Watching a skinny Nicholas Baer run around the court reminds me of another "stick", Glenn Vidnovic, who played on one of the greatest Hawkeye teams in history, the 1969-70 Hawks of Ralph Miller. Vidnovic was a string bean and an unlikely looking player at shortish 6'5", but man could he play. On that team which featured John Johnson and Downtown Freddie Brown, both future NBA stars, Stick averaged in double figures, was a great all around passer and defender and I think still holds the record for consecutive made free throws in a game. Like Stick, Baer is one of those players who is all over the court, shooting 3's, making steals and blocks and grabbing rebounds. They may not have looked like players, but both got game!
Stick Vidnovic & Nick Baer
- Thread starter HawkNorth
- Start date
Agreed. In the January 2nd thread Baer reminds of.... I said Vidnovick as well. Not many here are old enough to remember, but I think the comparison is right on. Nick's got a lot of time to live up to the Stick, but he'said got a similar game.
I never saw Stick play for Iowa, but in high school in the late 70s and early 80s would go to the AAU games at the Marshalltown Coliseum each year and watch him and the Airliner team compete. Very fond memories of those tournaments.
I think we used to joke about Stick and how skinny he was. Supposed to be 6'6" and weigh 150. We said he could get to the hoop by turning sideways and just slipping between 2 defenders..... 
Nick also reminds me of a young Chris Street with his ability to run the court and all the energy and enthusiasm.
