Pacers Hall of Famer Mel Daniels dies at 71 http://goo.gl/NRFcND Freddie Lewis can recall the last time he spoke with his friend Mel Daniels. Freddie Lewis至今仍记得最後一次与Mel Daniels闲谈的情景。 It was two weeks ago. Daniels had just been released from the hospital, but seemed more concerned about Lewis, his former teammate with the Indiana Pacers. The pair stayed close through most of their careers in the American Basketball Association, even sharing a room on road trips during their six years together as Pacers teammates. Daniels was the guy who would use his fists to stick up for his teammate. And up until mid-October, he was still fighting for Lewis. 那是两周前的事。Daniels刚从医院出来，但看起来他似乎更关心Lewis这位溜马前队友的 状况。这对哥俩好的ABA职业生涯大半都在一起，甚至在六年的队友期间他们的客场之旅 也住同间房。Daniels是个会为队友两肋插刀的男人。即使到了十月中旬，他仍然在为 Lewis助拳。 “Roomie, how you doing …” was all Lewis could get in before Daniels switched topics. 「朋友，你最近过得如何……」一直是Lewis在Daniels改变话题前的起手式。 “Roomie, I’m glad you called and everything,” Lewis remembered Daniels saying, “but we got to see about getting your jersey retired.” Lewis记得Daniels曾说过：「朋友，我对於你的来电和所有的一切都很开心，但我们最该 关注的是你球衣何时退休。」 Daniels led the ABA Pacers to three championships, won two Most Valuable Player awards, made seven All-Star appearances and later earned induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Daniels, a loyal teammate and companion, died Friday. He was 71. Daniels带领ABA时期的溜马拿下了三座总冠军，得过两次MVP，入选七次全明星赛并进了 奈史密斯篮球名人堂。他这位忠心耿耿的冠军队员在星期五去世，享寿71岁。 “He was always there for you,” Lewis told IndyStar. “He stood up for me and anybody else. He was such a fierce competitor that he should never be forgotten.” Lewis告诉星报：「他永远都罩着你，他总是会为我以及其他人出头。他是个非常强烈的 竞争者，永远不应被遗忘。」 According to the Pacers, Daniels died in Sheridan, north of Indianapolis in Hamilton County, and is survived by wife, CeCe; a son, Mel Daniels Jr.; two granddaughters and two sisters. The team gave no cause of death; Daniels had quadruple bypass heart surgery years ago. 根据溜马的报导，Daniels在谢里丹，位於印第安纳波里斯北部的汉米尔顿县去世。身边 有他的妻子Cece、儿子Mel Daniels二世、两个女儿和两位姊妹相伴。球队并没报导他的 死因。而几年前他曾接受过四重心脏绕道手术。 “The tremendous outpouring of prayers being sent our way is overwhelming,” CeCe Daniels said in a statement released by the team. “We are so grateful for all the love. His charisma, poise and passion for life — be it horses, basketball or friends — is a template for us all, his family and his fans.” 根据溜马的报导，Cece Daniels表示：「我们收到了非常多，多到有些喘不过气来的祝祷 。我们对於所有的关爱都十分感激。他的个人魅力、泰然自若与热情洋溢，无论是在照顾 马匹、打篮球与做人方面都是我们所有人，包含家人与球迷们的榜样。」 On Friday afternoon as news spread of Daniels’ death, former teammates, who now live hundreds of miles apart, shared similar stories of an aggressive big man and a loving friend. 礼拜五下午当Daniels的死讯传开以後，他那些住在几百英哩外前队友们，都一同缅怀了 这位积极进取的长人，同时是个和颜悦色的朋友。 Indianapolis native Frank Kendrick admired Daniels during the days Kendrick worked as a Pacers ball boy and later when they were teammates in Baltimore. 土生土长的印第安纳波里斯人Frank Kendrick在当溜马的球童与之後和Daniels成为队友 後都非常敬佩他。 “He may have been one of the best rebounders I've ever known,” Kendrick said. “I learned how to rebound from Mel.” Kendrick表示：「他可能是我所知道最好的篮板手。我是从他身上学习如何抢篮板的。」 Jimmy Rayl spent only a few weeks with the Pacers during the 1968-69 season, the same year the team traded for Daniels, but found the reigning Rookie of the Year to be humble and approachable. Jimmy Rayl只在1968-69赛季当了几周的溜马球员，和Daniels被交易过来是同一年。但他 也发现这位新人王非常的谦虚且容易相处。 “He was a gentleman,” said Rayl, who lives in Kokomo. “You couldn’t find anybody who didn’t like Mel.” 「他是个绅士。」现居科科莫的Rayl表示。「你无法找到不喜欢Mel的人。」 Lewis, an original Pacer who signed with the team before its inaugural 1967-68 season and played on the 1970, ’72 and ’73 title teams, cautioned how the 6-9 Daniels might have been undersized for the center position but never should have been taken lightly. Lewis这位在新人1967-68赛季後与溜马签约的自家球员，并且是1970、1972和1973的冠军 成员，提醒我们6尺9寸的Daniels是个较矮小的中锋，但却不应被轻忽。 “He always wanted his teammates to know he had their back. He always stepped forward to take on anybody,” Lewis said from his home outside of Pittsburgh. “There were so many times we got into fights with different teams and we all rallied around each other and took up for each other.” 在匹兹堡外的自宅里，Lewis这样说着：「他一直希望队友们能知道他是他们的靠山。他 总是勇往直前去罩其他人。有很多次我们和其他队起了冲突，而我们都能够彼此支援。」 Off the court, it was a different story. 而场下又是另一段故事。 