Jerry Beck (born November 13, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player. During the 1980s and 1990s, he played in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

but is better known for his collegiate career at

Middle Tennessee State University Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight undergraduate colleges as well as a college of graduate studies, together off ...

. Between 1978–79 and 1981–82, Beck scored 1,401 points, grabbed 782 rebounds and was twice named the

Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year The Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given to the Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southea ...

. In addition, Beck was selected three straight years to the All-OVC First Team. A multi-position player who primarily switched between

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

and

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

, Beck led the Blue Raiders to the school's first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in

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 ...

. In a first round match-up against perennial title contender

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, he recorded a

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

with 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead MT to arguably its biggest win in school history. They defeated the Wildcats, 50–44, thereby spoiling a much-anticipated second round match-up between Kentucky and

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. The Blue Raiders lost to Louisville by 25 points the following game. Years later, in a ''

Murfreesboro Post Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropoli ...

'' column that ranked the top ten men's basketball players in MT history, they selected Beck as the #1 greatest player. Following college, the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

selected him in the fourth round (89th overall) in the 1982 NBA draft, although Beck decided to play internationally in the

. He played in the Netherlands until age 42, at which point he retired and became a permanent resident in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

References

# # # # # {{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Jerry Living people American expatriate basketball people in the Netherlands American men's basketball players Basketball players from Tennessee B.S. Leiden players Dutch Basketball League players Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball players Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Place of birth missing (living people) Power forwards (basketball) Small forwards Basketball players from Amsterdam Wisconsin Flyers players ZZ Leiden players Heroes Den Bosch players BV Den Helder players DAS Delft players SV Tonego players 1957 births