Jack Twyman
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John Kennedy “Jack” Twyman (born May 11, 1934 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a former professional basketball player.
A 6' 6" forward guard from the University of Cincinnati, he spent eleven seasons (1955-1966) in the NBA as a member of the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals franchise (now the Sacramento Kings). Along with Wilt Chamberlain, Twyman became the first NBA player to average more than 30 points per game in a single season when he averaged 31.2 points per game during the 1959-60 season. He scored 15,840 points in his career, was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 1960 and 1962, and appeared in six NBA All-Star Games.
Twyman was also known for his humanitarian efforts. He became the legal guardian of his teammate Maurice Stokes, who was paralyzed during the final game of the 1958 season, to help with medical finances. Twyman also organized the NBA's Maurice Stokes Memorial Basketball game, held at Kutsher's Country Club in Monticello, New York, to raise funds for needy former players from the game's early years - first to raise funds for Stokes' care and after his death, for other players. [1] Twyman also once gave Ralph Blessing, a star-struck youngster who lived in Twyman’s neighborhood, a ride home from the Cincinnati Gardens.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Twyman served as analyst for The NBA on ABC, working alongside Chris Schenkel, including the NBA Finals.
One of Twyman's most dramatic moments as a sportscaster came during the moments preceding Game 7 of the 1970 championship series between the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers. Doing the pre-game segment with Schenkel, Twyman suddenly looked to their left and noticed the injured Willis Reed (whose status for the clincher had been doubtful) advancing from the tunnel toward the Madison Square Garden court. Interrupting his own train of thought, he told Schenkel and the viewers:
- I think we see Willis coming out.
The sight of Reed marching toward the basketball floor in his warmups helped inspire the Knicks to their 113-99 victory that gave New York its first NBA world title.
Twyman was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.
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Categories: United States basketball biography, pre-1940 birth stubs | 1934 births | Living people | American basketball players | Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball players | Rochester Royals players | Cincinnati Royals players | Sportspeople from Pittsburgh | National Basketball Association broadcasters
