Les Selvage

Lester Revell Selvage (March 7, 1943 – June 15, 1991) was an American professional basketball player.

Les Selvage
Personal information
Born(1943-03-07)March 7, 1943
St. Louis, Missouri
DiedJune 15, 1991(1991-06-15) (aged 48)
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolBeaumont (St. Louis, Missouri)
CollegeTruman (1962–1964)
PositionGuard
Number12, 22
Career history
1967–1970Anaheim Amigos / Los Angeles Stars
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-MIAA (1963)
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

A 6'1" guard from Beaumont High School in St. Louis, Missouri, Selvage played college basketball at Kirksville State Teachers College (now Truman State University). He was named to the All-MIAA First Team in 1963.[1] After college, he moved to California to work with Douglas Aircraft, but continued to play Amateur Athletic Union basketball on the side. He was discovered and signed by the ABA's Anaheim Amigos in 1967,[2] and appeared in 78 games for the team during the 1967-68 season, averaging 14 points per game.[3] Selvage also was briefly a member of the 1969-1970 Los Angeles Stars team.[3]

Selvage was known for his eagerness to shoot three-pointers,[4] and led the ABA in three-point field goals made (147) and attempted (461) during the 1967-68 season. Selvage himself attempted more threes that season than any other ABA team except the Pittsburgh Pipers, and once shot 26 three-pointers in a single game, making 10.[5] Former Denver Rockets coach Bob Bass recalled, "He acted like if he stepped over [the three-point line], he was going to get killed or something. He didn't just shoot 25-footers — he took 30-footers. [...] All he could do was shoot, and he shot too much. But when he was hot, he was unlike anything I had ever seen."[2]

Selvage died in 1991 after a brief illness.[6]

References
  1. Truman Men's Basketball Media Guide. 2003. Retrieved on September 24, 2008.
  2. Terry Pluto. Loose Balls. New York: Fireside, 1990. 73.
  3. "Lester Selvage Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
  4. Deford, Frank, 'Shooting For Three: While the new pro league battles for acceptance, one of its features — the three-point basket — stimulates a controversy', Sports Illustrated, November 27, 1967
  5. Terry Pluto. "Out of their league". The Sporting News. January 8, 1996. Retrieved on September 24, 2008.
  6. "Lester Selvage dies, was ABA, Beaumont star". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. June 11, 1991. Retrieved on September 24, 2008.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.