Eugene Michael Guarilia (September 13, 1937 – November 20, 2016) was an 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 who played four seasons for the Boston Celtics of 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 ...

(NBA). He attended Holy Rosary Grammar School and Duryea High School. Guarilia played freshman basketball for Potomac State College, a junior college in

Keyser, West Virginia Keyser () is a city in and the county seat of Mineral County, West Virginia. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,853 at the 2020 census. History Keyser, the county seat of Mineral County, i ...

. He established a State Conference freshman record by scoring 595 points in 1953. A 6'5" (1.96 m) forward Guarilia played for the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

varsity basketball team beginning in the 1956–1957 season. He took the place of

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 ...

Joe Holup Joseph J. Holup (February 26, 1934 – January 28, 1998) was an American basketball player. He played college basketball for George Washington University and later professionally in the National Basketball Association and the Eastern Professi ...

, who went on to play for the

Syracuse Nationals The Philadelphia 76ers are an American basketball team currently playing in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 76ers are third in NBA history in wins and playoff appearances. 1946– ...

. In February 1957, Guarilia was averaging 17.1 points per game and was sixth in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

in rebounding. In the twenty games he had played, Guarilia had snatched 353 rebounds. He was selected to the all

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly k ...

basketball team in February 1958. Guarilia was selected by the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 1959 NBA Draft. Guarilia appeared in 129 games for the Celtics over four seasons (1959–1963), averaging 3.2 points and 2.3

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game. He earned four

NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

rings in his brief career. In December 1959 Boston placed Guarilia on its ''farm out'' list to trim their roster to the required 10 player limit. Though officially off the Celtics' roster, he remained in Boston to be available if other players were injured.

Red Auerbach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. He served as a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Boston Celtics. ...

considered rotating Guarilia on the active list with one of the other Celtics rookies, like John Richter. The coach said that this move could be done in accordance with NBA rules. Guarilia was particularly effective in Boston's 1961–62

victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. In the final moments of regulation, in the decisive seventh game, he stopped

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 ...

. The Celtics went on to win the game in

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

. A new NBA rule allowed Guarilia to become the 11th man on the Boston roster in the ( 1962–63)

NBA Championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

versus the Lakers. On September 25, 1963, the Celtics placed Guarilia on waivers to reduce their playing squad to 16 players.

Post NBA

Guarilia went on to teach health and physical education for many years at Duryea High School, which became Northeast High School, which in turn became Pittston Area Senior High School. Pittston Area dedicated its court to Guarilia in January 2015, when it painted two shamrocks and Guarilia's No. 20 on the court. Guaralia died on November 20, 2016.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

Playoffs

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guarilia, Gene 1937 births 2016 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Pennsylvania Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics players George Washington Colonials men's basketball players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States People from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Potomac State Catamounts basketball players Power forwards (basketball) Small forwards