American basketball biography

Gary Colson (April 30, 1934 – November 3, 2023) was an American basketball coach and executive. The Logansport, Indiana, native guided several college men's basketball teams, including Valdosta State University, Pepperdine University, University of New Mexico and California State University, Fresno. He compiled a 563–385 (.594) record over 34 seasons of coaching between 1959 and 1995. In 2002, he joined the Memphis Grizzlies' front office as Assistant to the President of Basketball Operations. In his later years, Coach Colson was a basketball instructor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Coach Colson earned his bachelor's degree in health and physical education from David Lipscomb College (now Lipscomb University) in 1956. He was inducted into the Lipscomb Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998 in the "Athlete" category.
Colson died from lymphoma in Santa Barbara, California, on November 3, 2023, at the age of 89.

Alan Leigh Sawyer (January 1, 1928 – June 30, 2012) was an American professional basketball player for the Washington Capitols of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins from 1945 to 1950. He missed the end of the 1948–49 season after an appendectomy. Sawyer helped lead the 1949–50 team to their first Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) championship. He was named to the first team of the All-Southern Division PCC team in 1949, and voted to the second team in 1950. He was selected in the third round of the 1950 NBA draft by the Capitols.After the Capitols were disbanded mid-season in 1951, its players were allocated to other teams, and Sawyer was drafted by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. However, he decided to return to the University of California, Los Angeles, to complete his degree.Sawyer later became a math teacher and coached basketball at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California.

Albert "Chorrito" Almanza González (3 January 1940 – 27 January 2023) was a Mexican Olympic athlete and college basketball player for The University of Texas at Austin.
Almanza came to the United States from Mexico in 1954 and began attending Jefferson High School in El Paso, Texas that year. Almanza was a three-year starter for the Texas Longhorns men's basketball team from 1958 to 1961 under head coaches Marshall Hughes (1958–59) and Harold Bradley (1959–61). He led the 1958–59 and 1960–61 Texas teams in rebounding, with season averages of 8.0 and 9.2 rebounds per game, respectively. Almanza was also second in scoring on the 1958–59 team with an average of 11.0 points per game, fourth in scoring in 1959–60 with an average of 10.8 points per game, and second in scoring in 1960–61 with an average of 14.0 points per game. With Almanza as starting power forward, the 1959–60 Longhorn team finished with an overall record of 18–8, won the Southwest Conference championship, and competed in the Sweet 16 game of the 1960 NCAA Tournament.Almanza competed for Mexico on the Mexico national basketball team in the Olympics of 1960 and 1964. He served as team co-captain in 1960 and led the team in scoring with an average of 19.8 points per game; he returned in 1964 to lead the Mexico national team in scoring for a second time with an average of 14.7 points per game. Mexico placed twelfth in basketball in both Olympics.Almanza was selected with the fourth pick of the seventh round of the 1961 NBA draft (63rd overall pick) by the Los Angeles Lakers. He retired after 35 years of employment with New York Life.

Roy Danforth, Jr. (born 12 Jan 1936), a native of Summitville, Indiana, was the head basketball coach at Syracuse from 1968 to 1976. During his tenure, he compiled a 148–71 (.676) record. In his final four years as a coach, his teams went to the NCAA tournament, including an appearance in the Final Four in 1975. He was credited with rebuilding the Syracuse program, and gave the Orange a terrific home-court advantage. He played college basketball at Southern Mississippi where he scored over 1,000 points and was a 75% career free-throw shooter.
Danforth left Syracuse to succeed Charles Moir at Tulane on April 5, 1976. He signed a three-year contract with a $30,000 annual salary. He was replaced at Syracuse by Jim Boeheim two days prior on April 3. He announced on February 16, 1981 his resignation as Green Wave head coach at the conclusion of the season. He stayed at the university as its assistant athletic director. He was replaced as head coach by Ned Fowler on March 17, 1981. Following his tenure at Tulane, Danforth accepted the athletic director position at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Richard P. Tinkham (June 24, 1932 – October 14, 2018) was an American sports executive who was the co-founder of the American Basketball Association with Joe Newman.

John Francis Dee, Jr. (September 12, 1923 – April 24, 1999) was head basketball coach at the University of Alabama from 1953 to 1956 and the University of Notre Dame from 1964 to 1971.

Ward B. "Hoot" Gibson Jr. (December 5, 1921 – February 1, 1958) was an American professional basketball player. He played for several teams in the National Basketball League (NBL) and National Basketball Association (NBA).Gibson was killed in a car accident in his hometown of Des Moines, Iowa when he lost control of the vehicle he was driving and hit a tree. He was survived by his wife, Vonnie.

Scott Thomas Armstrong Jr. (October 12, 1913 – August 20, 1997) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball League for the Fort Wayne General Electrics, Oshkosh All-Stars, and Indianapolis Kautskys. Armstrong was an NBL all-star during his lone season on Oshkosh (1938–39). While living in Indianapolis, Indiana and playing for the Kautskys, he also served as an assistant coach for Butler University's men's basketball team, his alma mater where he had previously played. Armstrong's post-basketball life included serving in the United States Navy and becoming a principal of a junior high school.

Paul Carlyle "Curly" Armstrong (November 1, 1918 – June 6, 1983) was an American professional basketball player and coach.A 5'11" guard/forward, Armstrong starred at Central High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he reached two state championship games while leading his team to a 50–6 record. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Armstrong attended Indiana University, earning All-Big Ten Conference honors during his junior year. He then played, and briefly coached, for the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons professional basketball team (today's Detroit Pistons). In 1943, he was named the World Professional Basketball Tournament's Most Valuable Player. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980.
He was head basketball coach at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, for two seasons. His record in 1951–52 was 10 wins and 10 losses. His record in 1952–53 was 9 wins and 10 losses.

Ralph Albert Hamilton (June 10, 1921 – June 5, 1983) was an American professional basketball player. He played for the Fort Wayne Pistons and Indianapolis Jets of the National Basketball League and the Basketball Association of America (BAA), precursors to the modern day National Basketball Association (NBA). Hamilton was traded by the Pistons to the Jets in December 1948.Hamilton, a native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, played collegiately at Indiana University in Bloomington. He played for the Hoosiers in 1941–42 and 1942–43 (his sophomore and junior years, respectively) but then served in the United States Army for three years during the end of World War II. When he came back as a 25-year-old senior in 1946–47, he served as team captain and led them in scoring, was named First Team All-Big Ten Conference and was dubbed a consensus First Team All-American. He also scored nearly 1,000 points during his staggered college career.Hamilton died in 1983 just shy of his 62nd birthday.