Bob Cousy

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Bob Cousy

Robert Joseph Cousy (born August 9, 1928 in New York City, United States) is an American former professional basketball player, who played point guard with the NBA's Boston Celtics from 1951 to 1963 and (briefly) with the Cincinnati Royals in the 1969-1970 season, being recognized as one of the greatest to ever play his position in the history of the game. He is often referred to as "The Cooz," or "Houdini of the Hardwood."

[edit] College of the Holy Cross

Cousy played at the College of the Holy Cross during his college career, where he was the team MVP and leading scorer of the team in 1949 and 1950, he was a two-time All-Conference and All-New England (1949 and 1950) and was named into the Sporting News Second Team All-American in 1949, and its First Team All-American in 1950, He led Holy Cross To The 1947 NCAA Championship.

[edit] NBA career

Cousy was drafted in 1950 by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, immediately traded to the Chicago Stags, then drawn by the Celtics in a dispersal draft of the Stags franchise. In the NBA, he led his team to six championships, including the 1957 one and five consecutive titles, from 1959 to 1963, after which he retired. The five consecutive titles towards the end of his career were part of a Celtics' streak of eight consecutive championships.

Cousy is the Celtics' all-time leader in assists with 6,955. He led the NBA in assists from 1953 to 1960 including a career high 9.5 per game in 1960. He also scored 16,960 points, and participated in the NBA All-Star game thirteen consecutive times, picking up the All-Star Game MVP award at that game in 1954 and 1957. He was named the league's MVP in the 1957-58 season, was named to the All-NBA First Team from 1952 to 1961, and an All-NBA Second Team selection in 1962 and 1963. Cousy still owns the following two NBA records: most assists in one half (19 in a February 27, 1959 game against the Minneapolis Lakers) and most free throws in an NBA playoff game (or in any NBA game, for that matter) when he made 30 out of 32 free throw attempts on March 21, 1953 against Syracuse.

Cousy originally retired after the Celtics' 1962-63 season, but returned seven years later and played seven games for the Cincinnati Royals, now the Sacramento Kings. He then coached the Royals from 1969 to 1974, but was never able to help the team improve their record above 36-46. During the 1973-74 NBA season, the Royals' second in Kansas City, Missouri, he was replaced after the team's 6-16 start.

[edit] Life after the NBA

In 1963 Cousy's best-selling autobiography Basketball Is My Life was published. In the book, Cousy describes how breaking his right arm as a child forced him to play sports with his left hand. He felt that the resulting ambidexterity made him a better basketball player.

In that same year, he became coach of Boston College, in his 6 seasons there he had a record of 117 wins and 38 losses, he was named New England Coach of the Year for 1968 and 1969. He led the Eagles to 3 NIT appearances including a berth at the 1969 NIT Championship and 2 NCAA tournaments including a berth at the 1967 Eastern Regional Finals.

Cousy has enjoyed a very public life in retirement. He served as the Commissioner of the American Soccer League in the late 1970's. He made a talking cameo appearance in 1994 movie Blue Chips, and has worked at different capacities for the Celtics since his playing days were over. He has worked as a commentator on basketball broadcasts. His number 14 was retired by the Boston Celtics. In 1996, he was chosen as one of the NBA's 50 greatest players of all time, and ESPN chose him at number 94 of the 20th century sports century 100 greatest athletes.

[edit] External links

• Basketball Hall of Fame profile