Eugene Lavon Banks (born May 15, 1959) is an American former 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 born and raised in

Philadelphia 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 ...

High School Career and College Recruitment

A 6'7"

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, Banks attended high school in West Philadelphia. Nicknamed "Tinkerbell," Banks was named to high school All-American teams his last three years of high school. By his senior year, he was considered one of the best players in the country, along with such players as

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...

and

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...

. Banks was voted MVP of the 1977 Dapper Dan and named to the inaugural McDonald's All American team; there was not yet a designated McDonald's game, but Banks was named MVP when the McDonald's team played in the 1977 Capital Classic. Banks' decision to attend

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

surprised close observers of amateur basketball. Recruited by virtually all colleges with major basketball programs, Banks was widely expected to choose to play for a winning program with a record of recruiting black players. UCLA and Villanova were considered the favorites. Banks has said that the only reason he even went on a recruiting visit to Duke was that a high school teacher had repeatedly emphasized Duke's academic opportunities. At the same time, Duke was a southern, small-town college that had never successfully recruited an elite black basketball player. In addition, while the Blue Devils had been to 3 Final Fours in the 1960s, the basketball program had been floundering and had just finished a losing season in which it finished last in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

College Basketball Career

At Duke, Banks started as a freshman alongside such players as

Mike Gminski Michael Thomas Gminski (born August 3, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player and a college basketball TV analyst for CBS Sports. In 2003, Gminski, of Polish descent, was inducted into the National Polish American Sports Hall ...

Jim Spanarkel James Gerard Spanarkel (born June 28, 1957) is an American television analyst for College Basketball on CBS and a former professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Dallas Mavericks. He played college basketball for Duke Un ...

, and

Kenny Dennard Kenny Dennard (October 18, 1958) is a retired American professional basketball player who competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for three seasons. He played college basketball at Duke University, helping the Blue Devils to the 1 ...

. After finishing last in the conference the prior year, the Blue Devils were ranked in the top 10 by the end of the regular season. Qualifying for the NCAA tournament for the first time in a dozen years, the Blue Devils reached the championship game in 1978, losing to Kentucky, 94–88. During that rookie season, Banks became the first Duke freshman to record a triple double and was named the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC) Rookie of the Year. Banks' teams never again made it to the Final Four, though they did qualify for the NCAA tournament during two of the next three years. The team's overall record during his 4 years was 90–37. During the course of his 4-year Duke career, Banks averaged 16.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, and shot 53% from the field. During those final three seasons, Banks was named team MVP each year. During his senior season, playing for

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980 to 2022, during which he led the Blue Devils to five natio ...

, Banks won the ACC scoring title over such players as

James Worthy James Ager Worthy (born February 27, 1961) is an American sports commentator, television host, analyst, and former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Big Game James", he played his entire professional career with the Los Angeles Lakers ...

and

Ralph Sampson Ralph Lee Sampson Jr. (born July 7, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A phenom, three-time college national player of the year, and first overall selec ...

. He was named to All American teams after two of his seasons. Banks is widely seen as a crucial recruit as Duke slowly transitioned into the world of integrated college basketball. While the sixth African American player in Duke's history, he was the school's first Black All American, setting the stage for Coach Krzyzewski's later recruiting success. Banks received his BA in English from Duke in May 1981, where he was one of the two graduation speakers selected from the student body.

Professional Basketball

Banks played six seasons and 468 games in 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 ...

. Competing for 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 ( ...

and the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

, he averaged 11.3 points per game. His career high of 44 points was achieved against the Los Angeles Lakers in 1983. He recorded his first NBA triple-double with the Chicago Bulls. In the 1988–89 season, Banks played in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

for Arimo Bologna. He went from Italy to continue his career as a member of the Maccabi Rishon Lezion basketball club in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. In 1993, he continued his play in Israel as a member of

Hapoel Herzliya Hapoel Herzliya ( he, הפועל הרצליה) is an Israeli football club based in Herzliya. The club is currently in Liga Alef North division and play their home matches at the Herzliya Municipal Stadium. History The Hapoel sport club in Herzl ...

and took them to the Israeli Cup Championship game. Between these stints, Banks played the 1989–90 season with the

La Crosse Catbirds The La Crosse Catbirds was an American basketball team based in La Crosse, Wisconsin and member of the Continental Basketball Association. The Catbirds were the 1990 and 1992 CBA champions. The team moved to La Crosse from Louisville in 1985, an ...

of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA), averaging 15.3 points in 40 games. The Catbirds would go on to win the CBA title that year.

Coaching

In 2009, Gene Banks became an assistant coach with the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

. In 2012, Banks was reassigned from assistant coach with the Wizards to scout of the southern region of the eastern Atlantic Coast. He is credited with the development of such players as JaVale McGee, Andray Blatche and Kevin Seraphin.

Honors

Banks was inducted into the Duke Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994, and the Duke Hall of Honors in 1996. In 2007, Banks was named the "best foreign player" to ever play for Maccabi Rishon LeZion.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, 80 , , 4 , , 21.3 , , .477 , , .000 , , .684 , , 5.1 , , 1.8 , , .7 , , .2 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 33.6 , , .550 , , .000 , , .705 , , 7.6 , , 3.4 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 14.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 66 , , 32.5 , , .568 , , .167 , , .741 , , 7.3 , , 3.2 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 13.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 41 , , 25.5 , , .586 , , .333 , , .774 , , 5.4 , , 2.9 , , .8 , , .2 , , 9.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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, 82 , , 33 , , 26.1 , , .517 , , .000 , , .718 , , 4.4 , , 3.1 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 10.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

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, 63 , , 39 , , 28.9 , , .539 , , .000 , , .767 , , 4.9 , , 2.7 , , .8 , , .3 , , 9.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 468 , , 264 , , 27.9 , , .539 , , .043 , , .730 , , 5.8 , , 2.9 , , .9 , , .2 , , 11.3

Playoffs

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1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

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, 9, , –, , 16.2, , .462, , .000, , .400, , 4.8, , 1.0, , .4, , .3, , 7.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

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, 11, , –, , 36.2, , .507, , –, , .657, , 6.9, , 4.5, , 1.0, , .1, , 15.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

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, 1, , 0, , 10.0, , .000, , –, , –, , .0, , 1.0, , .0, , .0, , .0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

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

, 3, , 0, , 23.0, , .556, , .000, , .500, , 3.3, , 1.7, , .3, , .0, , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

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

, 3, , 3, , 26.3, , .591, , –, , .625, , 2.7, , .7, , .0, , .0, , 10.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 27 , , 3 , , 26.0 , , .504 , , .000 , , .596 , , 5.1 , , 2.5 , , .6 , , .1 , , 10.8

References

External links

Career statistics at Basketball-ReferenceGene Banks 1988 Player Profile - Legabasket.it
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Gene 1959 births Living people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Philadelphia Chicago Bulls players Duke Blue Devils men's basketball players Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna players Israeli Basketball Premier League players La Crosse Catbirds players Maccabi Rishon LeZion basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) San Antonio Spurs players San Antonio Spurs draft picks Small forwards Shooting guards Washington Wizards assistant coaches 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople