Basketball Hall of Fame: Former Net Swen Nater was a rebounding force

Late start didn’t stop Nater from gobbling glass

Swen Nater didn’t play basketball competitively until he was in community college, but became one of the best rebounders the game has ever seen despite the late start.

The answer to the question of how he was able to develop that rebounding skill so quickly is a simple one. He worked at it.

"“I loved to jump, but I was a horrible jumper when I first started playing. But I worked and worked and ended up getting to about a 34-inch vertical. I did a lot of squats and did a lot of jumping with a 30-pound weight jacket, dunking 10 times in a row with it on.”"

And there was one old tool that helped Nater a lot, the classic McCall’s Rebounder, which is still around today. The adjustable height of the machine goes up to 12 feet, with a ball placed in a rack to be pulled down, improving a players timing, balance, grip strength and perception.

"“A ball goes up and hits the rim, it’s loose. It’s my job to get it. It was like an addiction, I had to get it. It was a competitive thing with me and some other guys and whoever got the rebound wins.”"

He said some of his passion for rebounding was instilled in him from his collegiate coaches, Don Johnson and John Wooden. Wooden, Nater said, had three rules for rebounding.

"“Assume every shot is missed, get your hands up and go get the ball. A lot of guys forget that first step, assuming every shot will be a miss. And the more you go after rebounds, the more you wear down the other guy. Then you get a bunch of them.”"

In Nater’s era, the pace was faster and teams looked to get out in transition much more than they do in today’s game. Nater says the cumulative effect of running on a team can be big in wearing an opponent down.

"“Milwaukee (Thursday night) started running, which is what they need to do to score, and was wearing the other team down. Then they stopped for some reason and the game got away from them.”"

Nater now works as a sporting goods buyer for Costco Corporation in the Seattle area after a nine-year stint as a coach at San Diego Christian College (then Christian Heritage College), where he built the program from the ground up in 1985 and remained until 1994, winning a National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association championship in the process.

"“They had no athletics at the school, no gym. We practiced at 5 in the morning at a high school and I got there at 4 to clean the floor and Windex the backboards, just like Coach Wooden used to do. “I love teaching, I love the post game and I do basketball clinics. Whenever my wide and I go on vacation, where ever it is, I call the high school coach and do a three- or four-hour free clinic on the post game, rebounding, big man play.”"

He also has written six books on basketball, two in conjunction with Wooden and one with Pete Newell, a Hall of Fame coach known for his expertise working with big men.

Nater would like to think what he’s done since leaving the game as a player should be considered as well.

"“I think you get inducted as a player and the only thing they look at it your playing. I’ve contributed to the game by writing books — one on John Wooden’s teaching methods, one on Coach Wooden’s offense and Pete Newell’s Big Man book.”"

As for what it would mean to him, Nater said the benefits would be huge … and tangible.

"“I’m a motivational speaker and with that credential (being a Hall of Famer), you’re going to get a lot more gigs.”"

But he has another reason that is closer to home.

"“I’d like it for my grandkids. They want their pa-pa to be a Hall of Famer. I’d take them with me if I were ever inducted.”"

Swen Nater played during the greatest era for big men the NBA has seen and more than held his own, leading the NBA in rebounding and earning a reputation for being tireless on the backboards.

Considering the unique path he took to get there and all he’s done to promote the game since his playing days ended, a Hall of Fame berth would be a fitting reward for one of the most unexpected lifetimes in basketball we may ever see.