10. Charlie Criss – 5’8”
Charlie Criss is not the only 5’8” powerhouse to have played in the NBA; Don “Dino” Martin and Willie Somerset both measured 5’8” as well. The road to the NBA was a long one for Criss. After graduating from New Mexico State University, he played in the Continental Basketball Association. But even though he was twice voted Most Valuable Player there, his ambition was always to move up into the NBA.
In 1977, seven years after he left college, this dream came true thanks to pure determination and perseverance. The 28-year-old Criss became, in the words of Sports Illustrated, “the NBA’s smallest player and oldest rookie” when he joined the Atlanta Hawks as guard. His coach, Hubie Brown, said he chose Criss because of his speed and his ability to shoot and pass. “Charlie is dynamite,” said Brown. “When he gets on the court, things happen.”
9. Keith “Mister” Jennings – 5’7”
At 5’7”, NBA star Keith “Mister” Jennings could easily have considered his height a drawback – but he didn’t look at it that way. “I always felt that I played bigger than I was,” said Jennings in an interview with Collegehoopsnet.com. “I actually felt it was easier for me to play against bigger guys, because I played inside and did not mind trying to battle for a rebound.”
Jennings graduated from East Tennessee State University in 1991. In 1992, he joined California’s Golden State Warriors as a point guard and played for them until 1995. He was also a member of teams in Germany, Spain, Turkey, Russia and France. After his playing career, Jennings went on to become a coach at various schools and colleges in Virginia and Tennessee. Currently, he is the assistant coach at Bluefield College in Bluefield, Virginia and was inducted into the East Tennessee State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013.
8. Monte Towe – 5’7”
Point guard Monte Towe may have been described as an underdog thanks to his 5’7” frame, but when he finally got his chance to play, he more than proved his worth. In 1972, Towe enrolled at North Carolina State University, and when he signed up to the NC State Wolfpack team, head coach Norm Sloan had deep misgivings. He thought Towe would be “eaten alive” – but he couldn’t have been more wrong, because Towe soon proved indispensable on the court. In 1974, he helped lead the team to a national championship win.
Fellow player David Thompson said that Towe “brought that attitude, that fight, that never-say-die attitude” to the team. He sped past the competition as though they were standing still, and despite his height disadvantage, he was extremely confident. Towe was drafted into the Denver Nuggets and went on to play for them from 1976 to 1977. After his playing career, Towe became assistant coach at NC State. He went on to enjoy an extensive coaching stint at a number of different colleges and is currently assistant coach at Middle Tennessee State University. In 2002, he was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
7. Wataru “Wat” Misaka – 5’7”
Measuring just 5’7”, Wataru “Wat” Misaka may have been small in stature, but as a youngster he suffered more prejudice and discrimination relating to his Japanese ancestry than due to his height. Born in Ogden, Utah, Misaka was still in high school at the start of WWII. When he finished high school, he attended the University of Utah and signed up to the Utah Utes, in which he helped lead his fellow players to the 1944 NCAA championship. He then left college to spend two years in the US Army, which included a stint in Japan. While there, he interviewed atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima. Misaka said the experience was like being in “a personal no-man’s land. No matter where I looked, I was a traitor in someone’s eyes.” When it came to basketball, however, he was an equal. After his service in the Army, he returned to the University of Utah, and in 1947 his college basketball team won the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship.
After college, Misaka played briefly as point guard for the New York Knicks between 1947 and 1948, becoming the first Asian-American (and first non-Caucasian) player to participate in the NBA, which was then known as the Basketball Association of America. In 1999, Misaka was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame.
6. Louis “Red” Klotz – 5’7”
Louis “Red” Klotz is remembered for his vibrant red hair and his slight 5’7” frame. Most famously, perhaps, Klotz put together the Washington Generals, who have competed in exhibition matches against the Harlem Globetrotters for more than 50 years.
In 1947, Klotz joined the NBA’s Baltimore Bullets as a point guard. Five years later, he bought the American Basketball League’s Philadelphia Sphas and renamed them the Washington Generals. In 1953, the Generals were asked to go on tour with the Harlem Globetrotters to regularly compete with them, and since then, Klotz’s team have become nothing short of legendary – if not for the reasons one might expect. The last time the Generals won a game against the Globetrotters was in 1971, and although they have lost over 13,000 games, Klotz always played for the win. In 1995, Klotz changed the name of the team to the New York Nationals to “change their luck,” though in 2007 it was reverted back to the Washington Generals. Klotz has been credited with “bringing out the best in the opponents.” Most importantly, he became an ambassador for basketball, spreading the love of the game across the world.
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