Bucky Bockhorn

Arlen Dale "Bucky" Bockhorn (born July 8, 1933) is a retired American basketball player. He was a guard for the National Basketball Association's Cincinnati Royals from 1958 to 1965. He played college basketball at the University of Dayton and is a member of Dayton's Hall of Fame and All-Century team.

Bucky Bockhorn
Personal information
Born (1933-07-08) July 8, 1933
Campbell Hill, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High schoolTrico (Campbell Hill, Illinois)
CollegeDayton (1955–1958)
NBA draft1958 / Round: 3 / Pick: 17th overall
Selected by the Cincinnati Royals
Playing career1958–1965
PositionShooting guard
Number15, 11
Career history
1958–1965Cincinnati Royals
Career statistics
Points5,430 (11.5 ppg)
Rebounds2,234 (4.7 rpg)
Assists1,645 (3.5 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life

Raised in the small coal-mining town of Campbell Hill, Illinois, Bockhorn attended Trico Consolidated High School.[1][2]

College career

Bockhorn spent a year at the University of Dayton and two years in the U.S. Army before becoming a starter for three National Invitation Tournament (NIT) teams at Dayton, beginning in 1955–56.[3] As a sophomore at Dayton, Bockhorn was on a team that had a 25-4 record, finished third in the final Associated Press poll and was runner-up in the NIT. He averaged 10.7, 11.8 and 10.8 points in his three UD seasons, averaging 12.4 rebounds in 1957–58 when he was the team's most valuable player.[3] In his three seasons, the Flyers were a combined 69-17.[4]

Bockhorn has the distinction of being one of three brothers to play on one varsity major college team, in 1957–58 with brothers Terry and Harold, one of the few times this has happened in Division I history.[5] Brothers Matthew, Thomas and William Brennan also played together in 1957–58, for Villanova University. The two trios of brothers were the last to play together in Division I for 54 seasons until Miles, Mason, and Marshall Plumlee played for Duke University in 2011–12.[6]

NBA career

Bockhorn was selected in the third round (17th overall) of the 1958 NBA draft by the Cincinnati Royals.[7]

Known primarily as a tough defender,[8][9] he was primarily a starter at guard alongside Johnny McCarthy for one season,[10] Win Wilfong for one season, then future Hall-of-Famer Oscar Robertson for three seasons,[11] his most productive season was 1961–62, when he averaged a career-high 15.8 points along with 4.7 rebounds and a career-high 4.6 assists[7] The Royals posted a record of 43-37, advancing to the NBA playoffs, where they were ousted by the Detroit Pistons.[12] On January 18, 1962,. Bockhorn and Oscar Robertson became the first NBA teammates to record triple-doubles in the same game:[13] Bockhorn had 19 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds, while Robertson totalled 28-16-14 in a 151-133 win against the Philadelphia Warriors.[14]

In 1962–63, with Bockhorn still a starter and averaging 11.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, the Royals went 42-38 to again make the playoffs, where they defeated the Syracuse Nationals in the first round.[15] In the Eastern Division finals against the Boston Celtics, the Royals extended the eventual champions to a seventh and deciding game, which the Royals lost 142-131. Although the Royals got 43 points from Robertson (Bockhorn scored nine), the Celtics countered with Sam Jones' 47 and Tom Heinsohn's 31.[16]

In 1963–64, with Bockhorn primarily coming off the bench and averaging 8.3 points per game, the Royals recorded a stellar 55-25 record and once again advanced to the Eastern Division finals, where they again lost to the Celtics, this time in five games.[17]

A knee injury curtailed his career 19 games into the 1964–65 season.[4][18]

In seven NBA seasons, all with the Royals, Bockhorn played in 474 games, averaging 11.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.[7]

Personal life

After retiring from the NBA, Bockhorn became a successful businessman in Dayton.[1] Since 1970, Bockhorn has provided the color commentary for WHIO radio broadcasts of University of Dayton men's basketball games. In 2010, he was awarded the Bob Vetrone Atlantic 10 Media Award by the league's sports information directors. He has also been a big booster and advocate of the University of Dayton.[19]

Bockhorn is a member of the University of Dayton Hall of Fame and in 2003–04 he was named to Dayton's All-Century Team.[20] In 2011, he was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2012, the practice court at the University of Dayton's new Cronin Athletics Center was named Bockhorn Court.[1][21]

He and his wife, Peggy, reside in Dayton.[22]

References
  1. "Dayton Flyers practice court named for UD great Arlen "Bucky" Bockhorn | Mega Sports News". megasportsnews.com. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  2. "ISSUU – University of Dayton Men's Basketball Media Guide by University of Dayton". issuu.com. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  3. "Ohio Basketball Hall of FameArlen "Bucky" Bockhorn – Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame". ohiobasketballhalloffame.com. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  4. "Past UD star Bockhorn surprised, pleased by Hall of Fame inductio | www.springfieldnewssun.com". springfieldnewssun.com. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  5. Thomas Tryniski (19 June 2013). "In The End... All You Really Have Is Memories" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  6. "The Plumlees are the latest—but not the only—basketball – 11.07.11 – SI Vault". Archived from the original on 2011-11-28. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  7. "Bucky Bockhorn NBA Stats | Basketball-Reference.com". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  8. Robertson, O. (2003). The Big O: My Life, My Times, My Game. Rodale Books. p. 142. ISBN 9781579547646. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  9. Embry, W.; Boyer, M.S. (2004). The Inside Game: Race, Power, and Politics in the NBA. University of Akron Press. p. 135. ISBN 9781931968140. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  10. "1958-59 Cincinnati Royals Roster and Stats | Basketball-Reference.com". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  11. "1960-61 Cincinnati Royals Roster and Stats | Basketball-Reference.com". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  12. "1961-62 Cincinnati Royals Roster and Stats | Basketball-Reference.com". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  13. "LeBron and Lonzo Become 8th Tandem to Record Triple-Doubles in NBA History". Los Angeles Lakers. Retrieved 2018-12-16.
  14. "Cincinnati Royals at Philadelphia Warriors Box Score, January 18, 1962". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-12-16.
  15. "1962-63 Cincinnati Royals Roster and Stats | Basketball-Reference.com". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  16. "Cincinnati Royals at Boston Celtics Box Score, April 10, 1963 | Basketball-Reference.com". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  17. "1963-64 Cincinnati Royals Roster and Stats | Basketball-Reference.com". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  18. "University of Dayton Flyers - FLYERS REPRESENTED WELL AT 2011 OHIO BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME INDUCTIONS". daytonflyers.com. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  19. "Dayton Sports | UD Flyers, Cleveland Browns & more | www.whio.com". whiotv.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  20. "ISSUU – University of Dayton Men's Basketball Yearbook by University of Dayton". issuu.com. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  21. Video on YouTube
  22. "Flyers name practice court after UD legend". Springfield News Sun. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
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