Collis Temple

Collis Temple, Jr. (born November 8, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player.

Collis Temple Jr addresses the 2011 banquet of the Rotary Club of Kentwood, Louisiana.

A 6'8" forward from Kentwood, Louisiana, Temple was the first African American to play varsity basketball at Louisiana State University. When he joined the team in 1971, the United States National Guard was called to protect him from angry segregationists.[1] As a senior, Temple earned All-Southeastern Conference honors after averaging 15.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.[2] In 2017, Temple Jr. was elected to the Louisiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Temple was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 94th pick of the 1974 NBA Draft. He never played in the NBA, but spent one season (1974–75) with the San Antonio Spurs of the American Basketball Association. He averaged 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in 24 games.[3]

Temple's sons Collis III and Garrett Temple both played at LSU.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Mark Schlabach. "LSU's First Black Player Revels in Legacy's Growth". Washington Post. March 30, 2006. Retrieved on February 11, 2010.
  2. ↑ Collis Temple Jr. LSUSports.net. Retrieved on February 11, 2010.
  3. ↑ Collis Temple statistics. basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on February 11, 2010.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.