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Ray Scott (basketball)

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Ray Scott
Personal information
Born (1938-07-12) July 12, 1938 (age 86)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolWest Philadelphia
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
CollegePortland (1957–1958)
NBA draft1961: 1st round, 4th overall pick
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Playing career1958–1972
PositionPower forward / center
Number22, 12, 31
Career history
As player:
1958–1961Allentown Jets
1961–1967Detroit Pistons
1967–1970Baltimore Bullets
1970–1972Virginia Squires
As coach:
1972–1976Detroit Pistons
1976–1979Eastern Michigan
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA and ABA statistics
Points11,269 (14.3 ppg)
Rebounds7,979 (9.8 rpg)
Assists1,781 (2.2 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

John Raymond Scott (born July 12, 1938) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He was the first African American NBA coach to win the coach of the year award.

Early life

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John Raymond Scott was born on July 12, 1938, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended West Philadelphia High School, where he excelled in basketball. He competed against Wilt Chamberlain, who was a year ahead of Scott at Philadelphia's Overbrook High School, also located in West Philadelphia. Like Chamberlain he was hired as a teenager by Haskell Cohen to work and play basketball at Kutscher's Hotel, a resort located in the Catskill Mountains, where he was also in close regular contact with hall of fame basketball coach Red Auerbach.[1] In 1955, Overbrook and West Philadelphia High played in the Philadelphia public school championship game at the Palestra before 8,500 people, with Overbrook and Chamberlain winning against Scott’s Speedboys 78-60. Scott and West Philadelphia won the championship the following year against Northeast High by the same score, with Scott scoring 22 points in the game, after averaging 31.7 points for the year.[2]

In Scott's opinion, Bill Russell was the cornerstone of the Boston Celtics and Wilt Chamberlain was the cornerstone of the NBA.[3]

College career

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Scott attended the University of Portland for one year (from 1957 to 1958).[4]

Professional career

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Allentown Jets (1958–1961)

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Scott played for the Allentown Jets of the Eastern Professional Basketball League from 1958 to 1961. In the 1960-1961 season, he averaged 33.5 points and 16.4 rebounds a game.[5] He averaged 23.4 points and 12.1 rebounds a game in the 1959-1960 season.[6]

Detroit Pistons (1961–1967)

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After being scouted by Earl Lloyd, who had been the league's first black player and became a mentor to Scott,[4] Scott was selected with the fourth pick of the 1961 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons,[1] where he played from 1961 to 1967 and was a deadly shooter near the perimeter of the court. He averaged 16.0 points and 10.7 rebounds a game during his Pistons career.[4]

Baltimore Bullets (1967–1970)

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Scott played for the Baltimore Bullets from 1967 to 1970. In one game for the Bullets against the Boston Celtics, he grabbed 28 rebounds playing against Bill Russell. He had a 27 point, 26 rebound, game against the St. Louis Hawks, and a 30 point, 20 rebound, game in his first game playing against the Pistons.[7] As a Bullet, he was close friends with Naismith hall of famer Gus Johnson; gave Freddie "Mad Dog" Carter his nickname; and said of the great guard and fellow Philadelphian Earl Monroe that no one, human or divine, could go one-on-one with Monroe.[7]

Virginia Squires (1970–1972)

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Scott was selected by the Buffalo Braves in the 1970 expansion draft, but instead chose to play for the American Basketball Association's Virginia Squires (from 1970 to 1972),[7] where he was a teammate of Julius Erving.[3] He retired in 1972 at age 34.[4][7]

Union activity

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Scott was among the group of players who worked to form an NBA players union under the leadership of Oscar Robertson.[1]

Coaching career

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Detroit Pistons (1972–1976)

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Earl Lloyd became the Pistons head coach in 1971, and he selected Scott as an assistant coach. To Scott's surprise, he was promoted from assistant to head coach of the Pistons on October 28, 1972, succeeding Earl Lloyd who was fired after a 2–5 start.[4][8] Under his direction, the ballclub went 38–37 for the remainder of the 1972–73 campaign. He received the NBA Coach of the Year Award and become the first black man to win NBA coach of the year after guiding the Pistons to a then-franchise-best 52–30 regular season record in 1973–74.[7] The team slumped to 40–42 in 1974–75. He was dismissed and replaced by assistant Herb Brown with the Pistons at 17–25 on January 26, 1976.[9]

Eastern Michigan (1976–1979)

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Scott was appointed men's basketball head coach at Eastern Michigan University just over six weeks later on March 10, 1976.[10] Over three seasons, he guided EMU to a 29–52 record. Eastern Michigan fired Scott in March 1979.

Personal life

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After his coaching career, Scott went into private business, spending 30 years as an insurance executive.[7] He also has held the position of ambassador for children and families for the Wellspring Lutheran service agency in Michigan.[11] In February 2008, Scott was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.[11] In April 2008, during a celebration of the Pistons' 50th anniversary, he was named one of the "30 All-Time Pistons".[12][13] In November 2017, Scott was inducted into the Philadelphia Black Basketball Hall of Fame, in its inaugural class.[14] Scott is also a co-founder.[15] He also was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.

Ray married Jennifer Ziehm June 27, 1981. They met during his coaching of the men's basketball team at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. Together they share three daughters; Allison, Devon, and Nia. Ray also has a fourth daughter named Maria. Ray coached two of his daughters in grade school basketball for the Ann Arbor St. Paul Lutheran School Lady Crusaders. Coaching there for almost a decade, he claims that was his most satisfying experience in basketball. "Coaching my girls was one of the most fulfilling feelings [I] could ever have in life. Just coaching my girls." He still resides, happily married to Jennifer, on Michigan's East Side.

