Earl “The Pearl” Monroe Talks About The People’s Games

I had the fortunate opportunity to speak with the legendary Earl “The Pearl” Monroe on Wednesday, March 2, 2011. Named one of The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, Monroe was selected by the Baltimore Bullets with the 2nd overall pick in the 1967 NBA Draft from Winston-Salem St., where he averaged 41.7 points per game his senior year under legendary head coach Clarence “Big House” Gaines. In 1990, Monroe was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Topics discussed on our call include Monroe’s recent venture into The People’s Games, an athletic competition pitting one city against the other, the first two contenders being New York City and Los Angeles; the current state of the NBA; the New York Knicks and their chances at returning a title back to the Big Apple; and even the origins of Monroe’s two most famous nicknames: “The Pearl” and “Black Jesus;” et al. Monroe will coach the New York squad and be joined on the pine by his daug...