The Dean

Thank heaven he isn’t six-eight
He might be some NBA great
To us he’d be lost
And oh, what a cost—
What would become of our fate?

Yet he plays with a mighty and mean team
All veterans — they’re hardly a green team
With Dean playing center
(And marketing mentor)
We only can call it… The Dean Team

He plays one way only — for keeps
They say that this man rarely sleeps
Yes, he’s a hunk
But Lord, can he dunk!
And the crowd goes insane when he leaps

When he leaps, he just hangs in the air
He practically hovers up there
No one can stop him
No one can top him
None have his fire and flare

Air Draznin — that’s how he’s known
Consider how high he has flown
Through the direst of straits
To the highest of states
And a mighty bright light he has shown

As a player, Dean D is complete
His shot is both deadly and sweet
He passes, defends,
Rebounds . . . And my friends,
What a body! What hands! And what feet!

Check his hands — they’re so fast they’re, like, trips
Check his feet —he never once slips
And let’s not forget
The best feature yet:
People, Dean Draznin’s got lips

They say that this kid was a whiz—
That his lips were the best in the biz . . .
The things he could do
When those awesome lips blew —
On the end of a trumpet, that is

But Dean is a trumpeter still
Though hornless, he trumpets at will
Spreading the word,
Making it heard
Giving the world a thrill

He’ll trumpet by fax or by phone
He’ll trumpet in groups or alone
He never will rest
ill the world has been blessed —
The best that the world has known

Dean plays his best ball in the clutch —
Fans know how well and how much
When time’s running out
There’s never a doubt —
Get the ball to the man with the touch!

Captain Doug brings the ball up the court
Then, fast as a flash, pulls up short —
Up the ball arcs
Throwing off sparks —
Man, what a glorious sport!

Dean soars! He’s high over the rim!
The eyes of the world are on him
The flashes! the din!
As he jams the thing in —
It’s Heaven on Earth in that gym!

Dean does not rise to six-eight —
Yet we unequivocally state
He’s a giant — a real one
A true and ideal one —
Dean is the great among great

• September 24, 1997

Happy Birthday to a true all-pro.