The fastest and the slowest 9ball player
- Thread starter birdy
- Start date
and tony drago is without doubt the fastest! he barey seems to cue when he's in full flow - he just points and pots!
earl is very quick too.
earl is very quick too.
Tony Drago is faster than Luc Salvas, and Tony pockets balls more accurately. He runs around the table and one strokes everything. The slowest player BY FAR is Danny Basavich. He is so slow it's ridiculous. He is horrible to watch. If he played at normal pace, he would have alot of spectators when he plays in big events. Even some of the pros I talk to won't watch his games. He's a real nice guy with a great personality, but he plays so slow it's absoloutely ridiculous.
Voodoo Daddy
One Pocket 101
sjm said:
"Machine Gun" Lou Butera was the last two faster than either of them...
Bill "Chicken Man" Dunsmore is still slower than Lane but maybe not Fix.
birdy said:
I watched Rodney play Danny in the Athens, UPA event and poor Rodney. You could see the frustration and annoyance in his face...he lost all focus and just seem to go through the motions did get it over with. It is so hard to play someone slow, esp if your fast. He also uses so much baby powder, Rodney has ro ask them to whipe the table down at least twice.
sjm said:
Can you tell me anything about Stevie Wonder?
All I know is I saw him shoot at the Green Room (South New Jersey, near Philly), winning a qualifier they held for the US 9 Ball open. Watching him shoot was like a billiard workout; he would pick up the chalk, slam it down, shoot fast, real fast, and if he was in on a pattern, he would pocket five balls in under a minute. His safes where second to none, when he decided to play safe.
I play fast when playing 9ball. I've tried to slow down, but my brain just works at that fast pace, and it doesn't bother me, or mess up my game. I've been told I play as fast as Earl. Watching Lou Butera play 14.1 seems to be a comfortable pace for me!
Gerry
Gerry
sjm said:
sjm,
I was speaking with a noted pro of our acquaintance about Dick Lane; relaying an observation of Dick's on Accu-Stats about developing a game. Dick pointed out that he almost always practices alone - as it gives him more table time. He said that it must be an okay way to develop as he seems to do very well on the occasions when he competes. Our friend said, "he plays alone because he's so damn slow no one will play with him."
P.S. - I'm a big Dick Lane fan - but his Accu-Stats that I've seen were with him on a shot clock. His player review tape (straight pool vs. Johnny Archer) was EXCELLENT; a big two thumbs up.
cuechick said:
Ennit, i remember watching the Skins Program and you can see his opponents lose there focus after watching Danny play.
My vote is Danny for the slowest and Earl for the fastest for me.
Williebetmore said:
Lane, whom I watched live on numerous occasions, is a true old school master technician. Actually, he got a little faster over time. Though slow in the 1999 National Straight Pool Championships and the 2000 US Open 14.1 event, he was not nearly as slow as he had been in the mid 1980's. No denying, though, that one can learn a lot from watching Dick on tape.
Dick may have practiced alone a lot, but he was also well known for playing "100 no count" against mid-level players to stay sharp.
sjm said:
sjm,
I just finished watching a Grady Mathews-Dallas West match from the Maine Shootout (which was organized and run by Grady). The commentators were Dick Lane and Billy Incardona. I had forgotten how erudite and insightful Dick Lane was - what a great commentator. In the match, Grady runs 150 in 2 innings (102 and out); after going into the pack, he ends up buried, but is straight in on a ball to the far corner. Dick Lane describes the event as "serendipitous"; Billy can barely contain his glee in making fun of Dick for using a word of more than 2 syllables.
Earl is 1 stroking and in the zone, he says that nobody alive could beat him if matches were played by a 15 second shot clock. I think he has a lock in that game.
Gregg said:
Watched a lot of Stevie playing in the late 80's. No doubt the fastest player I ever seen. Even back then shot exactly as you saw, chalk it, slam the chalk down, and fire the ball into the back of the pocket. Plays all of the games good. ACCU Stats has a tape of him beating Buddy Hall 5-4 at the 95' 1 hole tournie in Roanoke. Did get heated at times which affected his play.
emptypockets said:
I recall watching a very young Stevie Wonder match up in nine ball against Ray Martin in the late 1970's. He could stick with Ray in any game but 14.1.
I also remember watching Stevie at the 1995 World Eight Ball championships, and I'd have to say that he's definitely the fastest eight ball player I've ever seen at pro level.
By the way, I have the one pocket tape with Stevie wonder vs Buddy Hall. It has always been one of my favorite Accu-Stat tapes.