When we were in elementary school, recess was the focal point of the day. (Which, years later, may explain a lot of things.) As soon as the bell rang, off to the basketball court we would go. Teams were often pre-picked, so as to not waste any valuable time before we had to go back and learn about phonics.

When we were on the concrete slab outdoor court at St. Joseph School in the early 1970s, we would often pick an NBA player to model after. There were three great NBA teams at the time. One of us was Jerry West because of the Lakers. Another was Walt Frazier, because of the Knicks.

And I was John Havlicek, because of the Celtics. We’d argue about which team was better and which player was better. If one of them had a bad game the night before, we knew that we’d catch grief the next day at school. Havlicek wasn’t as talented as West or Frazier, but he came to play every night and never stopped until it was over.

Seventeen was my favorite number growing up for two reasons — Don Meredith and John Havlicek.

My guy Havlicek died last week and that hurt more than a little bit. In our minds, our childhood heroes never grow old. He’s still wearing #17, running around the Boston Garden. But in reality, he was 79 and had Parkinson’s Disease.

That just doesn’t seem possible.

John Havlicek was a great player in two different Celtic eras. He was a member of the Bill Russell Celtics in the 1960s and when all those players moved on, there was Havlicek still going strong alongside Jo Jo White and Dave Cowens. He was an eight-time NBA champion, one of only four players to win as many. He led the Celtics to the 1976 title when he was 36. To this day, he is still the all-time leading scorer in Boston history.

The Celtics had great players before John Havlicek and had great players after John Havlicek.

But there were none like him.

Matt Dunigan, and old friend of the Designated Writers staff, was an All-America quarterback for Louisiana Tech in 1982 and, a few months after Tech’s season ended in the second round of the I-AA playoffs on a miserable, wet and cold grey afternoon in Ruston, he was eligible for the historic 1983 NFL Draft.

It’s one of the most famous Quarterback Drafts in NFL history. Six QBs were taken in the first round, the most in the league’s history. John Elway, Dan Marino, Todd Blackledge, Jim Kelly, Tony Eason, Ken O’Brie. Big boys with strong arms.

Dunigan was and is 5-9. He wasn’t drafted. Longtime NFL scout C.O. Brocato was at Tech practices often in those days; he told Larry Dauterive, then Tech’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, that Dunigan’s arm was as strong if not stronger than the arms of any of those guys–but that he wouldn’t be drafted because of his height.

That’s what happened. But this happened too:

Dunigan went on the be the only QB in the history of the Canadian Football League to lead four different organizations to the Grey Cup. He played on five Grey Cup teams and won two. He’s in the CFL Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame, and he’ll be inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame June 8 in Natchitoches.

A funny thing, how the NFL game has evolved over time. Last week, the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft was Kyler Murray, the Heisman winning QB from Oklahoma’s Sooners. Kyler’s 5-10.

Baker Mayfield is 6-1. Drew Brees is 6-0. Russell Wilson is 5-10. In 1983, it’s doubtful any of those guys get a look. But now, a player like Dunigan, a fierce competitor with lightning in his arm and quick feet, a guy with a linebacker mentality, is what the league’s looking for.

“He was ahead of his time,” said Mike Kelly, Dunigan’s QB coach/OC for two Grey Cups. “If the draft back then was the draft today, he’s what they’d want.”

Go to LaSportsHall.com for ticket information about Induction Week. Dunigan, Les Miles, Peyton Manning, and Tech play-by-play star Dave Nitz are part of this fairly studly 2019 class.

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