009 - Mike Grosso
Husky 6-foot-9 prized phenom—on every college coach's "Most Wanted" List … Averaged an eye-popping 30 points and 30 rebounds per outing as a senior, carrying Bridgewater-Raritan (NJ) High to the '65 Group IV state title … No. 2 recruit in the nation—trailing only Power Memorial's All-Everything 7-foot-1 Lew Alcindor … Turned down 125 scholarship offers to play for South Carolina's Coach Frank McGuire—a magnet for NCAA scrutiny—on his own dime … Put up 23 points and 26 rebounds while shooting 55 percent a night for the Gamecocks' JV squad in '65-66—barred from varsity action by an archaic freshmen-ineligibility NCAA rule long since abolished … Day before Thanksgiving '66—life-altering pre-sophomore season scrimmage against Guilford College: "I was going up for a layup on a fast break and some jerk hit me and blew my knee up." … Diagnosis? Torn cartilage. Layman's terms? Crushed dreams ... His surgeon said he'd never seen such a "jumbled mess of spaghetti." … "I went from a Rolls Royce to a Ford Escort." … The ACC piled on—banning him from playing for South Carolina … “They got me thrown out of the league on technicalities that are ridiculous.” … Took his talents to Louisville. Drawn by Freedom Hall. “I considered St. John's and got a call from Adolph Rupp." … Tried to gut it out with All-American Wes Unseld during the tail end of the '67-68 season. Heart said go. Knee said no … Then, on stubborn will alone, dominated his final two collegiate seasons. On one good knee. Churned out 15.8 points and 16.0 rebounds as a junior. And 18.6 points and 13.9 boards as a senior … Selected in the fifth round of the 1970 Draft by Alcindor's Bucks … Pro dreams derailed—underwent third knee surgery in five years in Oct. '70 … Sixteen months of rehab, doubt, and waiting ... Pro debut with the ABA's Pittsburgh Condors on Feb. 15, '72: three points, three minutes … With long curly hair, a droopy mustache, and a bulky knee brace, he looked more like an oversized Elliott Gould after a pickup game than a one-time blue-chip prospect … 12 days later? Validation—torched Rick Barry's Nets for a career-high 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting, seven rebounds … Born Michal James Grosso on Sept. 7, 1947, in Raritan, NJ … After basketball, built a career as a TV and radio executive … Louisville HOF (1994); Bridgewater-Raritan High School Athletic HOF (2021) … Sixty years later: What if?
Sources: Bridgewater Courier-News, 1/31/1969, 2/17/1991; Central New Jersey Home News, 11/6/1966; Charlotte News, 4/24/1970; Charlotte Observer, 12/8/1970, 3/13/2010; Charleston Post and Courier, 10/13/2022; Greensboro News and Record, 12/18/1966, 2/20/1972, 8/13/1972; Louisville Courier-Journal, 3/10/1970, 10/28/1970, 1/2/1971, 8/21/1977, 3/27/1996; Miami Herald, 4/16/1965, 1/11/1967; Newark Star-Ledger, 6/24/1970, 8/28/1994; Newport News Daily Press, 11/28/1966 [JV stats]; Raleigh News and Observer, 12/15/1965, 6/14/1972; Richmond Times-Dispatch, 11/4/1966, 4/24/2000; Columbia, South Carolina State, 2/21/1992, 7/13/2003, 3/29/2009; Winston Salem-Journal, 3/21/1971; Wisconsin Journal Times, 7/16/1971; seedyksports.com, accessed 8/10/2025.