James Huggard (September 16, 1933 – October 16, 2020) was an American 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 and coach. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Villanova Wildcats The Villanova Wildcats are the athletic teams of Villanova University. They compete in the Big East (NCAA Division I) for every sport; except football and rowing where they compete in the Colonial Athletic Association (Football Championship Sub ...

and professionally in the

Eastern Professional Basketball League 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 mi ...

Playing career

Huggard attended

West Catholic Preparatory High School West Catholic Preparatory High School is a co-educational Catholic high school in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 45th and Chestnut Streets, the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia. ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...

, but did not play on the school basketball team due to his height of . After his graduation, he grew several inches and gained attention while playing in local

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU) circles. Huggard earned numerous scholarships and committed to play for the

. He was a member of an undefeated Wildcats

junior varsity Junior varsity (often called "JV") players are the members of a team who are not the main players in a competition (such as any football, basketball, or baseball game), usually at the high school level–– and formerly at the collegiate level� ...

team during the 1957–58 season. Huggard played for three seasons with the Wildcats from 1958 to 1961. He became a key player as a sophomore when he averaged 15.2 points per game and helped lead the Wildcats to an appearance in the

1959 National Invitation Tournament The 1959 National Invitation Tournament was the 1959 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the 12 teams selected for the tournament.

. Huggard averaged 15 points per game as a junior while the Wildcats qualified for the

1960 National Invitation Tournament The 1960 National Invitation Tournament was the 1960 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the 12 teams selected for the tournament.

. He averaged a career-high 17.3 points per game as a senior. Huggard totaled 1,184 points during his Wildcats career and was one of the program's first 1,000 point scorers. He set a Wildcats record for assists in a game with 16 which is a feat shared with

Fran O'Hanlon Francis Brian O'Hanlon (born August 24, 1948) was an American college basketball coach who was the head men's basketball coach at Lafayette College from 1995 to 2022. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, O'Hanlon played college basketball at Villa ...

. Huggard played professionally in the

(EPBL) from 1961 to 1966 with the Sunbury Mercuries,

Scranton Miners The Scranton Miners, known as the Scranton Apollos from 1970 to 1977, were a professional basketball team based in Scranton, Pennsylvania that was a member of the American Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association. Arthur Pacht ...

and Harrisburg Patriots. He was selected to the all-EPBL second team and named as the EPBL rookie of the year while playing for the Mercuries in 1962. Huggard led the league in assists twice: 231 in 1963–64, and 256 in 1965–66.

Post-playing career

Huggard worked as a

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

referee and basketball coach after his retirement from playing. He was the head coach of the basketball team at

Monsignor Bonner High School Monsignor Bonner High School was an all-male Augustinian Catholic High School in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It was located in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. Bonner was created in 1953 as Archbishop Prendergast High School for Bo ...

from 1978 to 1980 and acquired a 12–16 record.

Personal life

Huggard was married for 30 years and had one daughter and two stepchildren. His granddaughter, Shannon Drakeley, played

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

for the Villanova Wildcats. Huggard died at his home in

Newtown Square, Pennsylvania Newtown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Prior to 1789 it was part of Chester County. The population was 12,216 as of the 2010 census, and was 19,705 as of 2017. History The first mention of the township was in 1684, ...

, on October 16, 2020. Wildcats head coach Jay Wright called him "the original tough, Philly Villanova guard" in an announcement of his death.

References

External links

College statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huggard, Jim 1933 births 2020 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Philadelphia Harrisburg Patriots players High school basketball coaches in Pennsylvania Point guards Sunbury Mercuries players Villanova Wildcats men's basketball players