Jack A. Gillespie (born October 1, 1947) is a retired

professional basketball In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larg ...

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 ...

who played one season in the

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, ...

(ABA) as a member of the New York Nets during the 1969–70 season. He graduated from

Great Falls High School Great Falls High School (or GFHS) is a public high school for grades 9 through 12 located in Great Falls, Montana. Established in 1890, it was the city's first high school. The school's original building, constructed in 1896, is now on the Nat ...

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers an area of and is the principal city of the Great Falls, M ...

, where he led the team to a Montana High School Basketball Championship in 1964. He attended

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 6 ...

where he finished his college career as the school's all-time leader in

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 ...

(1,011) and

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(1,543) along with two Big Sky Conference Player of the Year awards. Gellespie went on to be inducted into the Montana State Bobcats'

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

. He was selected in the 12 (166 pick overall) round of the

1969 NBA Draft The 1969 NBA draft was the 23rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 7 and May 7, 1969, before the 1969–70 season. In this draft, fourteen NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college bas ...

by the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

, but never signed. In 1999, '' Sports Illustrated'' ranked him forty-seventh in a list of Montana's 50 greatest athletes of all time. The ''Great Falls Tribune'' newspaper in 2014 listed him as one of the top four athletes to play high school basketball in the city.

References

External links

* 1947 births Living people American men's basketball players Forwards (basketball) Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Montana State Bobcats men's basketball players New York Nets players {{1940s-US-basketball-bio-stub