Former Bulls center Dave Corzine excited about return to Chicago, first auto appearance at The National
With the 18th overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft, the Washington Bullets selected center Dave Corzine following his standout career at DePaul University in Chicago, where he played from 1974-78 and still holds the record for the most rebounds in school history (1,151).
Corzine also sits among the top five in DePaul history for career points (1,896) and shined in the 1978 NCAA Tournament, scoring 46 points against Louisville in the Sweet 16. He was named Honorable Mention All-American that year and was inducted into the DePaul Hall of Fame in 1994.
And in February, Corzine had his No. 40 DePaul jersey retired by the school.
“There have been so many great players at DePaul. To have my jersey retired, it was a tribute to those teams, the importance of those teams [when I played], what they did for the athletic program and the university overall,” said Corzine, who drew national acclaim as a collegiate player thanks to DePaul’s exposure on WGN-TV.
George Mikan, Mark Aguirre and Terry Cummings are the only other Blue Demons to have their numbers retired.
“The fact DePaul retired my number, it’s a great honor,” he said. “It’s an impressive group to be associated with. To have my name and number up there [in the rafters] is kind of surreal.”
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Corzine attended John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Ill., then landed at DePaul after fellow Hersey player Andy Pancratz also played for the Blue Demons.
“He went to DePaul and I had never even heard of the school. So, I asked him why he went there, and he said he wanted to stay close to home. Two years later, I followed him there,” Corzine said.
In 2003, Pancratz was inducted into the players division of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Pancratz was a three-time all-league selection who scored 1,230 career points at Hersey High School. He averaged 5 points and 5 rebounds in 92 games at DePaul.
“During my four years [at DePaul], we turned things around. In my senior year, we were ranked No. 3 in the country,” Corzine said.
After being drafted by Washington in the NBA Draft, he participated in the 1979 NBA Finals as a rookie, but they lost in five games to the Seattle Supersonics. After two years with the Bullets, he went to the San Antonio Spurs.
“I’m happy I was able to play as long as I did [in the NBA],” Corzine said. “My rookie season, we went to the NBA Finals. I didn’t play a lot, but got spoiled playing in the NBA Finals as a rookie.
“We had great players on those [Washington] teams, including Elvin Hayes, Bob Dandridge and others.”
Corzine went to San Antonio for the 1980-81 season, his first of five consecutive seasons where he played in all 82 games.
“I had a good time in San Antonio. We had a good team,” said Corzine, who split time with center George Johnson.
Corzine returned home for the 1982-83 season with the Bulls, his first of seven in Chicago.
“Statistically, my numbers might have been good [in Chicago], but the teams were not too good,” Corzine said.
Michael Jordan joined the Bulls in the 1984-85 season, leading to NBA championships and worldwide acclaim as “one of the greatest players in history,” Corzine said.
“Michael had to prove himself like everyone else, and he did. He dominated. [Larry] Bird and Magic [Johnson] elevated the profile of the NBA when they came into the league. But Michael added another element to the Bird/Magic showdown. Michael brought the league to a new stage.
“I had the chance to play with a lot of great players in my career, and good teams.”
Corzine spent 13 seasons in the NBA, where he amassed 7,615 points, 5,262 rebounds and 1,477 assists. He averaged 8.5 points and 5.9 rebounds over his 891 NBA games.
“I got paid to go out and play, so that’s what I wanted to do, and did,” Corzine said. “I didn’t want anyone to take my position, so I always wanted to be on the floor.”
Corzine averaged a career-high 14 points during the 1992-83 season. He had numerous personal-best statistics the following year.
Corzine played for the Bulls for seven seasons, starting in 285 of 556 games played. He saw limited playing time in his final NBA seasons: 1989-90 with Orlando and 1990-91 for Seattle.
“I’m happy I was able to play as long as I did,” he said.
Now 69, Corzine will be making his first appearance at The National, signing autographs on Aug 2.
He is not an avid collector, but has souvenirs from his playing days saved in storage. He also has many of his past basketball cards, including his prized 1988 Fleer card, which shows him being guarded by legendary Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
“I often have people approaching [for autographs] with old cards, pennants or photos,” Corzine said. “The National should be a lot of fun; it is the biggest show of the year. There will be a lot of people there, collectors and fellow former athletes. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone. It will be a big event. I probably will be getting autographs there. I’ll be as big of a fan as everyone else.”
Corzine said he doesn’t watch NBA games much nowadays, but is impressed with Steph Curry and Nikola Jokic, among others.
“I think [today’s players are] improved dramatically from when we played,” he said. “The game has changed dramatically, too. It’s a perimeter game now. Some of the stuff these guys do nowadays is amazing.”