“There are only two great plays—‘South Pacific’ and put the ball in the basket”

Basketball is not a complicated game. “There are only two great plays—South Pacific and put the ball in the basket” is a famous quote. The musical South Pacific opened on Broadway and ran for 1,925 performances.
 
Charley Eckman (1921-1995), then basketball coach of the Fort Wayne Pistons, said in 1955:
 
“We have two plays—South Pacific and put it in the basket.”
 
 
Wikipedia: South Pacific (musical)
South Pacific is a musical composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The work premiered in 1949 on Broadway and was an immediate hit, running for 1,925 performances. The story is based on James A. Michener’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, combining elements of several of the stories. Rodgers and Hammerstein believed that they could write a musical based on Michener’s work that would be financially successful and, at the same time, would send a strong progressive message on racism.
 
Wikipedia: Charley Eckman
Charles Markwood “Charley” Eckman, Jr. (September 10, 1921 – July 3, 1995) was an American basketball head coach, and professional basketball referee for the National Basketball Association (NBA), and sports broadcaster.
 
19 January 1955, State Times (Baton Rouge, LA), “Sports Parade” by Oscar Fraley (UP), pg. 5-B, col. 4:
“We have two plays—South Pacific and put it in the basket.”
(Charley Eckman, coach of the Fort Wayne Pistons.—ed.)
 
26 March 1979, Washington (DC) Star, “Country Boy of the Year in the Game of the Year” by Tom Callahan, pg. D-1, col. 4:
We’re all forgetting there are only two great plays. Put the ball in the basket and “South Pacific.”
 
Google News Archive
19 August 1985, The Age (Melbourne, Australia), “Bullets outgun Cannons” by Matthew Ricketson, pg. 31, col. 6:
According to an American basket ball coach of the fifties, Charley Eckman, there are two great plays: put the ball in the basket and “South Pacific”.
 
Google Books
The NBA Book of Fantastic Facts, Feats & Super Stats
By Zander Hollander
Mahwah, NJ: Troll Associates
1996
Pg. 115:
Eckman became an announcer. He’s the fellow who once said, “There are only two great plays — South Pacific and put the ball in the basket.”
 
Google Books
Big Game, Small World:
A Basketball Adventure
By Alexander Wolff
New York, NY: Warner Books, Inc.
2010
Pg. ?:
The late coach and referee Charley Eckman once said there were only two great plays: South Pacific and put the ball in the basket. South Pacific closed on Broadway nearly a half century ago, and from all available evidence the final curtain was coming down on putting the ball in the basket, at least in the U.S.
 
Twitter
Tom Withers
‏@twithersAP
One of my favorite all-time quotes: “There are only two great plays _ “South Pacific” and put the ball in the basket.” #letsgobucks
7:17 PM - 30 Mar 2013