Glen Courtney Combs (born October 30, 1946 in

Hazard, Kentucky Hazard is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in, and the county seat of, Perry County, Kentucky, Perry County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 5,263 at the 2020 Census. History Local landowner Elijah Combs, Elijah Comb ...

) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. A 6'2"

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

from

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

, Combs was nicknamed "The Kentucky Rifle" for his long-range shooting. He was drafted by 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 ...

San Diego Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1967, and pl ...

in 1968, although he never played for them, opting to spend his entire career in the rival

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

after being drafted by the

Dallas Chaparrals The Dallas Chaparrals were a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). The team moved to San Antonio, Texas for the 1973–74 season and were renamed the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs joined the National Basketball Association ...

in th
1968 ABA Draft
Combs was a member of the Dallas/Texas Chaparrals, the

Utah Stars The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround. History prior to moving to ...

, the

Memphis Tams Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, and the

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

, and he appeared in three league All-star games (1970, 1971, 1972). The Utah Stars won an ABA Championship in 1971 when Combs was as a member of the team. He led the league in three-point baskets made (103) in 1971–72. When he retired in 1975, he had scored 7,666 career points. Combs played college basketball at

. As a junior, he led the 1966–67 team to the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...

, with a scoring average of 21.3 points per game. As of 2019 he holds the school record for points in an NCAA tournament game when he put up 29 in the Sweet 16 game against Indiana. In his senior season, he averaged 20.9 points per game, ending his career with a 17.9 scoring average in three varsity seasons. He was elected to the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1987.

References

External links

Career statistics
a
basketball-reference.com
1946 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Kentucky Dallas Chaparrals draft picks Dallas Chaparrals players Memphis Tams players People from Hazard, Kentucky Point guards San Diego Rockets draft picks Shooting guards Texas Chaparrals players Utah Stars players Virginia Squires players Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball players {{1940s-US-basketball-bio-stub