DAVE DEBUSSCHERE, 62 Heart attack claims life of N.Y. Knicks' Hall of Famer

He led the Knicks to NBA championships in 1970 and 1973.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Dave DeBusschere's death shocked his old friends and teammates because he always seemed so indestructible, a rugged rebounder and the defensive conscience of two New York Knicks championship teams.
DeBusschere died of a heart attack Wednesday at NYU Downtown Hospital after collapsing on a Manhattan street. He was 62.
He was a distinctive personality who went from the court to the front office to the Hall of Fame, youngest coach in league history, commissioner of the rival ABA and the general manager who picked Patrick Ewing for the Knicks in the NBA's first draft lottery.
"As a player, coach, general manager, and ABA commissioner, Dave DeBusschere was a winner," NBA commissioner David Stern said. "He was a hard-nosed, blue-collar hero who gave all of his considerable energy to our game. Our game has lost an icon and the world has lost a good man."
If Walt Frazier was the flash and dash of those old Knicks and Willis Reed was the rock hard presence in the middle, then DeBusschere was final piece of the puzzle, the man who did the defensive dirty work.
"He had a profound impact on the landscape of professional basketball, both as a player and an executive," Reed said.
"Dave DeBusschere was a loyal friend, an unselfish teammate and a quality human being," said former U.S. senator Bill Bradley, his longtime roommate. "His strength, dedication and modesty lay at the core of our great Knick teams. He was like a brother to me."
Jackson shaken by news
Phil Jackson, coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and DeBusschere's teammate with the New York Knicks, was shaken by the news and cut short a media session.
"Today was a day that was very sad for me from a personal standpoint, losing a friend and teammate that I played with for eight years, who I admired very much as basketball player and a person," said Jackson, who had an angioplasty heart procedure over the weekend.
Born in Detroit, Oct. 16, 1940, DeBusschere was a two-sport standout at the University of Detroit, one of a handful of players to reach the major leagues in both basketball and baseball. His high school teams won city and state championships in both sports and in 1962, he signed a $75,000 bonus contract with the Chicago White Sox and was a territorial NBA draft choice by the Detroit Pistons. He pitched for two seasons for the White Sox, going 3-4 in 36 games.
DeBusschere became a player-coach for the Pistons in 1964, at age 24 the youngest coach in NBA history. His teams went 79-143 before he was replaced late in the 1966-67 season. In 1968, he was traded to the Knicks and immediately fit in on a team that won the 1970 and 1973 championships.