Don Rehfeldt (January 7, 1927 – October 16, 1980) was an American basketball player. He was the second overall pick in the

1950 NBA draft The 1950 NBA draft was the fourth annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). This is the first draft after the Basketball Association of America (BAA) was renamed the NBA. The draft was held on April 25, 1950, before the 1950–5 ...

by the Baltimore Bullets from the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

Basketball career

He was a graduate of

Amundsen High School Roald Amundsen High School is a public 4–year high school located between the Ravenswood, Andersonville and Lincoln Square neighborhoods in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1929, Amundsen is a part of Chicago Public Schools district ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and went on to become a two time

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

(then Western Conference) leading scorer in 1949 and 1950 and the Big Ten MVP in 1950 at

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. He was also a first-team All-American in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

. Don is a charter member of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Athletic Hall of Fame, elected in 1991. He is also a member of the Illinois Public League Hall of Fame and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. He was most noted for his

hook shot In basketball, a hook shot is a play in which the offensive player, usually turned perpendicular to the basket, gently throws the ball with a sweeping motion of the arm farther from the basket in an upward arc with a follow-through which ends ov ...

. During the 1946–1947 season, Rehfeldt returned from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and sparked a rally against Minnesota that lead to a Big Ten Championship for the Badgers and a berth in the NCAA Elite Eight. Rehfeldt averaged 11.2 points per game as a sophomore in 1947–1948 as Wisconsin was 12–8 under Coach

Bud Foster Robert Eugene "Bud" Foster Jr. (born July 28, 1959) is a retired American college football coach and former player. He currently serves as a Special Assistant to Athletics Director Whit Babcock. Following the 2006 season, he received the Frank Br ...

. He then averaged 17.3 points and Wisconsin was 12–10 in 1948–1949. As a senior in 1949–1950, Rehfeldt averaged 19.8 points, as Wisconsin finished 17–5. Overall, Rehfeldt averaged 16.3 points in 64 games at Wisconsin, scoring 1169 career points. Upon graduation in 1950, Rehfeldt was the Badgers' all-time leading scorer and held 14 other individual records. He was the first Badger to score 1,000 points. He held the Badger record as its last All-American for 56 years until

Alando Tucker Alando Forest Tucker (born February 11, 1984) is an American former collegiate basketball coach and former professional basketball player who played for the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before joining the NBA, he played college basketba ...

was named a First Team All-American in 2007. After graduation, Rehfeldt played in the "World Series of Basketball", which was a nationwide tour that matched College All-Americans against the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...

. He was the leading scorer on that tour. His teammates included top 50 all time NBA players

Paul Arizin Paul Joseph Arizin (April 9, 1928 – December 12, 2006), nicknamed "Pitchin' Paul", was an American basketball player who spent his entire National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Philadelphia Warriors from 1950 to 1962. He reti ...

and

Bob Cousy Robert Joseph Cousy (, born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time N ...

NBA career

Rehfeldt was the second overall pick in the

by the Baltimore Bullets. In his NBA career, Rehfeldt averaged 7.0 points and 4.2 rebounds in 69 games with the Baltimore Bullets. On November 29, 1951 he was sold by the Bullets to the

Milwaukee Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

. He averaged 7.1 points and 6.0 rebounds in 29 games with the Hawks.

Personal life

Rehfeldt was also an avid bridge player and achieved the rank of Life Master along with his wife, Joyce. He served nearly 16 years on the board of education of

Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin Wisconsin Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, Wisconsin. The population was 18,877 at the 2020 census. The city also forms one of the core areas of the United States Census Bureau's Marshfield-Wisconsin Rapids Micropolit ...

. Rehfeldt died on October 16, 1980 at age 53 of cancer.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

Honors and awards

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Most Valuable Player in 1950 * First Team All-American 1950 * First Team All-Big Ten, 1949 & 1950 * 2nd Team All-Big Ten 1948 * Big Ten leading Scorer, 1949 & 1950 * Charter member of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Athletic Hall of Fame (1991). * First Badger to score 1000 points * Elected to the IBCA/Basketball Museum of Illinois Hall of Fame in 1974 * Elected to the Chicago Public League Hall of Fame – May 2009 * Finished his Badger Career with 14 of 28 Individual Scoring Records

External links

NBA statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rehfeldt, Don 1927 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American politicians All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) draft picks Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players Deaths from cancer in Wisconsin Milwaukee Hawks players People from Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin Power forwards (basketball) School board members in Wisconsin Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball players Basketball players from Chicago Amundsen High School alumni