Jeannie Brown, widow of Pacers Hall of Fame player Roger Brown, recalls Daniels' loyalty to her husband. Every morning while Brown was hospitalized with liver cancer, Daniels showed up with his newspaper and his coffee. Brown was unresponsive, but Daniels still sat there. Jeannie Brown，已故的溜马名人堂球员Roger Brown的妻子，回忆起Daniels对他丈夫的 忠心不二。每天早上当Brown因为肝癌躺在医院时，Daniels都会带着他的报纸和咖啡现身 。Brown口不能言，但Daniels仍在旁相伴。 Brown died in 1997. When his daughter, Gayle, married years later, Daniels walked her down the aisle. Jeannie Brown said she last spoke with Daniels on Wednesday. Brown在1997年去世。几年後当他的女儿，Gayle出嫁时，Daniels牵着她的手进场。 Jeannie Brown表示他礼拜三才和Daniels说过话。 “The last thing he said to me when I got off the phone with him, was ‘can I do anything for you?’” Brown said. “Go figure. He’s sick and he wants to know what he can do for me.” Brown表示：「当我和他通话时，他最後一句对我说的话是：『有任何需要我帮忙的地方 吗？』设想一下，他正在病榻中，但仍然想知道有没有能为我做的事。」 Daniels rose to prominence as one of the most dominant big men in ABA history. As the first pick of the Minnesota Muskies in 1967, Daniels played as the best rookie in the league but was traded a year later to the Pacers for two players and a draft pick. Daniels崛起成为ABA史上最具统治力的长人。在1967年被明尼苏达麝香队以一轮签选走後 ，Daniels成了联盟最好的新秀，但一年後被交易到溜马换了两名球员和一枚选秀签。 Daniels, who averaged 19.4 points and 16.0 rebounds during his six years in a Pacers uniform, played under legendary coach Bobby “Slick” Leonard. At his first practice with the team, Daniels was shooting jump shots from 15 feet. His new coach walked up and issued a warning. “Next time you shoot from that far out,’ Leonard said, “I’m gonna punch you in the nose.” Daniels在六年的溜马球季中平均19.4分和16个篮板，并在传奇教练Bobby "Slick" Leonard手下打球。在他与球队的第一次练习中，Daniels正在练习15尺跳投。他的新教练 Leonard走过来并警告他：「下次你再在那麽远的地方投篮，我就打扁你的鼻子。」 “And that was that,” Daniels said in 2014. 「然後事情就变成这样了。」Daniels在2014年的时候表示。 Though the Pacers featured a strong core of Brown, Lewis, Bob Netolicky, George McGinnis and Darnell Hillman, Daniels was the intimidator and leader on those three championship teams. 虽然溜马有着非常强大的核心球员Brown、Lewis、Bob Netolicky、George McGinnis和 Darnell Hillman，Daniels仍是三届冠军队中最大的威胁和领袖。 Daniels was named league MVP during his first season in Indiana and won the top honor again in 1971. Over an eight-year career, Daniels averaged 15.1 rebounds per game and finished as the ABA’s all-time leader in rebounding with 9,494. On Nov. 2, 1985, the Pacers retired his No. 34 jersey. In 2012, Daniels was elected into the Naismith Hall of Fame by the ABA Committee. Daniels在他溜马的第一季便拿下MVP，并在1971年又获得一次。在八年的职业生涯中， Daniels平均抓了15.1个篮板并且以9494个篮板高居ABA史上第一。在1985年的11月2日， 溜马退休了他的34号球衣。2012年，Daniels被ABA协会选入了名人堂。 “I am saddened by the news that Mel Daniels has passed away,” Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird said in a statement. “I have known him since I was in college and he was one of my coaches. His competitive attitude reflected his success on the floor with the Pacers and the ultimate recognition, a well-deserved induction into the Hall of Fame. I offer sincere condolences to CeCe and his family." 溜马的执行总裁Larry Bird表示：「我对於Mel Daniels过世的消息感到很难过，我在大 学的时候便认识他，并且他也是我的教练之一。他那有竞争力的态度造就了他在场上的成 功、莫大的赞扬与应得的名人堂荣耀。我向Cece和他的家人致上真挚的哀悼。」 After retirement, Daniels remained a fixture within the franchise, even when the Pacers moved to the NBA. In 1984, Daniels was an assistant coach and later became an executive on the basketball side as the team’s director of personnel. 在退休後，尽管溜马转战NBA，Daniels仍与球队保持紧密的关系。在1984年，Daniels是 球队的助教并且之後以执行委员的身分成为球队人才部门的董事。 “Words cannot express the depth of my sadness today,” Hall of Famer Reggie Miller said in a statement. “Mel Daniels was a father figure, brother, consigliere, but most of all ‘MY UNCLE MEL.’ He helped raise me into the man I am.” 名人堂球员Reggie Miller表示：「言语不足以形容我今日的悲伤。Mel Daniels是位模范 父亲、兄弟和顾问，最重要的是他就像我的叔叔一样。他造就了今日的我。」 Other Pacers, past and current, took to social media to express their thoughts about Daniels. He was never far from the team. On Thursday night, when the Pacers played the home opener against Memphis, Daniels was there at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. 其他的溜马球员，无论是过去的还是现役的，都透过社交媒体表他们对Daniels的追思。 他从来没有离球队远去。在礼拜似的晚上，当球队在主场开幕战面对灰熊时，Daniels人 就在班克斯人寿球馆里。 “That’s the absolute best,” Jeannie Brown said. “If the last place he went to was a Pacer game.” 「没有比他人生最後的时光是在溜马比赛里更好的事了。」Jeannie Brown表示。 --

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