On this day, 23 years ago, big Lucien ‘Luc’ Longley — aka Lucky Luc, aka Cool Hands Luc, aka the Thunder from Down Under, aka Aussie Bill Russell — was pulling on his Chicago Bulls togs and busy teaching America’s answer to Andrew Gaze — Michael Jordan — how to play basketball again after MJ’s baseball/‘Space Jam’ sabbatical.
That’s right! It was April 1995 and the Giant Sandgroper was dragging MJ and the Bulls to the playoffs, but on a night when MJ could only muster 29 points and with Scottie Pippen out (probably with a groin strain from lugging his giant rig around), Big Lucien picked up the slack and had himself a SEASON HIGH in the process!
Going hammer and tongs against the Grant Hill-Allan Houston-era Detroit Pistons, in only 28 minutes Lucky Luc dipped into his bag of tricks deeper than the Mariana Trench and walloped Oliver Miller — who was taking a break from eating all the pies to play some basketball — to the tune of an equal-season high 14 points!
But Luc wasn’t just content with shooting 5-of-11 from the field, and going 4-for-5 at the charity stripe. No sir. Big Lucien manhandled Miller and Mark West out of the way like they were some poor joker in front of David Boon at the bar of a Tassie pub for 11 man-sized boards.
AND! For the same reason you go to a Hay St tailor — for good measure — Cool Hands Luc proved true to name, rampaging like a 7-foot John Stockton and dishing out 4 assists smoother than the golden tones of Rex Hunt on a Saturday arvo.
The Thunder From Down Under also had one block so devastating that poor bloody Lindsey Hunter still wakes up in a cold sweat every three weeks after hearing Big Luc’s footsteps in his nightmares.
14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and a block! Not a bad day’s work there Lucien! And of course, as we all know, the very next year the Aussie Bill Russell would eventually carry MJ, Pippen and the Bulls to the first of their three straight NBA titles!
#ONYA Big Lucien!
