, where you are supposed to be.’ This criticism didn’t faze him at all. Draymond was always highly respectful of adults. That’s the way his mother (Mary Babers) brought him up, and she would always take the coaches’ side, at least in front of her son. But just because an adult would tell him something, including me, didn’t mean he automatically would accept it. He would question things. He already was becoming a student of the game. Draymond has always been an independent thinker, as we see now.”

Coach Julian Taylor, carrying on the tradition

“Darvin is a workhorse, and he is in this position because he has worked for all that he has achieved, first at Saginaw High and then at Texas Tech, and then playing in the pros and then coaching. He literally started from the bottom, and now this! He is the coach of the premier franchise in the NBA. When we were teammates (at Saginaw High), Darvin didn’t play much. We both were 6-foot-2, and then before our senior year all of a sudden he’s 6-5 and I’m still 6-2. Then he started to play really hard, and we all started to realize he had a shot to make it at a higher level. You might not think of it from the way he played and the way he now coaches, but Darvin has a great sense of humor. One time in the summer league, he got his fingers all stuck in the net after a block. The rest of us were running down the court on a break, and he’s back there with his hand stuck. He looked at all of us and just started laughing. Everyone was laughing.”

“Draymond’s fourth ring is special because nobody expected the Warriors to win last year, and so this shows all the willingness and the heart of Draymond. He has proved that any kid who works hard and plays hard can make it out of Saginaw.  When I started as an assistant coach, I didn’t really realize how good Draymond could be, but then he started to help coach the team. He even helped me get started. He knew all the plays, not only for himself but for all the other positions, and he was explaining all this to me, and I’m supposed to be the one coaching! He is always totally positive. Whatever he may choose to do after basketball, he’s going to be great at that, also.”

Dave Slaggert coached at Arthur Hill, but he’s also a Saginaw High supporter because he is putting the final touches on his book project, “Remembering the Trojans and Lumberjacks (Michigan’s Greatest High School Hoops Rivalry).” Leave it to a researcher and author to wrap up our summary with plenty of facts and stats, along with a tribute to Jason Richardson, a new entrant into the Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame, always on display at the downtown Castle Museum.

“I couldn’t overlook the amazing story of Darvin Ham. Darvin was a Saginaw High basketball player in the 1990-91 season, his only year on the Trojan varsity. He was, by all accounts, a classic late bloomer but had an outstanding senior year for the ‘Sweet, Sweet Black and Gold.’  After high school he received a basketball scholarship from Otero Junior College in Colorado and played in the 1992-93 season. The next part of his basketball journey was transferring to Texas Tech, where he played from 1993-95. He made nationwide news during a 1995 NCAA tournament victory over North Carolina when he shattered a backboard on a dunk. This was a game-changing moment, catapulting the Red Raiders into the Sweet 16. Darvin and his memorable dunk became iconic, making Sports Illustrated’s cover. After his senior year he won the NCAA Slam Dunk Contest. He even became known as “Dunkin Darvin,” and “Ham Sandwich,” for his dunking exploits. Following Darvin’s senior year, he entered the NBA draft, but was undrafted. He did, however, sign on as a free agent with the Denver Nuggets for the 1995-96 season. This was the start of a nine-year NBA career. After Denver he had stops with the Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons, where he won an NBA Championship in 2004! Darvin got into coaching as an assistant with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds. He next became an assistant coach with the Lakers, followed by a stint as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks. In 2021 he won another NBA Championship, this time as the Lead Assistant Coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. Darvin’s star continued to rise and on May 27, he was named Head Coach of the Los Angeles Lakers! Darvin Ham wasn’t a superstar basketball player in high school, recruited by big colleges or drafted into the NBA, but he found his own way to major success. He’s a great example of an overachiever who just keeps achieving.”

“Draymond makes history. No other Saginaw High or Arthur Hill basketball player has achieved more success and accolades in his sport than  Draymond Green. As a matter of fact no other basketball player in the entire State of Michigan has achieved more! Draymond has had an incredible, stellar, Hall of Fame (at all levels) career… And he’s not done. With the core of NBA champion brothers returning, including Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, Draymond (Day Day) Green and his Golden State Warriors have an excellent chance for more NBA Titles as well as more individual accolades. What Draymond has accomplished is off the charts. Sometimes I think people take for granted all the crazy amazing things he’s done! How’s this for a resume?

• Two-Time Saginaw High state champ 2007, 2008
• Runner-up Mr. Basketball 2008
• Two-Time Final Four, MSU (Captain)
• Second-round pick, NBA, Golden State
• Four-Time NBA champion
• Four-Time NBA All-Star
• Six-Time All NBA  Defensive Player Of The Year
• Two-Time Olympic Gold Medal winner

“So, for a few days, we will have two of our Favorite Sons, Darvin Ham and Draymond Green, from the great city of Saginaw, literally on top of the NBA World. Very Proud!”

Richardson attains Sports Hall status

Jason Richardson, age 41, is sandwiched between Ham and Green as a generational link. His championship ring comes from his freshman year at Michigan State, as Saginaw’s link to the 2000 MSU “Flintstones,” and he was a steady 17-point scorer during his pro career, mostly with Golden State. He is best-known for winning a pair of all-star weekend dunk contests back when the best players actually took part. The award ceremony will take place Nov. 5. Slaggert coached Richardson at The Hill and spoke after Jason’s 2015 NBA retirement, in a report by Hugh Bernreuter of The Saginaw News, who also enters the Sports HOF this year.

“He was the hardest worker and most dedicated basketball player I’ve ever coached. He would leave our practice, go home to eat and then go out with his uncle to Saginaw Valley (State University) and shoot another 500 to 800 shots. He’d go over the top in terms of practice. He was the perfect leader. He was a great guy, great big smile. But he demanded that everyone worked hard. He wanted everybody to work as hard as he did. Jason’s longevity is amazing to me. The NBA isn’t made for longevity. If you just look at the percentage of players who are able to play 13-14 years, there aren’t that many. You can only keep those hops in your legs for so long, with the rigors of the NBA season. All of a sudden, your skywalking days are done, but he evolved with his other skills and the way he developed his shotmaking.”