National Basketball Association

Jack Haley remembered as 'California surfer dude who found himself in the NBA'

Published Mar. 19, 2015 8:11 p.m. ET

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When Jeff Dunlap remembers his basketball career at UCLA, he always thinks of former teammate Jack Haley.

How he could he not?

Dunlap and Haley were teammates and college roommates in the 1980s. They became lifelong friends and each was in the other's wedding party.

Haley, 51, died on Monday of heart disease.

Dunlap was stunned at the sudden loss of his friend.

March Madness also started this week. And Dunlap -- now the director of basketball operations for NCAA Tournament team North Carolina State -- had the time of his life with Haley playing for the Bruins.

"Jack was a one-of-a-kind guy," Dunlap said. "As a young kid, he became my college roommate. He was such a personality. I was more of a shy, quiet kid. This guy stormed into my life and said, 'Let's go. We're gonna rock this school and this town. And we did.

"I rode his coattails a good while after that too."

LA native Jack Haley passes away at age of 51

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Dunlap and Haley - who had a nine-year NBA career - would partner up to run a youth basketball camp, "The Complete Basketball Player" in Southern California for 22 years. 

Haley's business savvy always impressed Dunlap. 

"We had camps in 10 cities throughout Southern California," Dunlap said. "He loved it. Jack was a very generous and caring guy when it came to people. Not even just kids. He loved the camp from the standpoint of the kids but also the parents raising their children. He did a great job of being at the camp all the time. 

"At the end of the camp, the parents left with a little better appreciation for how to motivate their kids to work hard."

If you wanted to see basketball celebrities, Haley's camp was the place to be in the summer.

"His other value was his networking, and that was a testimony to how popular he was," Dunlap said. "He had people come in and speak for free at the camps. We didn't charge much money these camps. But people like Michael Jordan came. Karl Malone. Bill Walton. Richard Jefferson. Reggie Miller, who he played with at UCLA. It was an honor roll of who's who that came to the camp. Every summer they did it because of their friendship with Jack, and that says a lot."

After his NBA stint, Haley became a broadcaster and worked for Fox Sports West on Lakers' telecasts.

Dunlap lives in North Carolina but has always kept in touch with Haley and returned to California, where he grew up, for vacations. He said the last time he saw Haley that he looked "pretty good. Better than I'd seen him the last few years."

Haley also grew up in Southern California and learned to surf from his father, Jack Haley Sr., who was a professional surfer. 

Jack Haley is survived by two sons, Jeffrey and Jack. Dunlap said Haley would tell him that Jeffrey was named after him.

"He told me he did, but I wasn't sure if he really did or not," Dunlap said. "He'd always tell me that there wasn't another Jeffrey in his family."

North Carolina State drew LSU for its first game in the NCAA Tournament at Pittsburgh on Thursday, and Dunlap was trying to figure out a way he could honor his friend. Something personal only he would know about.

He knew plenty about Haley's professional career, too. Haley, a member of the 1996 Chicago Bulls championship team, was dubbed "Rodman's babysitter" and that never sat well with him. 

"It upset him a little bit," Dunlap said. "He didn't want the impression that that's the way he was on the roster. He didn't want people to think they were only keeping Jack Haley because they had Dennis Rodman. Where he had value was that they got Dennis Rodman at the end of his career and that's when he was the most out there and did need to be checked in on a little bit. 

"He didn't become his babysitter, but they remained close. Jack understood him. He could relate to Dennis. He could reach Dennis. He could help Dennis stay on track for the good of the team. Jack didn't think it was babysitting."

Dunlap and Haley chatted with campers about making the most of their skills, and Haley practiced what he preached.

"He got criticized a lot for being not quite the caliber NBA player that others were," Dunlap said. "People took shots at him, as if it was his fault he had a (9)-year career. He was shrewd and sharp and knew how to exist in that world and make himself valuable. He accepted that role he was in and became very popular and a well-liked 12th man.

"It seemed so many people wanted to say he didn't belong and to me that was unfair. I think people should've said, 'how in the world did this guy pull this off? How he played for four teams and won a world championship and did it because of his wherewithal and knowing his place and accepting who he was and making it work. He knew his skill set ..."

He also had a winning personality and big, memorable smile.

"He was a California surfer dude who found himself in the NBA," Dunlap said. "It's a remarkable story of success and knowing how to make any situation work in his favor."

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