Clyde Lovellette

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Clyde Lovellette
St. Louis Hawks
1962–1964Boston Celtics
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points
11,947 (17.0 ppg)
Rebounds6,663 (9.5 rpg)
Assists1,165 (1.6 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the United States United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1952 Helsinki Team Competition

Clyde Edward Lovellette (/loʊˈvɛlɛt/ loh-VEL-et;[1] September 7, 1929 – March 9, 2016) was an American professional basketball player. Lovellette was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988. He was the first basketball player in history to play on an NCAA championship team, Olympics gold medal basketball team, and NBA championship squad.

Basketball career

Lovellette in 1961

Lovellette fostered the trend of tall, physical and high-scoring centers. A two-time All-State performer at Garfield High School in Terre Haute, Indiana. As a high school junior (1946-47), Lovellette's previously undefeated high school team in Terre Haute, Indiana lost in the Indiana state championship finals to Shelbyville, Indiana led by Bill Garrett. The six-foot-nine Lovellette later attended the University of Kansas where he became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

While at the University of Kansas he led Jayhawks to the 1952 NCAA title, capturing MVP honors and scoring a then-NCAA-record 141 points. A two-time first-team All-American at Kansas,

Helms College Player of the Year
.

Lovellette and basketball legend

Helsinki, Finland and he was the team's dominating player and leading scorer.[2]

Lovelette was the 1st Round pick (#9) of the

Minneapolis Lakers in the 1952 NBA draft
.

Following graduation, Lovelette played in 1951-1952 and 1952-1953 seasons for the

Bartlesville Phillips 66ers. [3]

At the pro level, Clyde became one of the first big men to move outside and utilize the one-handed set shot that extended his shooting range and offensive repertoire. This tactic enabled him to play either the small forward, power forward or center positions, forcing the opposition's big man to play out of position.

St. Louis Hawks
.

That offseason, Lovelette was traded to Cincinnati for 5 players, including

Monk Meineke.[7] A year later he was traded again, this time to St. Louis for Wayne Embry, among others.[8]

In 704 NBA games with the

St. Louis Hawks and Boston Celtics, Lovellette scored 11,947 points (17.0 ppg) and grabbed 6,663 rebounds (9.3 rpg). Selected to play in four NBA All-Star Games, Lovellette was an integral component of championships in Minneapolis (1954) and Boston (1963, 1964).[9]

In 1972–73, he coached the Decatur Bullets of the Continental Basketball Association for one season before the team folded. He was paid $150 per game.[10]

Honors

Lovellette is one of only eight players in history to win an NCAA championship, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal.

better source needed] He also became the first player to win a championship with both the Boston Celtics and Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers. Rajon Rondo
became the second player ever in 2020.

Lovellette was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982.

Lovelette had his #16 jersey retired by the University of Kansas.

Lovelette was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988. As of 2018, Lovellette is the only player from the 1952 NBA draft to make the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

He was featured in the 1950s All-Star roster on NBA Live 2007.

Personal

Clyde married Sally Wheeler while attending Kansas University. They had three daughters, Cynthia, Linda, and Cherie

After retiring from his career as a professional basketball player he was elected as Sheriff of Vigo County, Indiana. He owned a small farm, raising and showing cattle. He also engaged in various business activities, eventually getting his master's degree.

At Whites Residential Services, a faith-based school in Wabash County, Indiana for at-risk teenagers, he served for 20 years and was successful in providing a positive influence on their lives.

A summer residence in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan ultimately became a full time residence in the small town of Munising where he served as the Varsity Basketball Assistant Coach and on the Munising City Council.

Clyde came back to Indiana as a full time resident where he eventually died surrounded by his family.

Lovellette died from cancer in North Manchester, Indiana at the age of 86.[12]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship

Regular season

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1953–54† Minneapolis 72 17.4 .423 .695 5.8 0.7 8.2
1954–55 Minneapolis 70 33.7 .435 .686 11.5 1.4 18.7
1955–56 Minneapolis 71 35.5 .434 .721 14.0 2.3 21.5
1956–57 Minneapolis 69 36.1 .426 .717 13.5 2.0 20.8
1957–58 Cincinnati 71 36.5 .441 .743 12.1 1.9 23.4
1958–59 St. Louis 70 22.8 .454 .820 8.6 1.3 14.4
1959–60 St. Louis 68 28.7 .468 .821 10.6 1.9 20.8
1960–61 St. Louis 67 31.5 .453 .830 10.1 2.6 22.0
1961–62 St. Louis 40 29.8 .471 .829 8.8 1.7 20.9
1962–63† Boston 61 9.3 .428 .745 2.9 0.4 6.5
1963–64† Boston 45 9.7 .420 .789 2.8 0.5 6.7
Career 704 27.1 .443 .757 9.5 1.6 17.0
All-Star 3 23.7 .475 .500 9.3 1.3 13.3

Playoffs

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1954
† 		Minneapolis 13 20.4 .450 .483 9.7 0.5 10.5
1955
 Minneapolis 7 28.1 .449 .725 9.1 0.4 16.7
1956
 Minneapolis 3 23.0 .487 .594 8.3 2.0 19.0
1957
 Minneapolis 5 36.2 .432 .731 9.4 2.2 24.2
1958
 Cincinnati 2 36.0 .387 .643 10.5 0.5 16.5
1959
 St. Louis 6 26.8 .500 .786 9.8 1.3 15.3
1960
 St. Louis 14 30.4 .393 .824 10.8 2.8 17.6
1961
 St. Louis 8 23.9 .404 .660 6.5 1.4 15.4
1963
† 		Boston 6 6.7 .269 .667 0.8 0.2 3.0
1964
† 		Boston 5 8.0 .235 1.000 1.4 0.4 4.0
Career 69 23.8 .416 .684 8.1 1.3 14.0

References

  1. ^ a b Litsky, Frank; McDonald, William (March 10, 2016), "Clyde Lovellette, Hall of Famer Who Brought Size and Skill to Basketball, Dies at 86", The New York Times
  2. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Clyde Lovellette Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  3. ^ "NIBL-Clyde Lovellette".
  4. ^ "Hall of Famers: Clyde E. Lovellette". www.hoophall.com. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  5. ^ "Clyde Lovelette Per Game Playoffs". Basketball Reference.
  6. ^ "1957 NBA Western Division Finals Game 2". Basketball Reference.
  7. ^ "ROYALS, IN TRADE, SEND 5 TO LAKERS; Minneapolis Gives Lovelette and Gets Hundley". The New York Times. April 18, 1957.
  8. ^ "Sacramento Kings: Best trade in team history with every NBA franchise". Fansided. September 17, 2021.
  9. ^ "Clyde Lovellette Stats".
  10. ^ Fallstrom, Bob (January 3, 2011). "Shooting stars: Fame proved fleeting for the Decatur Bullets". Herald & Review. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  11. ^ medal Basketball's Triple Crown - The Post Game.com[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ "KU basketball legend Clyde Lovellette dies at age 86", The Kansas City Star, March 9, 2016

External links

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