Dave Cowens
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David William Cowens (born October 25, 1948 in Newport, Kentucky) is a former professional basketball player. At 6'9" (2.06 m), he played the center position.
College career
He played NCAA collegiate basketball at Florida State University from 1966 to 1970.He scored 1,479 points in 78 games at Florida State, a 19.0 points per game, and ranks among Florida State's top 10 all-time scoring leaders.
He's the all-time Florida State leading rebounder with 1,340 rebounds (17.2 rebounds per game). He holds the team record for best seasonal rebound average (17.5 in the 1968-1969 season). He once grabbed 31 rebounds (second best all-time) against LSU in the 1968-69 season.
He was named the Sporting News All-America second team in 1970. His number now hangs in the rafters of the Donald L. Tucker Center
NBA career
Despite some critics who felt Cowens was too small to play center, Cowens was selected as the fourth overall pick by the Boston Celtics during the 1970 NBA draft, largely at the recommendation of former Celtics center Bill Russell. During his rookie year, Cowens averaged 17.0 points per game and 15.0 rebounds per game, and shared the NBA's Rookie of the Year honors with Portland's Geoff Petrie. He also led the league in personal fouls that same year.Cowens' playing credo was all-out intensity at both ends of the court, a style that never wavered during his 11-year NBA career. Cowens played aggressively, often recklessly, and with great passion. He always gave fans their money's worth.
He played 10 seasons for the Boston Celtics as well as one for the Milwaukee Bucks.
During his NBA career, Cowens averaged 17.6 points and 13.6 rebounds per game, was selected to seven All-Star Games, was named to the All-NBA Second Team three times, and was named to the All-NBA Defensive First Team in 1976 and All-NBA Defensive Second Team in 1973 and 1980. In 1973, Cowens averaged 20.5 ppg and 16.2 rpg while helping the Celtics to a league best 68-14 record. He was chosen the NBA MVP MVP as well as MVP of the All-Star Game that same season. He was a member of the Celtics' 1974 and 1976 NBA Championship teams.
Life after playing days
He began his coaching career by serving as a combined player/coach for the Boston Celtics during the 1978-79 season, but he quit coach after the season, and returned as a full-time player before retiring in 1980. However, he was coaxed out of retirement by the Milwaukee Bucks, and played for them during the 1982-83 season before retiring for good.He has also coached the Bay State Bombadiers of the Continental Basketball Association in 1984-85. He returned to the NBA coaching ranks by serving as an Assistant Coach for the San Antonio Spurs in 1994-96, and became Head Coach of the Charlotte Hornets from 1996-99 and had a brief tenure as head coach with the Golden State Warriors from 1999-2001 which only lasted 105 games.
In 1990, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Cowens's number 18 is retired by the Celtics. It had been initially retired in honor of Jim Loscutoff before being re-activated for Cowens.
On May 25, 2005, he was named Head Coach of the newly-formed Chicago franchise in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team, known as the "Chicago Sky" (nickname was chosen on September 20), is scheduled to begin play in 2006 at the UIC Pavilion, located in the University of Illinois at Chicago.
External links
- [NBA History Profile]
- [Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame profile]
- [WNBA Press Release on coaching the Chicago franchise]
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