Laurence Michael Foust (June 24, 1928 – October 27, 1984) was an American basketball player who spent 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Fort Wayne Pistons and Minneapolis Lakers, and was a two-time All-NBA Team member and an eight-time All-Star.
Thomas William Heinsohn (August 26, 1934 – November 9, 2020) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He was associated with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for six decades as a player, coach and broadcaster. He played for the Celtics from 1956 to 1965, and also coached the team from 1969 to 1978. He spent over 30 years as the color commentator for the Celtics' local broadcasts alongside play-by-play commentator Mike Gorman. He is regarded as one of the most iconic Celtics figures in the franchise's history, known during his lifetime for his charisma and loyalty to the team and its traditions. From this, he earned the nickname "Mr. Celtic".
Heinsohn was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for his contributions as a player. He was also inducted into the Hall of Fame for his success as a head coach. He also helped form the NBA Players Association. Heinsohn was the only person to have the distinction of being involved in an official team capacity in each of the Celtics' 17 championships, as well as each of their first 21 NBA Finals appearances.
Jerry Ray Lucas (born March 30, 1940) is an American former basketball player. He was a nationally awarded high school player, national college star at Ohio State, and 1960 gold medal Olympian and international player before later starring as a professional player in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
As a collegian, Lucas led the Ohio State Buckeyes to three straight NCAA finals (1960–1962), winning the national championship in 1960, and finishing as runner-up in 1961 and 1962. He is the only three-time Big Ten Basketball Player of the Year and was named the NCAA Player of the Year in 1961 and 1962 by the United States Basketball Writers Association (now Oscar Robertson Award), the Associated Press, and the Sporting News.As a professional, Lucas was named All-NBA First Team three times, All-NBA Second Team twice, an NBA All-Star seven times (including six years in a row), was the 1964 NBA Rookie of the Year, and was named Most Valuable Player of the 1965 NBA All-Star Game among other honors and awards. He was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980.
Adilson de Freitas Nascimento, also commonly known as Adilson Nascimento, or simply Adilson (3 December 1951 – 3 February 2009), was a Brazilian professional basketball player. He died in 2009 due to cancer.
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.
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.
Richard O'Neal (September 7, 1935 – September 17, 2013) was an American basketball player. He was an All-American college player at Texas Christian University (TCU) and a second round draft pick of the Boston Celtics in the 1957 NBA draft.
O'Neal was born in Dallas, Texas and starred at Polytechnic High School in Fort Worth. For college, the 6'7" forward/center chose nearby TCU. O'Neal would become one of the Horned Frogs' all-time greats as he scored 1,723 points (23.9 per game) and captured 790 rebounds (11.0 per game) in his three-year career from 1954 to 1957. During his time, he was named first team All-Southwest Conference all three seasons and received national recognition as an All-American each year as well (honorable mention as a sophomore and junior and third team honors as a senior).Following his college career, O'Neal was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the second round of 1957 NBA draft (16th pick overall). However, he never played in the league, instead opting for dental school at Baylor University and a long career in the private sector as a dentist, orthodontist and school administrator.
O'Neal was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1985. In 2010, he became the first player in TCU basketball history to have his jersey honored by the school.Dick O'Neal died in his sleep on September 17, 2013.
Taylor Burton Coppenrath (born November 8, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player.
Glenn Roberts (October 25, 1912 – May 21, 1980) was an American National Basketball League player. In college basketball, Roberts was one of the first players to put the "jump shot" to practical use.
Wilmer Frederick Hosket (born December 20, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player. He played five seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
A 6'8" power forward/center, Hosket played basketball at Belmont High School in Dayton, Ohio, where he won an Ohio state championship in 1964. He was named Ohio Player of the Year and was also MVP of the state tournament.He played college basketball at the Ohio State University from 1965 to 1968. He led his Ohio State team in scoring and rebounding during each of his three varsity seasons and was named to three All Big Ten Conference Academic First Teams. In fall 1968, he competed at the Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal with the United States national basketball team.Hosket then played four seasons (1968–1972) in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Buffalo Braves and New York Knicks. He averaged 4.0 points per game in his career and won a league championship with the Knicks in 1970.After retiring as a player, Hosket served on three United States Olympic Basketball Committees. He also founded Buckeye Basketball Camp (not officially affiliated with Ohio State University) in his home state of Ohio.In 1998, Hosket was named as the President of the OHSAA Foundation and served as the foundation's first executive director. He is a principal at Hosket & Ulen, an independent insurance agency. Hosket and his wife, Patty, have three grown sons (all graduates of Ohio State) and reside in Columbus.Hosket's father, Bill Hosket, Sr., and his son, Brad Hosket, also played basketball at Ohio State.Hosket is a member of the Ohio State Hall of Fame and was named in 1993 to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Silver Anniversary team. He was honored in 2002 by the Ohio High School Athletic Association with its highest honor – the Ethics and Integrity Award. In 2006, he was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame.