Don Leroy Hennon (born November 8, 1937) is an American surgeon and a former

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 for the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

Panthers basketball team, where he was a two-time Consensus

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n. A tall guard, Hennon was noted for his prolific scoring ability and is a member of the Helms Athletic Foundation Basketball Hall of Fame.

Basketball career

In high school, Hennon led Wampum High School in

Wampum, Pennsylvania Wampum is a borough in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. The population was 557 at the 2020 census. It is part of the New Castle micropolitan area. Geography Wampum is located at (40.888657, -80.339650). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the ...

to an undefeated 31-0 record and a state championship in 1955. His dad, L. Butler Hennon, was his high school coach and was known for leading the state's smallest high school to 12 league titles and three state championships. During his high school days he set a

Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) is an interscholastic athletic association in Western Pennsylvania. It is District 7 of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. History The Western Pennsylvania Inte ...

four-year scoring record (1951–55) of 2,376 points that endured until 1993. Hennon played in college at the

from 1956 to 1959, where he led the Panthers to the 1957 NCAA basketball tournament and the 1958 NCAA basketball tournament. While there he became a First Team Consensus All-American selection in 1958 and a Second Team Consensus All-American in 1959, while being named to the

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and Helms Foundation first teams that season. Hennon's basketball career was highlighted by a 1957 contest where he scored a school record 45 points (scoring on 20 of 42 field goals and 4 of 5 free throws), leading Pitt to an 87–84 double-overtime victory over Duke University. He finished his career at Pitt, an era without the three point shot and before freshman could play, as the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,841 points, and currently remains fifth on the school's all-time scoring list. The 1958 AP First Team All-American team consisted of Hennon and four

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and prese ...

inductees:

Guy Rodgers Guy William Rodgers (September 1, 1935 – February 19, 2001) was an American professional basketball player born in Philadelphia. He spent twelve years (1958–1970) in the NBA, and was one of the league's best playmakers in the early to mid-19 ...

Temple,

Elgin Baylor Elgin Gay Baylor ( ; September 16, 1934 – March 22, 2021) was an American professional basketball player, coach, and executive. He played 14 seasons as a forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lak ...

Seattle,

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years and is widely reg ...

Kansas and

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 ...

Cincinnati. Hennon was named to the East team, coached by

Adolph Rupp Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. He is ranked seventh in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching at the Univ ...

, of the 1959 East-West All-Star Contest.

Post-college career

Hennon was picked 41st by the

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 ...

in the sixth-round of the 1959 NBA draft. He turned down professional basketball in order to study medicine. He earned his MD in 1963 from the

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is a medical school of the University of Pittsburgh, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The School of Medicine, also known as Pitt Med, is consistently ranked as a "Top Medical School" by '' ...

and went on to become a surgeon. Hennon spent time as a medical surgeon in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and later continued his medical career in the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

area, where he still resides.

Honors

Hennon's number 10 jersey was retired by the University of Pittsburgh in 1968. Hennon was named to the Helms Foundation Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970. Hennon was inducted into the Lawrence County Hall of Fame in 1984.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennon, Don 1937 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Pennsylvania Cincinnati Royals draft picks Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball players Point guards University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine alumni