Arlen Dale "Bucky" Bockhorn (born July 8, 1933) is a retired American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He was a

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for 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 St ...

Cincinnati Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

from 1958 to 1965. He played college basketball at the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

and is a member of Dayton's Hall of Fame and All-Century team.

Early life

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

College career

Bockhorn spent a year at the University of Dayton and two years in the

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before becoming a starter for three National Invitation Tournament (NIT) teams at Dayton, beginning in 1955–56. As a sophomore at Dayton, Bockhorn was on a team that had a 25–4 record, finished third in the final

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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. In his three seasons, the Flyers were a combined 69–17. 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. Brothers Matthew, Thomas and William Brennan also played together in 1957–58, for

Villanova University Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Penns ...

. The two trios of brothers were the last to play together in Division I for 54 seasons until Miles, Mason, and

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Plumlee played for Duke University in 2011–12.

NBA career

Bockhorn was selected in the third round (17th overall) of the

1958 NBA draft The 1958 NBA draft was the 12th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 22, 1958, before the 1958–59 season. In this draft, eight NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball play ...

by the

. Known primarily as a tough defender, he was primarily a starter at guard alongside

Johnny McCarthy John Joseph McCarthy (April 25, 1934 – May 9, 2020) was an American basketball player and coach. A point guard, he played college basketball and was an All-American at Canisius College. He was selected by the Rochester Royals in the 1956 N ...

for one season, Win Wilfong for one season, then future Hall-of-Famer

Oscar Robertson Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson playe ...

for three seasons, 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 The Royals posted a record of 43–37, advancing to the NBA playoffs, where they were ousted by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

. On January 18, 1962,. Bockhorn and Oscar Robertson became the first NBA teammates to record triple-doubles in the same game: Bockhorn had 19 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds, while Robertson totalled 28–16–14 in a 151–133 win against the Philadelphia Warriors. 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

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in the first round. 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 Thomas William Heinsohn (August 26, 1934 – November 9, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. He was associated with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for six decades as a player, coach and broadcast ...

's 31. 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. A knee injury curtailed his career 19 games into the 1964–65 season. 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.

Personal life

After retiring from the NBA, Bockhorn became a successful businessman in Dayton. 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. 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. 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. He and his wife, Peggy, reside in Dayton.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bockhorn, Arlen 1933 births Living people Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Illinois Dayton Flyers men's basketball players Cincinnati Royals draft picks Cincinnati Royals players People from Jackson County, Illinois Shooting guards