Bob Cousy
Enshrined:
Born:
Height:
Weight:
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As a player on April
21, 1971
August 9, 1928 in New York, NY
6-foot-1
175 pounds
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- Andrew Jackson High School (Queens, NY)
(1942-46)
High School Playing Highlights: |
- Three-year letter winner
- All-Metropolitan (1946)
- Holy Cross College (1946-50)
College Playing
Highlights: |
- The Sporting News First Team All-America
(1950)
- The Sporting News Second Team
All-America (1949)
- NCAA championship (1947)
- Two-time All-Conference and All-New
England (1949, 1950)
- Team MVP and leading scorer (1949, 1950)
- NBA Boston Celtics (1950-63) NBA
Cincinnati Royals (1969-70)
- Drafted in 1950 by the Tri-Cities
Blackhawks, immediately traded to the Chicago Stags, then drawn by the
Boston Celtics in a dispersal draft of the Stags franchise
- NBA MVP (1957)
- All-NBA First Team (1952-61)
- All-NBA Second Team (1962-63)
- NBA All-Star Game MVP (1954, 1957)
- Thirteen-time NBA All-Star (1951-63)
- NBA championships with the Boston
Celtics (1957, 1959-63)
- Led the NBA in assists from 1953-60,
including a career high 9.5 per game in 1960
- Holds NBA record for most assists in one
half (19, Feb. 27, 1959 vs. Minneapolis)
- NBA 25th Anniversary All-Time Team
(1970)
- NBA 35th Anniversary All-Time Team
(1980)
- NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
(1996)
College Coaching Highlights: |
- Boston College record: 117-38
- New England Coach of the Year (1968,
1969)
- Led BC to three NITs (1969 finals) and
two NCAA Tournaments (1967 Eastern Regional
Finals)
- NBA Cincinnati Royals (1969-72)
- NBA Kansas City/Omaha Kings (1972-74)
- Compiled a 141-209 composite record in
five pro coaching seasons
With exceptional peripheral vision, large
hands, sloping shoulders and extremely sturdy legs, Bob Cousy was an
outstanding all-around player. In basketball circles, however, Cousy was
best known for his razzle-dazzle ballhandling abilities. Nicknamed the
"Houdini of the Hardwood" by sports writers, Cousy is considered
by many as the best playmaker ever. Cousy had an All-America career at
Holy Cross, leading the Crusaders to three NCAA tournaments and the 1947
title.
After being drafted in 1950 by the
Tri-Cities Blackhawks and immediately traded to the Chicago Stags, the
unwanted and untested Cousy's rights were drawn out of a hat by the Boston
Celtics in a dispersal draft of the Chicago Stags franchise. Cousy's
arrival coincided with that of head coach Arnold "Red" Auerbach,
whose uptempo style of coaching suited Cousy's remarkable playmaking
talents perfectly. Cousy finished ninth in the league in scoring (15.6
ppg) his first season. It wasn't until midway through his second season
that Cousy began to show the type of courtmanship that would make him a
featured attraction in NBA arenas across the country. As a
"sophomore," Cousy averaged 21.7 ppg, his highest single-season
mark. With the addition of fellow Hall of Famer Bill Russell in 1956, the
Celtics became a dynasty, winning six championships with the combination
of Cousy and Russell. Cousy led the NBA in assists eight consecutive years
(1953-60), played in thirteen straight NBA All-Star Games, earned MVP
honors in the 1954 and 1957 Games, and racked up career total 16,960
points.
A fierce competitor, Cousy was named to the
NBA's 25th and 35th Anniversary All-Time teams in 1970 and 1980. After
retiring in 1963, Cousy coached Boston College from 1963 to 1969, taking
the Eagles to two NCAA tournaments. He also coached the NBA's
Cincinnati/Kansas City Royals from 1969 to 1974 and, at age 41,
reactivated himself onto the 1969-70 Royals roster, making him the oldest
performer in NBA history.
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