Where Are They Now: Harry Gallatin

NEW YORK, February 1, 2005 -- They called him "The Horse" for a reason. Now 78-year-old Harry Gallatin -- still rock-like in appearance, still directly to the point -- doesn't mind exploding some long-taken-for-granted hoop truisms. "They say that while we were more fundamental and played better team-ball, today's players are far better athletes than we were," Gallatin, the Knicks All-Star center from 1948-57, avers. "Well, I couldn't disagree more. Sure, these guys are very athletic -- but players in my time were excellent athletes as well."

As Gallatin was not only a Hall Of Fame NBA player but also a Knicks (and St. Louis Hawks) coach, his views -- expressed with the serene smile of a man very much in tune with the game he loves -- should carry much weight. Not that much height, though: the overachieving Gallatin was a "6-6 center", a major oxymoron even in those very early NBA days.

Hence the name "Horse". Matching up against always-taller, always beefier, opponents, Gallatin averaged double figures in rebounds in every one of his Knick campaigns, including a league-leading 15.3 in 1953-54. In spite of not having much range -- "Any range!" admiring Knicks broadcastrer Spencer Ross corrects with a smile -- on his shot, Gallatin scored quite prodigiously as well. "Rebounding WAS my forte," he says. "I studied angles, where shots were coming off the board, all kinds of things that would help you board the ball against bigger guys. But I scored on a high percentage of my shots because Dicky (McGuire) was my point guard."

"He was the greatest. He always knew where to find the right player on the floor." And the fundamentally oh-so-sound Gallatin, always in right spot, was often the right player.

Besides his great strength and forceful style of play, Gallatin was doubly equine due to his unbending will and desire. "I never missed a practice and I never missed a game," "The Horse" says with pride. "Never. Not once in my entire career."

A small-town kid from Roxana, Ill., Gallatin attended well-known non-hoop-hotbed Northeast Missouri State Teachers College and "never took a plane ride until my Knicks tryout. It was amazing to me that I made the team," he recalls. "I was nothing spectacular but very fundamentally sound, could rebound and outlet the ball, and set solid screens. Fortunately for me, at the time the NBA was progressing just in that direction."

The original Knicks of 1948 played at the old Madison Square Garden "but only when the Globe Trotters, the rodeo or the circus was not there," recalls Gallatin. "They all had priority over us. When they were in New York, we played at the Armory in front of 3000 or so people."

The Knicks, however, soon found popularity and success with their pleasingly team-first, fundamentally sound play. "Everyone had a role on that team -- and every one of us played our role to the hilt," says Gallatin. "Dicky McGuire was the playmaker, Carl (Braun) the shooter. Ernie Vandeweghe did damage in kind of an all-around way. And (Nat) Sweet(water Clifton) and I would sweep the boards, outlet the ball and run." These strictly roleplaying Knicks made the NBA Finals three times, missing the title by just a single game in both 1951 and 1952.

"We played true team ball," says Gallatin. "Our coach -- Joe Lapchick, who was an amazing motivator -- wouldn't have it any other way. Stylistically and philosophically, we were definitely the forerunners of those smart Knicks championship teams of 1970 and 73."

"Today's NBA is great," says Gallatin. "But it's certainly different. There is a lot more individual play, a lot less screening and working off the ball. Defensively, the philosophy is more 'shoot and fall back' not 'shoot and get it back' as we did. The perception of so much better athleticism today basically comes from the dunkshot. We were not allowed to dunk -- but if we were permitted we could have."

Gallatin's coaching philosophy -- he is 136-120 lifetime in the NBA -- was "defend, rebound and get the ball out on the fast break. I stressed offensive rebounding tremendously," he says. "The game is all about those extra possessions. You can't score if you don't have the ball."

Gallatin, 98-66 lifetime as a college coach, also mentored Southern Illinois-Carbondale -- "I missed Clyde Frazier by a few years," he smiles -- and Southern Illinois-Edwardswille where he doubled up as Athletic Director as well. Following retirement, he coached SIU-Edwardsville's GOLF team for 22 years, reaching 16 NCAA Tournaments.

The lone thing that bothers Gallatin about the game of golf is that you can't play defense. "In basketball, what pays off ultimately -- and what will separate the top teams from the rest -- is the defensive end of the floor," he says. "A lot of your offense flows from your defense. Next in importance is the fast break -- you must get your share of easy baskets. And the other big thing is offensive rebounding -- to win, you must get those second and third shots at the hoop."

Back in his Illinois home, Gallatin still follows the Knicks whenever possible. "I think there's a lot of potential there," he says. "I especially admire Stephon Marbury's game. He sets up everybody beautifully. He seems to be the quarterback everyone relies upon."

Does the Hall of Famer have any advice for today's NBA player? "You can't spend all your energy on the offensive end," says Gallatin. "It's defense that makes the difference. The best system is the simplest: get the rebound then go-go-go. And be appreciative of where your talent has taken you: always make the extra effort."