Robert J. Houbregs (March 12, 1932 – May 28, 2014) was a Canadian professional basketball player. Houbregs was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 12, 1932 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Died | May 28, 2014 (aged 82) Olympia, Washington, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Queen Anne (Seattle, Washington) |
| College | Washington (1950–1953) |
| NBA draft | 1953: 1st round, 2nd overall pick |
| Selected by the Milwaukee Hawks | |
| Playing career | 1953–1958 |
| Position | Power forward / centre |
| Number | 10, 14, 20, 8, 17 |
| Career history | |
| 1953 | Milwaukee Hawks |
| 1953–1954 | Baltimore Bullets |
| 1954 | Boston Celtics |
| 1954–1958 | Fort Wayne / Detroit Pistons |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 2,611 (9.3 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,552 (5.5 rpg) |
| Assists | 500 (1.8 apg) |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |
| Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Basketball career
editA 6-foot 8-inch, 225-pound forward-centre, from Queen Anne High School in Seattle, Washington, Houbregs played for the University of Washington Huskies from 1949 to 1953 (his family moved to Seattle from Vancouver, British Columbia when he was a child[1]). In 1952, Houbregs was a Second Team Consensus All-America selection. In 1953, as a senior, he was named NCAA Player of the Year, was a Consensus All-America selection, helped lead the 1952–53 Huskies to the Final Four in the NCAA tournament, and was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 34.8 points per game in the post-season. He became the first player to score 40 or more points in an NCAA tournament Final Four game when he scored 42 against LSU in the national third-place game on March 18, 1953.[2]
Houbregs was drafted by the NBA's Milwaukee Hawks with the second overall pick in 1953 and played five seasons (1953–1958) in the NBA with four teams: the Hawks, the Baltimore Bullets, the Boston Celtics, and the Fort Wayne (later Detroit) Pistons. Houbregs' career scoring average was 9.3 points per game.
Houbregs served as general manager of the Seattle SuperSonics from 1970 to 1973.[3]
Personal life
editHoubregs' father John was a minor league ice hockey player who moved to Seattle in 1934/35 with his family in order to play for the Seattle Sea Hawks of the North West Hockey League.[4] Houbregs was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity.[5]
Houbregs was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987.
In 2000, Houbregs was inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame for his significant contributions to the sport as a player.[6]
Houbergs died on May 28, 2014 in Olympia, Washington. He was 82 years old.[7][8]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| * | Led the league |
NBA
editSource[9]
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953–54 | Milwaukee | 11 | 15.1 | .306 | .765 | 4.2 | .8 | 5.8 |
| 1953–54 | Baltimore | 59 | 30.6 | .380 | .707 | 5.6 | 1.9 | 9.2 |
| 1954–55 | Baltimore | 10 | 30.0 | .359 | .706 | 5.5 | 2.8 | 9.0 |
| 1954–55 | Boston | 2 | 7.5 | – | 1.000 | .5 | 1.0 | .5 |
| 1954–55 | Fort Wayne | 52 | 19.4 | .391 | .707 | 4.6 | 1.1 | 6.4 |
| 1955–56 | Fort Wayne | 70 | 21.9 | .430 | .739 | 5.9 | 2.3 | 11.1 |
| 1956–57 | Fort Wayne | 60 | 26.5 | .432 | .714 | 6.7 | 1.9 | 11.2 |
| 1957–58 | Detroit | 17 | 17.8 | .358 | .698 | 3.8 | 1.1 | 7.5 |
| Career | 281 | 23.9 | .404 | .721 | 5.5 | 1.8 | 9.3 | |
Playoffs
edit| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Fort Wayne | 11* | 19.4 | .381 | .784 | 5.6 | 1.7 | 7.0 |
| 1956 | Fort Wayne | 10* | 21.7 | .462 | .705 | 6.7 | 1.4 | 10.3 |
| 1957 | Fort Wayne | 2 | 19.0 | .412 | .727 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 11.0 |
| Career | 23 | 20.3 | .424 | .739 | 5.9 | 1.6 | 8.8 | |
References
edit- ^ Porter, David L. (January 21, 2005). Basketball: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313309526 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 11. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ Allen, Percy (May 28, 2014), "Bob Houbregs, Husky basketball icon, dies at 82", The Seattle Times
- ^ "Houbregs, Bob (1932-2014)". www.historylink.org.
- ^ "Basketball Hall of Fame Greeks". January 6, 2008. Archived from the original on February 11, 2012.
- ^ "Houbregs named to Canadian Basketball Hall". CBC News. November 10, 2000.
- ^ "Former Washington Huskies star Bob Houbregs dies at 82". May 29, 2014.
- ^ "Hall of Famer, ex-No. 2 overall pick Houbregs dies at 82". nba.com. May 29, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
- ^ "Bob Houbregs NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 26, 2023.