Aron Stewart (born November 17, 1950) is an American former basketball player who starred at the
University of Richmond
The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...
in 1972–73 and 1973–74. Stewart played in only 44 games for the
Spiders
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species dive ...
yet still scored 1,237 points, averaging a school record 28.1 points per game for his career. Stewart was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year in 1973.
Early life
Stewart was born in
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Lincoln High School in his home city between 1965–66 and 1968–69. At , he played
shooting guard
The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...
and
small forward
The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...
. Stewart's high school had so many talented basketball players that he did not even make the varsity team until his
senior
Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to:
* Senior (name), a surname ...
season, and even then he only managed to start one game. He mainly focused on
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
, his first passion, and he played outfielder for the school's team.
College career
Essex CC and Temple University
After Stewart graduated from high school he enrolled at
Essex County College
Essex County College (ECC) is a public community college in Essex County, New Jersey, United States.
History
In August 1966, the Essex County Board of Freeholders approved the creation of Essex County College and in September 1968, more than a ...
in
Downtown Newark
Downtown Newark is the Central Business District of Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States.
Downtown is the site of the original Puritan settlement of Newark located at a bend in the Passaic River. The first settlers, led by Robert T ...
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. He played basketball during his two seasons there. In his
freshman
A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions.
Ara ...
season he averaged 19.9 points per game. The following year, Stewart's
sophomore
In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...
season, he led all
junior college
A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...
players in the United States with a 36.6 points per game average. He scored 1,019 points on the season, was named a regional all-star and was honored as a First Team
NJCAA
The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...
All-American. After graduating from Essex County College, Stewart moved on to play at
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...
in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. However, he never ended up playing for the school and transferred to the
University of Richmond
The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...
. At Temple, Stewart said that "The coach there (
Harry Litwack
Harold "Chief" Litwack (September 20, 1907 – August 7, 1999) was an American college basketball coach. He served as head basketball coach at Temple University from 1952 to 1973, compiling a record of 373–193. He was inducted into the Naismith B ...
) already had his squad set, yet I got a scholarship to play, even though I wouldn't have gotten to."
University of Richmond
Due to NCAA transfer eligibility rules, Stewart was not able to play in any games during the first semester of his junior year for the Spiders, missing the first five games. Richmond went winless during that stretch. Stewart made an immediate impact upon his debut, leading the team to a 75–73 upset victory over
Canisius Canisius may refer to:
People
* Saint Peter Canisius (1521–1597), Dutch Jesuit Catholic priest
* Theodorich Canisius (1532–1606), Jesuit academic, half-brother of St. Peter Canisius
* Henricus Canisius (1562–1610), Dutch canonist and historia ...
in the team's sixth game. That season, the Spiders finished with an overall record of 8 wins and 16 losses. The University of Richmond's school paper, '' The Collegian'', said that the Spiders may have conceivably not won a game that year had it not been for Stewart. He averaged 30.2 points and 11.9 rebounds per game while shooting 52.3% from the field. At the end of his junior season, Stewart was the leading vote-getter for the All-SoCon Team as well as its
player of the year
Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award.
Association football
In association football, this award is he ...
. The
Helms Foundation
The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership ...
named him an All-American as well. He became junior-eligible to be selected in the
1973 NBA draft
The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...
following that season, and the
Capital Bullets
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
chose Stewart in the fourth round (65th overall).
Despite being drafted to the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
, Stewart elected to return to Richmond for his senior season. His scoring diminished to 26.5 points per game, but that is largely because a new teammate,
Bob McCurdy
Robert McCurdy (February 26, 1952July 29, 2020) was an American college basketball player for the Richmond Spiders from 1973 to 1975. He began his collegiate career with the Virginia Cavaliers before transferring to Richmond. McCurdy was the na ...
, was also a high volume scorer. McCurdy and Stewart led the Spiders to a 16–12 overall record (10–4 in conference play), and the team finished second place in the SoCon. In the 1974 Southern Conference tournament championship game, the Spiders lost to Furman by two points, narrowly missing out on an NCAA tournament berth. Stewart was named the Tournament MVP. The 1973–74 season was the first winning record for Richmond in 16 years. The school was so grateful for being relevant in basketball again that the city proclaimed an "Aron Stewart Day" after the season ended. In addition to 26.5 points he also averaged 12 rebounds per game. In his forty-fourth and final collegiate game as a Richmond Spider, Stewart scored 28 points and grabbed 15 rebounds against William & Mary. Although he did not repeat as the SoCon Player of the Year, he was named a First Team All-SoCon and All-American performer for the second consecutive season. Following his senior season, he was taken in both the
1974 NBA draft
The 1974 NBA draft was the 28th annual NBA Draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 28, 1974, before the 1974–75 NBA season, 1974–75 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur ...
as well as the 1974
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
Draft. The NBA's
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...
took him in the sixth round (93rd overall) while the
Virginia Squires
The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976.
The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...
selected him in the ABA Draft.
Post college
The Cavaliers did not sign Stewart and the Squires cut him, so he took his game overseas to play professionally. He says that he "didn't like it" thus he returned to Richmond and began working in sales; at one point he was also employed by
Philip Morris Phil(l)ip or Phil Morris may refer to:
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**Philip Morris USA, a tobacco company wholly owned by Altria Group
**Philip Morris Inter ...
. In the late 1980s, Stewart joined the Richmond Behavioral Health Authority, helping to counsel those with long-standing mental illnesses.
In 2010, the University of Richmond inducted him into their athletics hall of fame. Three years later, in January 2013, the school announced their men's basketball "All-Time Team" and Stewart was one of the 16 honorees.