Doug Moe Inducted in 1998
Doug Moe
Douglas Moe, Brooklyn-born Doug Moe if not been voted Into the NYC Basketball "Hall of Fame" as a triple-threat player, dominator of high school, college, and pro levels, he easily could be inducted as a coach. The winningest mentor in Denver Nugget history Moe coached the Nuggets for ten seasons amassing a 432-357 career mark (548), 24 post-season wins (a franchise record), and was named NBA "Coach of the Year" in 1987-88 when Denver won the Midwest Division title, finished the season with a 16-2 run (54-28 overall) and were two games removed from a berth in the Western Conference Finals. His club reached that pinnacle in 1984-85, losing to the eventual NBA champ, L.A. Lakers.
Moe’s teams won 50 or more games on two occasions and had one of the highest-scoring aggregations in NBA history. In his second season as head coach, the Nuggets set several NBA records including points per game (126.5), and became the first team to score 100 points in every game! They shredded the cords for 140 points or more ten times and 130 points or more 29 times. In ten Nugget seasons, they never averaged less than 114 points a game! And two of Moe's players, Dan Issel and Alex English, earned enshrinement in the Springfield "Hall of Fame” while three players, Issel, Bill Hanzlik, and Darrell Walker, plus one of his assistants, Allan Bristow, went on to become NBA head coaches.
After graduating from Erasmus Hall H.S. in Brooklyn as one of their best ever. First-Team All-P.S.A.L. and All-City in a runaway senior year. Dean Smith won an intense recruiting battle, and the rest is history. Moe used his sophomore season to get his feet wet (12.6 ppg in 25 games). For North Carolina, he was a two-time All-ACC selection and a First-Team All-American as a senior in 1961 averaging 20:4 ppg and 14.5 rebounds per contest. The only Tar Heel to top Moe's 10.6 career rebounding mark is 1990 NYC "Hall of Fame" inductee, Billy Cunningham.
He teamed with York Larese to give Carolina a great one-two scoring punch for three seasons, but Doug was the most valuable on defense. In the 1961 Dixie Classic finals, for example, he held Blue Devil star Art Heyman to just four points in the last 33 minutes as Carolina won 76-71. He earned MVP laurels and the plaudits from archival N.C. State coach Everett Case, who said, "He's the best... at anything…that's all there is to it!"
Moe opted for Italy and it came as no surprise to ACC-watchers that in two seasons he was twice named European "Player of the Year" In 1967-68 Doug moved his tack to New Orleans of the ABA where he averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds per game proving to the nonbelievers that you can rebound in the pros at 6-5 if blessed with excellent timing, a hard-nose and boxout brilliance.
The following year he joined Larry Brown and Rick Barry in Oakland and his 19 points and 8 retrieves per outing were instrumental in bringing the Oaks an ABA championship. In 60 ABA playoff games, Moe averaged 18 points, 7 rebounds and almost 3 assists a game. In five ABA campaigns in four different cities, Doug shot 43% from the field, 80% from the foul line while his model of consistency resulted in 16.3 pg. 6.8 rpg and 3.2 apg career numbers.
Moe’s teams won 50 or more games on two occasions and had one of the highest-scoring aggregations in NBA history. In his second season as head coach, the Nuggets set several NBA records including points per game (126.5), and became the first team to score 100 points in every game! They shredded the cords for 140 points or more ten times and 130 points or more 29 times. In ten Nugget seasons, they never averaged less than 114 points a game! And two of Moe's players, Dan Issel and Alex English, earned enshrinement in the Springfield "Hall of Fame” while three players, Issel, Bill Hanzlik, and Darrell Walker, plus one of his assistants, Allan Bristow, went on to become NBA head coaches.
After graduating from Erasmus Hall H.S. in Brooklyn as one of their best ever. First-Team All-P.S.A.L. and All-City in a runaway senior year. Dean Smith won an intense recruiting battle, and the rest is history. Moe used his sophomore season to get his feet wet (12.6 ppg in 25 games). For North Carolina, he was a two-time All-ACC selection and a First-Team All-American as a senior in 1961 averaging 20:4 ppg and 14.5 rebounds per contest. The only Tar Heel to top Moe's 10.6 career rebounding mark is 1990 NYC "Hall of Fame" inductee, Billy Cunningham.
He teamed with York Larese to give Carolina a great one-two scoring punch for three seasons, but Doug was the most valuable on defense. In the 1961 Dixie Classic finals, for example, he held Blue Devil star Art Heyman to just four points in the last 33 minutes as Carolina won 76-71. He earned MVP laurels and the plaudits from archival N.C. State coach Everett Case, who said, "He's the best... at anything…that's all there is to it!"
Moe opted for Italy and it came as no surprise to ACC-watchers that in two seasons he was twice named European "Player of the Year" In 1967-68 Doug moved his tack to New Orleans of the ABA where he averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds per game proving to the nonbelievers that you can rebound in the pros at 6-5 if blessed with excellent timing, a hard-nose and boxout brilliance.
The following year he joined Larry Brown and Rick Barry in Oakland and his 19 points and 8 retrieves per outing were instrumental in bringing the Oaks an ABA championship. In 60 ABA playoff games, Moe averaged 18 points, 7 rebounds and almost 3 assists a game. In five ABA campaigns in four different cities, Doug shot 43% from the field, 80% from the foul line while his model of consistency resulted in 16.3 pg. 6.8 rpg and 3.2 apg career numbers.