Big J to coach Dawgs?

The legendary Big J might just make a basketball comeback as a coach. That’s the word from his close pal Sam Unera who’s the general manager of the United States Basketball League (USBL) champion Pennsylvania Valley Dawgs.

Unera said he broached the idea of a comeback to Jaworski the other night while they were sitting around in his home watching TV.

The Dawgs are coming to play a series of exhibitions with Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) teams in September and Unera wondered if the Big J could call the shots for the visitors.

"I asked him if he wouldn’t mind coaching the Dawgs," said Unera. "I think he’ll do it. Our regular coach Darryl Dawkins, I’m sure, would love the opportunity to work with the Big J."

Unera said Dawkins, a National Basketball Association (NBA) veteran known for his backboard-smashing dunks, is definitely coming for the exhibitions.

"I’m afraid sooner or later we’ll lose Darryl to the NBA," continued Unera. "He’s taken the Dawgs to three finals in the last four seasons and won two championships. His record speaks for itself. He’s also a very popular figure. He hosts a Tuesday morning talk show on ESPN called ‘Cold Pizza’ and did TV work for the NBA during the All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles last February. If Darryl leaves us for the NBA, I’ll try to get either Moses Malone or Andrew Toney to coach the team."

Unera said Vince Hizon and Bong Alvarez, who played for the Dawgs this past season, will suit up for the USBL squad in the PBA exhibitions.

"Vince led the league in three-point shooting for three weeks," said Unera. "Darryl really got him in shape. Bong had some big games, too. Darryl would’ve played Bong in the finals if only he didn’t go down with the flu."

Hizon said playing for both Dawkins and Jaworski would be a thrill. "They coach the same style," noted Hizon. "They like to run, run and run. Their systems are similar. I don’t think there will be a problem if they coach us. In fact, it’ll be awesome."

Hizon, who’s back in town with wife Patricia, said he’ll never forget his USBL experience. "Coach Darryl worked us hard every practice from two to three hours then we would do compulsory weights," he related. "A couple of guys keeled over and passed out during our first practice. Playing in the USBL toughened me up. I’m in the best shape of my career now, even better than when Ginebra won a championship in 1997. It was survival over there–guys fighting for jobs. Former imports who were stars in the PBL were just regular guys in the USBL. I learned a lot from my teammates like Joe Crispin who played for the L.A. Lakers. He’d get mad at me for hesitating to take an open shot. Coach Darryl also told me once if I didn’t shoot the open shot, I’d sit on the bench beside him."

Hizon said he’s back playing for the San Miguel All-Stars who recently beat the Qatar national squad in an exhibition game. A few days ago, he hit eight triples in an All-Stars game in Bulacan.

Unera said 18 of the Dawgs’ 33 games in the regular season and playoffs will be shown on IBC-13 starting tomorrow night.

For the PBA exhibitions, Unera said he’ll bring in Crispin, 6-7 Jayson Wells, 6-7 Darrin Hancock (who nearly played for FedEx this year), 6-6 Mike Campbell and possibly 5-8 streetball hero Brian Taylor.

Hizon said Taylor is Kool Aid in the popular And 1 "Mixed Tape" tours. "He’s a phenomenal player who jumps higher than Joey Mente," said Hizon. "I haven’t seen a player his size do a tomahawk dunk and the crowd goes crazy when he does it."

Hizon said he enjoyed his four-month US trip and thanked Uncle Sam for giving him the opportunity to play in the USBL.

"It’s been a great year for me," said Hizon. "I got married to Patricia. I played on a team that won the championship. And I’ll be a father in December."

What will make the year complete for Hizon is a return to the PBA. "That’s my wish," he said. "I hope I get another chance to play in the PBA."

Unera said a team like Shell could use Hizon at the two-guard spot. "Vince is ready to play in the PBA again," he said. "Now he knows what it’s like to play with the big boys. What he learned in the USBL, he’ll bring to the PBA."

Unera said the Dawgs will probably be sponsored here by Cirsure, a multi-vitamin distributed by the Photokina group. He disclosed that Dawgs assistant coach Rick Nash, who’s married to a Fil-Am, may do some consulting work for Red Bull in the PBA. Nash was DaVonn Harp’s coach at Kutztown State, an NCAA Division II school in Pennsylvania.

Unera said as a Filipino living in the US, he’s always on the lookout to open opportunities for his countrymen.

"The first step was bringing Vince and Bong to the USBL," said Unera. "Now, I’m talking to Tony Aldeguer of Cebu to produce our Dawgs championship T-shirts and game jerseys. Tony’s son Michael is helping us through his company USA Sports. I’m also getting a few thousand of the Island Souvenir T-shirts that Tony’s company makes. I’m in the process of ordering about 50,000 red-white-and-blue basketballs from Tony to bring to the USBL. The balls are manufactured in Cebu. Another project involves cheerdancers. I told Boy Gatus, who’s organizing a national cheer dancing competition, to pick six outstanding Filipinas and I’ll take them to the US to try out for the Dawgs cheerdancing team, all expenses paid. Two of our cheerdancers are now with the Philadelphia 76ers. This is a chance I’m hoping to give our best Filipina cheerdancers to go all the way to the NBA."

Unera said he’s also trying to pave the way for Ateneo rookie Japeth Aguilar, a 6-7 wunderkind, to enroll in an NCAA Division I school.