Connie Dierking
Cincinnati Royals | |
| 1970–1971 | Philadelphia 76ers |
|---|---|
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
Points | 7,094 (10.0 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 4,757 (6.7 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,053 (1.5 apg) |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Conrad William Dierking (October 2, 1936 – December 29, 2013) was an American professional basketball player from 1958 to 1971.
Early life
Connie Dierking was born in
University of Cincinnati
The 6'9" center then attended the University of Cincinnati, where he continued to excel, setting the Bearcats' single-season record of 18.8 rebounds per game, which still stands. He also set the Bearcats' single-game record of 33 rebounds. He led the team in scoring in 1956–57 with 18.5 points per game, and he averaged a double-double of 15.8 points and 14.9 rebounds per game in 1957–58, leading the Bearcats to the Missouri Valley Conference championship.[1] Dierking's teammates included basketball hall-of-famer Oscar Robertson. Dierking was named second-team All-American by the Newspaper Enterprise Association. He was named to the University of Cincinnati's James P. Kelly Athletics Hall of Fame in 1986.[2]
NBA career
He was drafted in the first round of the
Dierking left the NBA to play in the
During the 1964–65 season, on January 15, 1965, he was part of an historic trade. He was one of three players (along with Paul Neumann and Lee Shaffer) traded by the 76ers to the San Francisco Warriors for basketball hall-of-famer Wilt Chamberlain.[4] For the season, he averaged 7.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.[3]
On October 20, 1965 he was traded by the Warriors along with Art Heyman to the Cincinnati Royals for Bud Olsen and cash. With the Royals, Dierking was reunited with his college teammate, Oscar Robertson.
Dierking had his most productive seasons during his five full seasons with the Royals as their starting center. His best season were the three from 1967–68 through 1969–70. In 1967–68, he played in 81 games and averaged 16.4 points and 9.5 rebounds, with career-high numbers of a .765 free throw shooting percentage and a field goal percentage of .467. In 1968–69, he played in all 82 games and averaged 16.3 points and 9.0 rebounds, and in 1969–70, he averaged a career-high 16.7 points along with 8.2 rebounds.[3]
During the 1970–71 season, he played one game for the Royals and was traded along with Fred Foster to the 76ers for Darrall Imhoff and a future draft pick. He played 53 games for the 76ers in what would be his final season.[3]
In his NBA career, Dierking averaged 10.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.[3]
Personal life
Connie Dierking died on December 29, 2013, at the age of 77. He is survived by his wife, Robyn (Thirlwell) Dierking; five daughters, Jane, Joey, Suzy, Wendy, and Cammy, a longtime news anchor for WKRC-TV; six grandchildren; and two brothers and two sisters. He was preceded in death by a grandchild.[5][6][7]
Career statistics
| 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 |
NBA
Source[3]
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958–59 | Syracuse | 64 | 11.3 | .362 | .593 | 3.6 | .5 | 4.6 | |
| 1959–60 | Syracuse | 71 | 15.8 | .365 | .574 | 6.4 | .8 | 6.9 | |
| 1963–64 | Philadelphia | 76 | 16.9 | .372 | .675 | 5.6 | .7 | 6.5 | |
| 1964–65 | Philadelphia | 38 | 19.2 | .389 | .651 | 6.3 | 1.1 | 7.8 | |
| 1964–65 | San Francisco | 30 | 18.8 | .427 | .541 | 6.5 | 1.0 | 8.0 | |
| 1965–66 | Cincinnati | 57 | 13.7 | .416 | .610 | 4.3 | .8 | 5.6 | |
| 1966–67 | Cincinnati | 77 | 24.7 | .399 | .744 | 7.8 | 2.1 | 9.3 | |
| 1967–68 | Cincinnati | 81 | 32.6 | .467 | .765 | 9.5 | 2.4 | 16.4 | |
| 1968–69 | Cincinnati | 82 | 31.0 | .443 | .762 | 9.0 | 2.7 | 16.3 | |
| 1969–70 | Cincinnati | 76 | 32.2 | .419 | .752 | 8.2 | 2.2 | 16.7 | |
| 1970–71 | Cincinnati | 1 | 23.0 | .188 | – | 7.0 | 1.0 | 6.0 | |
| 1970–71 | Philadelphia | 53 | 5 | 13.5 | .399 | .685 | 4.3 | 1.1 | 5.8 |
| Career | 706 | 5 | 21.9 | .417 | .697 | 6.7 | 1.5 | 10.0 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Syracuse | 4 | 8.5 | .167 | .778 | 4.3 | .5 | 2.8 |
| 1960 | Syracuse | 3 | 10.7 | .300 | .000 | 5.0 | .3 | 4.0 |
| 1964 | Philadelphia | 5 | 14.2 | .424 | .556 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 6.6 |
| 1966 | Cincinnati | 4 | 16.0 | .500 | .900 | 3.8 | .3 | 6.8 |
| 1967 | Cincinnati | 4 | 37.8 | .427 | 1.000 | 13.0 | 3.5 | 17.5 |
| Career | 20 | 17.6 | .399 | .771 | 6.5 | 1.2 | 7.7 | |
References
- ^ a b Erardi, John (31 December 2013). "Connie Dierking, a piece of history has departed". Cincinnati.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "Connie Dierking, longtime NBA player, dies at 77". USA Today.
- ^ Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Wilt battled "loser" label at ESPN.com
- ^ "Conrad "Connie" DIERKING Jr. Obituary (1936 - 2013) the Cincinnati Enquirer". Legacy.com.
- ^ About Cammy. cammydierking.com
- ^ "CINCINNATI: Former UC, NBA player Connie Dierking dies in Ohio - People Wires - MiamiHerald.com". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 2013-12-31.
External links
- Connie Dierking at IMDb
Book, "Cincinnati's Basketball Royalty", by Gerry Schultz