Long ago, on wintry nights inside the place we used to call the Civic Center, Wes Unseld, in his Baltimore Bullets uniform, carved images that linger in the mind's eye nearly half a century later.
There he was, heaving passes the length of the basketball court to the whirling, skittering Earl (the Pearl) Monroe, Kevin Loughery and Gus Johnson, who soared impossibly above the basket as Unseld -- in his Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, award-winning season -- led the Bullets from last place to first.
There he was, a granite 6-foot-7, 245 pounds, muscling rebounds from the likes of National Basketball Association greats Wilt Chamberlain and Willis Reed and leading those Bullets to four NBA Finals and, eventually, an NBA championship after the team moved to the Washington, D.C., area.
