<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The late Gus Johnson was a member of the Indiana Pacers for only part of a single season, appearing in 67 regular-season and playoff games in 1972-73, but the contribution of the player nicknamed ?Honeycomb? is everlasting in Pacers lore. Former Pacers Coach Bob ?Slick? Leonard said the Pacers may not have won the ABA Championship if not for Johnson, who entered Game 7 of the ABA Finals on aging, aching knees and clamped down on Kentucky Colonels center Artis Gilmore. It was the final game of a storied career for Johnson, who is among this year?s 16 finalists for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. ?His knees had gone pretty-well bad and Phoenix cut him and I picked him up in ?73 and brought him in here,? recalled Leonard. ?In the seventh game, down in Kentucky, Mel Daniels got in foul trouble and I put him on Artis Gilmore. He pushed Artis Gilmore all the way out on the floor. By the time they got the ball into Artis, he was 18 feet from the hoop. Gus was as strong as a bear. And that was the only championship ring Gus ever got.?</div> Link
