Red Rocha
Ephraim J. "Red" Rocha (September 18, 1923 in Hilo, Hawaii – February 13, 2010[1]) was a professional basketball player and coach.
Basketball
A 6'9" center from Oregon State University, he earned All-Pacific Coast Conference honors in 1945, 1946, and 1947. He was also selected as a 1947 All-American.
Rocha played in the BAA and NBA in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He represented the Baltimore Bullets in the 1951 NBA All-Star Game, the first NBA All-Star Game.[2] Rocha had 6,362 career points in the NBA and won an NBA title with the Syracuse Nationals in 1955.[2] He is also the only person from Hawaii to have ever played in the NBA.[3] Rocha still shares, with former teammate Paul Seymour, the NBA record for most minutes in a playoff game with 67.[4]
After his playing days he became a coach, including head coach of the Detroit Pistons from 1958 to 1960.[2] Rocha then became head coach for the University of Hawaii men's basketball team.[2] At UH, he assembled what is known today as the "Fabulous Five" during the 1970 to 1972 seasons. In 1970, the team advanced to postseason play for the first time in school history. Red also co-founded the Rainbow Classic — an eight-team collegiate men's basketball tournament, with UH hosting the tournament.
Later years
He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1980, and into the Oregon State University Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. Ephraim "Red" Rocha died from cancer on February 13, 2010, in Corvallis, Oregon, at the age of 86.[3]
References
External links
|
|
Formerly the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons and the Fort Wayne Pistons • Founded in 1941 • Based in Auburn Hills, Michigan
|
|
Franchise |
|
|
Arenas |
|
|
Head coaches |
|
|
D-League affiliate |
|
|
Retired numbers |
|
|
Hall of Famers |
|
|
NBA Championships (3) |
|
|
Culture and lore |
|
|
Rivals |
|
|
Broadcasters |
|
|
|
|
- Dave Crawford (1918–1919)
- Edward Williford (1919–1920)
- No team (1920–1921)
- Otto Klum (1921–1923)
- Charles Jones (1920–1926)
- Leslie Harrison (1926–1929)
- Claude Swann (1929–1930)
- Eugene Gill (1930–1941)
- Bert Chan Wa (1941–1942)
- No team (1942–1946)
- Bert Chan Wa (1946–1947)
- Art Gallon (1947–1951)
- Al Saake (1951–1954)
- Ah Chew Goo (1954–1957)
- Al Saake (1957–1963)
- Red Rocha (1963–1973)
- Bruce O'Neil (1973–1976)
- Rick Pitino # (1976)
- Larry Little (1976–1985)
- Frank Arnold (1985–1987)
- Riley Wallace (1987–2007)
- Bob Nash (2007–2010)
- Gib Arnold (2010–)
Pound sign (#) denotes interim head coach.
|
|
Persondata |
Name |
Rocha, Red |
Alternative names |
|
Short description |
|
Date of birth |
September 18, 1923 |
Place of birth |
Hilo, Hawaii |
Date of death |
February 13, 2010 |
Place of death |
Corvallis, Oregon |