On June 14, 2022, Scott published and released his first book, a memoir. It is an autobiographical piece that reflects on racism and segregation he faced in the 1960s and 70s in regards to his career in the NBA. The book title is The NBA in Black and White: The Memoir of a Trailblazing NBA Player and Coach.

Career statistics

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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
 *  Led the league

NBA/ABA

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Source[16]

Regular season

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Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG PPG
1961–62 Detroit 75 27.8 .387 .657 11.5 1.8 13.3
1962–63 Detroit 76 33.4 .414 .674 10.2 2.5 16.2
1963–64 Detroit 80 37.1 .412 .719 13.5 3.1 17.6
1964–65 Detroit 66 32.8 .368 .701 9.6 3.6 15.5
1965–66 Detroit 79 33.6 .416 .743 9.6 3.0 17.9
1966–67 Detroit 45 32.8 .370 .757 9.0 1.9 14.7
1966–67 Baltimore 27 35.9 .445 .625 13.2 2.8 19.0
1967–68 Baltimore 81 36.1 .412 .779 13.7 2.1 16.4
1968–69 Baltimore 82 26.4 .416 .659 8.8 1.6 11.8
1969–70 Baltimore 73 19.1 .425 .803 6.3 1.6 8.9
1970–71 Virginia (ABA) 72 21.6 .450 1.000 .792 8.0 1.7 14.3
1971–72 Virginia (ABA) 55 14.9 .415 .500 .781 4.6 .7 7.6
Career (NBA) 684 31.2 .405 .720 10.5 2.4 14.9
Career (ABA) 127 18.7 .440 .600 .789 6.5 1.3 11.4
Career (overall) 811 29.2 .409 .600 .727 9.8 2.2 14.3

Playoffs

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Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG PPG
1962 Detroit 10 40.0 .406 .522 14.5 4.3 17.3
1963 Detroit 4 38.8 .351 .692 12.0 2.3 15.8
1969 Baltimore 4 34.3 .442 .875 8.0 1.0 13.3
1970 Baltimore 7 12.9 .324 .714 3.0 .6 4.6
1971 Virginia (ABA) 12 22.0 .510 – .839 6.5 1.8 17.3
1972 Virginia (ABA) 11 19.3 .495 – .737 5.3 1.5 12.0
Career (NBA) 25 31.3 .390 .598 9.8 2.4 12.8
Career (ABA) 23 20.7 .504 – .798 5.9 1.7 14.7
Career (overall) 48 26.2 .440 – .694 8.0 2.0 13.8

Head coaching record

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Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %

NBA

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Source[17]

Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Detroit 1972–73 75 38 37 .507 3rd in Midwest — — — — Missed playoffs
Detroit 1973–74 82 52 30 .634 3rd in Midwest 7 3 4 .429 Lost in Conference semifinals
Detroit 1974–75 82 40 42 .488 3rd in Midwest 3 1 2 .333 Lost in First round
Detroit 1975–76 42 17 25 .405 (fired) — — — —
Career 281 147 134 .523 10 4 6 .400

References

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  1. ^ a b c Dowling, Brendan (June 21, 2022). ""That Little Brown Ball Saved My Life" — Ray Scott On His Compelling New Memoir and Groundbreaking Career in the NBA - Public Libraries Online". Public Libraries Online - A Publication of the Public Library Association. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  2. ^ Carter, Aaron (January 27, 2023). "Wilt Chamberlain's Overbrook vs. West Philly once was the most anticipated high school basketball matchup". inquirer.com. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "There are no Wilt Chamberlains in today's NBA". Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. May 24, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e II, Omari Sankofa. "How Ray Scott, NBA's first Black Coach of the Year, got his chance with the Detroit Pistons". Rookie Wire. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  5. ^ "1960-61 Allentown Jets Statistics". statscrew.com.
  6. ^ "1959-1960 Allentown Jets Statistics". statscrew.com.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Klingaman, Mike (May 4, 2015). "Catching Up With … Former Baltimore Bullets forward Ray Scott". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  8. ^ Goldaper, Sam. "Scott Is Named to Head Pistons," The New York Times, Monday, October 30, 1972. Retrieved December 3, 2020
  9. ^ "Pistons Drop Ray Scott As Coach," United Press International (UPI), Monday, January 26, 1976. Retrieved December 3, 2020
  10. ^ Eshenroder, Owen. "Away from the Pros, Ray Scott Finds Happiness on EMU Campus," Focus EMU (Eastern Michigan University), November 22, 1976. Retrieved December 3, 2020
  11. ^ a b Scott Joins Michigan Sports HOF
  12. ^ "Ray Scott". Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  13. ^ MARTONOSI, LEO. "Former Pistons player Ray Scott enjoys visit to Holland, Tulip Time". The Holland Sentinel. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  14. ^ Bell, Daryl (January 11, 2017). "Wilt Chamberlain, John Chaney and more in Philadelphia black basketball hall of fame". Andscape. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  15. ^ Tannenwald, Jonathan (January 18, 2017). "From Wilt Chamberlain to John Chaney, get to know Philly's Black Basketball Hall of Fame". inquirer.com. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  16. ^ "Ray Scott NBA playing stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  17. ^ "Ray Scott NBA coaching stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
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