Jerry Harper

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Jerry Harper
power forward
Number8, 88
Career history
1956–1957Houston Ada Oilers
1957–1958Phillips 66ers
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Jerry "Moose" Harper (August 4, 1934 – September 16, 2001)

forward positions.[2]

Decades later, Harper's 1,688 career rebounds still stands as the SEC all-time record and 8th overall in NCAA history.[3]

Harper was the #20 (3rd round) overall pick of the New York Knicks in the 1956 NBA Draft.

Playing career

In 1952–53, his

sophomore year, Harper once again averaged 17.8 points per game, although his rebounds dipped to 14.9 per game in 24 games played.[4] The AP selected him to their All-SEC third team.[4] In Harper's final two seasons, he averaged 21.0 points and 19.0 rebounds for his junior year, and 22.3 points and 21.5 rebounds as a senior.[4] This rebounding mark still stands as the best in the history of the Southeastern Conference.[5]

Harper became the first

Division I men's basketball.[6] Harper was the first player in school history to average 20 or more points per game for a career, and in one game against Kentucky during his senior season, he scored 38 points and grabbed 26 rebounds.[5] That game, which the Crimson Tide won 101–77, was the first time Kentucky had ever allowed 100 or more points.[5]

In 1954–55 and 1955–56, Harper was selected as a first team All-American.[2] These squads became known as the famed "Rocket 8" teams, with Harper guiding the latter to the 1956 Southeastern Conference championship.[5] His 517 rebounds that year are a still-standing Alabama record.[7]

After college, Harper was selected in the 1956 NBA draft by the New York Knickerbockers with the #20 overall pick (3rd round).[8] But he never ended up playing in the league.[9] Instead, he played for the Houston Ada Oilers and the Phillips 66ers of the AAU National Industrial Basketball League (AAU), which was still a semi-professional league at the time.[5] An injury prematurely ended his career.[5]

Honors

Harper was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.[10]

Personal

Harper worked for

Phillips Petroleum until he relocated to Montgomery, Alabama, where he went into business for the remainder of his career.[11] He died of a longstanding illness on September 16, 2001, at age 67.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Jerry Harper (Class of 2001)". Basketball. Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). All-time Lettermen. University of Alabama Athletics. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  3. ^ "BREAKING NEWS: Tide mourns loss of basketball legend Jerry Harper".
  4. ^ a b c d e "2018–19 Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Alabama Athletics. 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Alabama Legends & Ambassadors". Alabama Tourism Department. 2011. Archived from the original (Video) on July 26, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  6. ^ "2010–11 NCAA Men's Basketball Records" (PDF). 2010–11 NCAA Men's Basketball Media Guide. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  7. ^ a b "NCAA News Archive – 2001". National Collegiate Athletic Association. October 8, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  8. ^ "The Draft Review".
  9. ^ "1956 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  10. ^ "Jerry Harper – Alabama Sports Hall of Fame".
  11. ^ "Jerry Harper Dies at 67", The Tuscaloosa News, pp. C1, September 18, 2001, retrieved March 29, 2011
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