It was a different game in a different generation, without the marketing machines and

television money you see in basketball today. Tom Stith played only 24 contests in the NBA

with his hometown New York Knicks before quietly slipping into history books knowing his

impact was much greater on his beloved St. Bonaventure.

Buffalo's Bob Lanier is often given the credit for Bona basketball reaching the national

landscape, but that's not entirely true. Lanier was a 6-foot-11 All-America center who took

his team to the 1970 Final Four before suffering a knee injury, which many still maintain

separated the school from winning the NCAA Tournament.

Many would argue Stith, who died of cancer Sunday at age 71, was the finest to ever play

for Bona. He was a 6-5 forward who made basketball look effortless with his soft, left-handed

touch and flawless feet around the basket. He also was Olean's first connection to big-time

hoops and some of the greatest days of the Little Three.

It's easy to forget he was one of the best players in the country because his NBA career

was over before it really began. Tuberculosis his senior year and a car accident that nearly

cost him his leg shortened his career. They were the only opponents to stop him until he was

overcome by his second bout with cancer while living on Long Island.

"He was the most remarkable athlete I ever saw," his brother, Sam Stith, said Monday by

telephone. "The difference between Tom and other players was that he didn't look like he was

trying. He was so smooth.

"I had one player tell me once that my brother was lazy. I said, "How many points did he

get?' He said, "32.' I said, "OK, what did he get in the second half?' "

Sam Stith was the first African-American to play basketball at St. Bonaventure, and Tom a

year later followed the long and twisted roads to Olean. Franciscan priests rescued them from

the tough streets of 1950s Harlem after their parents died young. Basketball led them to St.

Bonaventure, where they combined for 52 points per game in 1959-60.

Tom Stith led Bona to three straight 20-win seasons, still holds the school scoring average

record of 31.5 points per game in 1959-60 and led the university to consecutive NIT

appearances, a No. 3 ranking, and their first NCAA Tournament. He was aggressive and

competitive on the floor, humble and reserved everywhere else.

For local hoop fans, Stith was Olean's Michael Jordan. He became Bona's first consensus All-

American in a group that also included all-time greats Oscar Robertson, Jerry West and Jerry

Lucas. The Knicks picked Stith second overall in 1961, giving him a lucrative two-year deal

worth $37,000 at a time the average salary was $5,500 per season.

"Tom was a true All-American," said Larry Weise, who played with Sam and returned to Bona

to coach the year after Stith left. "If he played today, he would be an All-American. He was

the real thing. He was unstoppable underneath the basket. He was exceptionally strong and had

a beautiful athletic body. You could put two guys on him, and they couldn't stop him."

Sam Stith recalled several stories Monday while making funeral arrangements for his

brother. How an undefeated Ohio State team that included Lucas, John Havlicek and Bobby Knight

held him to one point in the first half and watched him score 37 in the second. The packed

houses in Memorial Auditorium. Bona's home court in an old Olean armory, where they would open

the doors at halftime to clear the cigarette smoke.

And there was the time Havlicek argued with his Boston Celtics teammates over the best

players of their era. As the story goes, as relayed by former Canisius star, Celtics guard and

Buffalo Braves coach John McCarthy, Havlicek said, "You can keep Oscar Robertson. I'll have

Tom Stith on my team any time."

"I have film of us playing. I rewind it sometimes and think, "How did he do that?' And I

was with him all of his life," Sam Stith said. "This is a total loss for me and my family. He

was a superb athlete. He was a great individual but a team player. We played together our

entire lives. We were one, but he was the superstar. I just held the rear."

Tom's No. 42 jersey hangs from the rafters of the Reilly Center, a fitting tribute to their

first star even though he never played there. The University Center, as it was known, didn't

open until 1966. His two seasons with the Knicks were under Eddie Donovan, also his coach at

Bona.

Sam Stith laughed Monday but deep down he was hurting. "Toughest time of my life," he said.

Losing your little brother and best friend doesn't become easier with age. Their father

died when Tom was 2, their mother 10 years later. Their sister, Eva, 18, fought off the local

orphanage and raised them in a small apartment in crime-infested Harlem.

Together, they survived.

Two priests from St. Francis Prep discovered them playing basketball and offered them a

scholarship and an opportunity to play ball. St. Francis Prep had a 66-1 record during their

two years of varsity. Their experience with the Franciscans led them to St. Bonaventure.

"If you saw one of us, you saw the other," Sam Stith said. "I would go to the park and my

sister would say, "Take Tom.' I would go to a party and my sister would say, "Take Tom.' I

would go anywhere and she would say, "Take Tom.' But when I got married and was ready to go on

my honeymoon, I said, "I'm not taking Tom.' "

Tom Stith married an Olean girl, the former Gladys Smith, exchanging an "M" for a "T." He

worked in management for telecommunications giant Cablevision, which was founded by the Dolan

family that also owns the Knicks. The Stiths settled into their home on Long Island and were

together for 50 years until he died.

His legacy still lives.

"No one knew about St. Bonaventure when we got there," Sam Stith said. "When we left,

everybody knew about Tom. Now, he's playing for God's team."