Clyde Lovellette

Clyde Lovellette
Lovellette with his mother in 1956
Personal information
Born (1929-09-07)September 7, 1929
Petersburg, Indiana
Died March 9, 2016(2016-03-09) (aged 86)
North Manchester, Indiana
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight 234 lb (106 kg)
Career information
High school Garfield (Terre Haute, Indiana)
College Kansas (1950–1952)
NBA draft 1952 / Round: 1 / Pick: 9th overall
Selected by the Minneapolis Lakers
Playing career 1952–1964
Position Center / Power forward
Number 4, 34, 89
Career history
1952–1953 Phillips 66ers
1953–1957 Minneapolis Lakers
1957–1958 Cincinnati Royals
1958–1962 St. Louis Hawks
1962–1964 Boston Celtics
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points 11,947 (17.0 ppg)
Rebounds 6,663 (9.5 rpg)
Assists 1,165 (1.7 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
Medals
Representing the United States United States
Men's Basketball
Olympic Games
1952 Helsinki Team Competition

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

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, 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,[1] Clyde led the Big Seven in scoring in each of his three seasons. Playing for Basketball Hall of Fame coach Forrest "Phog" Allen, Lovellette led the nation in scoring his senior year (1952, 28.4 ppg) and was named the Helms College Player of the Year. Lovellette and basketball legend Dean Smith were teammates at Kansas. He is still the only college player to lead the nation in scoring and win the NCAA title in the same year. Lovellette's dominance in the paint landed him a place on the 1952 Summer Olympics gold medal team in Helsinki, Finland and he was the team's dominating player and leading scorer.[2]

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.[3] In 704 NBA games with the Minneapolis Lakers, Cincinnati Royals, 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 three NBA All-Star Games, Lovellette was an integral component of championships in Minneapolis (1954) and Boston (1963, 1964).

Lovellette is one of only seven players in history to win an NCAA Championship, an NBA Championship, and an Olympic Gold Medal,[4] and for all of his accolades, Lovellette was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982, and 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 is also featured in the 1950s All-Star roster on NBA Live 2007.

After retiring he participated in a variety of activities including serving as Sheriff of Vigo County, Indiana, farming, business activities, and then found a position at Whites Residential Services, a faith-based school in Wabash County, Indiana for at-risk teenagers where he served for 20 years and was successful in providing a positive influence on their lives. He resided at one time in the small town of Munising in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where he served as the Varsity Basketball Assistant Coach and on the city council.

Lovellette died from cancer in North Manchester, Indiana at the age of 86.[5]

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
† Denotes seasons in which Lovellette 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. 1 2 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. "Clyde Lovellette Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  3. ↑ "Hall of Famers: Clyde E. Lovellette". www.hoophall.com. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2012-09-11. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  4. ↑ medal Basketball's Triple Crown - The Post Game.com
  5. ↑ "KU basketball legend Clyde Lovellette dies at age 86", The Kansas City Star, March 9, 2016
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