Bayard Forrest (born July 8, 1954) is a retired American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He was a 6'10", 235 lb

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

who played at

Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a private for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona. Based on student enrollment, Grand Canyon University was the largest Christian university in the world in 2018, with 20,000 attending students on ...

before being drafted by the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

in the

1976 NBA draft The 1976 NBA draft was the 30th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 8, 1976, before the 1976–77 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players a ...

. Forrest never played for the Sonics, but he played one season for

Athletes in Action Athletes in Action (AIA) is an American sports organization founded in 1966. It is the sports ministry of Cru Ministries, formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ. History Athletes in Action was started in 1966 by Dave Hannah."Fact Sheet: ...

and two seasons for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

before retiring in 1980.

College career

Forrest attended Grand Canyon University, a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA). Forrest declined offers from

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, and the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

because he wanted to go to a Christian school. Forrest lead Grand Canyon to the

1975 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1975 NAIA men's basketball tournament was held in March at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. The 38th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. This would be the first tournament played ...

, where they defeated

Midwestern State University Midwestern State University (MSU Texas) is a public liberal arts university in Wichita Falls, Texas. In 2020 it had 5,141 undergraduate students. It is the state's only public institution focused on the liberal arts. History Founded in 1922 as ...

65–54 in the championship. In the championship game, Forrest had 16 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and four blocked shots, and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.Tall Men For Small Titles
/ref> In his four years at Grand Canyon, he averaged 18 points a game and 12.7 rebounds a game, while shooting 53.5% from the field.

Professional career

Forrest was selected in the second round (19th pick overall) in the

by the

. Forrest turned down the Sonics in favor of Athletes in Action and later signed with the Phoenix Suns in 1977. Forrest served as

Alvan Adams Alvan Leigh Adams (born July 19, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player. Adams spent his entire career with the Phoenix Suns and retired in 1988 as the second all-time Suns scorer with 13,910 career points. College career D ...

' back up in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. The Suns reached the Western Conference Finals in the 1979 NBA Playoffs before falling to the Sonics in seven games. While in Phoenix, Forrest averaged 15.3 minutes a game, 4.1 points a game, 4.2 rebounds a game, and 2.2 assists a game. He retired on June 7, 1980. Before being drafted by the Sonics, Forrest was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the 3rd round (54th overall) of the

1975 NBA draft The 1975 NBA draft was the 29th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 29, 1975, before the 1975–76 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players a ...

and by the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

in the 6th round (56th overall) of the 1975 ABA Draft. He turned down both teams to play his senior season in college.

Personal

Forrest's nephew, Caleb (born 1986), played four years of college basketball at

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Forrest, Bayard 1954 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from San Jose, California Centers (basketball) Grand Canyon Antelopes men's basketball players Phoenix Suns draft picks Phoenix Suns players San Antonio Spurs draft picks Seattle SuperSonics draft picks