IT WAS a time, much like now, when most of the major sports teams in Philadelphia were struggling. The Phillies were in the midst of seven consecutive losing seasons. The Eagles were scraping the bottom of the barrel in the NFL. The 76ers had just set a record for NBA futility, going 9-73. The Flyers and their Broad Street Bullies were the toast of the town, on the verge of winning a couple of Stanley Cups.
A skinny kid out of Illinois State was taken as the first overall selection in 1973 to be the savior for the Sixers, and Doug Collins had no idea what to expect from the City of Brotherly Love.