Every jock gets up and tells the world how lucky he is. But I feel that I may be the luckiest one of all in terms of timing and being at the right place at the right moment-even though, for the last 30 years, I was told I was born 20 years too soon, for obvious reasons.

Cooper was my road roommate, and also happened to be the first African American player drafted by a National Basketball Association team.

But in fairness also to the idea of continuing success, you also have to exploit opportunities.

I grew up in the heart of the Depression.

Back then every small town had a gym, and if itseated more than 2,000 then we'd be interested in playing in it.

In whatever sport of field of endeavor you are interested, you should do whatever is necessary to compliment your God-given talent with proper mental preparation so as to do "the best you can." The criterion should be to fully exploit your potential rather than to win at any cost. What more could anyone ever ask of you than to be the best you possibly can?

We lived in Yorkville until 1940, at which point we moved into the St. Albans neighborhood of Queens.