Former Nugget Marvin "the Human Eraser" Webster passes away

I was listening to 104.3 the Fan this afternoon to Scott Hastings and Alfred Williams' show and Hastings took the time to remember his former New York Knick teammate Marvin Webster.

Hastings talked about being a rookie with the Knicks and Webster taking him under his wing and inviting the rookie (Hastings) over for the holidays.

Webster was found dead in his hotel room yesterday in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the young age of 56, according to The New York Times.

From The Time's article:

The Tulsa police said that Webster’s body was found at his room in the Ambassador Hotel and that there was no indication of anything suspicious. W. Charles Bennett, of Albuquerque, Webster’s former player agent and later his financial adviser, said the preliminary cause was coronary artery disease. 

Webster gained his nickname when he averaged eight blocked shots a game while taking Morgan State University of Baltimore, his hometown, to the 1974 N.C.A.A. Division II championship as a junior. He averaged 21 points and 22.4 rebounds a game and was named Division II player of the year.

“I think our players were intimidated by Webster’s nickname as much as anything,” Joe O’Brien, the coach of Assumption College of Worcester, Mass., which lost to Morgan State in the tournament semifinals, once told Sports Illustrated.

Webster made his pro debut in 1975 with the Denver Nuggets, playing in the American Basketball Association before the Nuggets joined the N.B.A. in the two leagues’ merger the following year. After two seasons in Denver, Webster joined the SuperSonics and turned in what would be his best pro season, averaging 14 points and 12.6 rebounds as Seattle went to the seventh game of the 1978 championship final before losing to the Washington Bullets.

I think as Nuggets fans after watching Dikembe Mutombo, Marcus Camby, and now Chris "Birdman" Andersen we can appreciate averaging 8 blocks a game.

Truly amazing.