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Catching Up With ...
Alvan Adams, Phoenix Suns Center, June 7, 1976
Posted: Tuesday December 01, 1998 10:32 AM
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Manny Millan |
He
was
known as the Oklahoma Kid coming out of college, but his
heart has been in Phoenix for almost a quarter century. In
the spring of 1975 Alvan Adams chose to skip his senior
year at Oklahoma and enter the
NBA draft. The next fall the
6'9", 220-pound rookie was the starting center for the
Suns. In Phoenix he was reunited with coach John MacLeod,
who had
recruited Adams, a standout at Putnam City High in Oklahoma
City, to the Sooners but had left for the
NBA after Adams's freshman
year. Despite his relatively small stature, Adams excelled in
his first season with the Suns, averaging 19.0 points, 9.1
rebounds and 5.6 assists en route to becoming the NBA
Rookie of the Year and leading the Suns to the Finals for
the first time. There
they fell to the Boston Celtics in six
games.
Recalling the aftermath of the Game 6 loss, Adams, 44,
says, "I remember looking around at the old guys in
the locker room—guys like Pat Riley—and feeling
sorry for them because they only had a year or two left. I
thought I'd have lots of chances to win
the championship, but in 12 years with Phoenix I never got
back to the Finals. Magic Johnson showed up." Adams
showed up too: He remains the Suns' career leader in games
played (988), rebounds (6,937) and steals (1,289). Phoenix
retired his number 33 in
1988.
Scott Troyanos | |
Adams's job today includes making sure the rafters that
support his retired jersey are up to par. As senior vice
president and assistant general manager of Phoenix-based
Sports and Entertainment Services, Adams serves as the
facility manager for the
Suns' home, America West Arena, as well as Bank One Ballpark.
He lives in Phoenix with his wife, Sara, and their
children, Justin, 18, and Emily,
16.
The Kid recently took care of some unfinished business.
Adams had been several courses shy of a degree in letters
(a major that encompasses history, philosophy, literature
and languages) when he left
college. He knew that his mother, Ilse, a college
German professor who died when Alvan was a senior in high
school, would have liked to have seen him graduate. He
began taking courses in the summer of 1993, and last May he
graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Oklahoma. "I told my
kids, You always have time for
something you really want," says Adams. "I decided I
really wanted to
finish."
—Jennifer
Zajac
Issue date: November 30, 1998
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