The Bernstein Brief: A Fond Memory Of Darryl Dawkins
By Dan Bernstein--
(CBS) More than two decades ago, "Chocolate Thunder" was in South Dakota.
Darryl Dawkins had returned to play in the Continental Basketball Association in the fall of 1994 after five years playing professionally in Italy, hoping to get back to the NBA.
True to form, he gave another reason for returning stateside, telling the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel that, "The phone bills were pretty high when I was in Italy. They will be lower immediately."
Flip Saunders was the Sioux Falls Skyforce's coach that year, and he called his team's acquisition "probably the biggest signing in the history of the CBA."
I was the radio broadcaster and PR director for the Rockford Lightning at the time, and I looked forward to call a game involving Dawkins, who was still an effective player at 37, if not the larger-than-life destroyer of backboards.
What I didn't expect is that he would happily take time during pregame warmups to sit to record a seven-minute interview and offer freely his signature, colorful dunk descriptions along the way. Between that generosity and the time he spent interacting with fans before and after, I'm still not sure how he was able to actually get ready to play.
It was a highlight for a 25-year-old hoops junkie who still has more than one Dawkins basketball card lying around somewhere.
I'm particularly glad that I got the chance to thank him many years later.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. Follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.