This Week in Black Prezodential History

On February 1st, my fantasy ideal of an 8-category night was very nearly realized: 9-16 from the field, 8-8 from the free throw line, 26 points, 13 boards, 6 assists, a steal, and a block. The only thing missing was a three-pointer, but that could hardly be expected from a man known as "The Hammer." And the game was not three days ago, but rather 18 years years ago, in 1992, when guards shot threes and forwards just manned the fuck up. Hailing from the Steel City of Pittsburgh, birthplace of many a Tarasovic, this Black Prezodent spent a year dominating the juco scene in the early eighties before transferring to UNLV. The Runnin' Rebels were ranked #1 for most of his regime, and his senior season there was the highest-scoring season in school history.

Once he made the pros, the Hammer continued his dominance playing stints all over the league, including Phoenix, Charlotte, Philly, New Jersey, Milwaukee, and Utah. As if this weren't enough, he came out of retirement in 2005 to play and coach the Pittsburgh Xplosion, where he averaged 24 points and 9 rebounds at the age of 41. Clearly, this is one BP who has stood the test of time. The Faculty of letters salutes...

Armon Gilliam, our nation's 15th Black Prezodent.

This Week in Black Prezodential History

Every Wednesday, the Faculty educate you on the history of Black Prezodents in the league.

While the Commonwealth of Virginia has produced several American Presidents, and the Tidewater area has produced many fine athletes, only one Black Prezodent has emerged from Norfolk's Old Dominion University. With a storied career that carried him from Golden State to Miami to Dallas to New Jersey to Milwaukee to Orlando to Denver to Cleveland to Moscow(!), the man known as "The Energizer" spread his sweet, sweet inside game all across the nation like a modern Johnny Appleseed with slightly-better-than-average post footwork. Despite his journeyman status, this Black Prezodent managed to amass more than 7200 points and 3700 rebounds, and was recognized as an All-Star for the '97 Mavericks despite coming off the bench. His career field goal percentage was over .500, including a .603 season that remains among the best in history.

On a stylistic note, this week's Black Prez sparked a trend that would come to embody the Office for years to come: the headband. But few know that the Energizer's choice of headgear was less a matter of sartorial taste than it was an attempt to cover a huge scar that resulted from a childhood accident involving a soapy van. The synthetic plate embedded in his head never kept him from charging into the paint, however, and for that the Faculty salute...

Chris Gatling, our nation's 19th Black Prezodent.