John Irving (May 24, 1953 – April 12, 2015) was an American

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 ...

player best known for his career at

Hofstra Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New ...

, which lasted from 1974–75 to 1976–77. He also spent one season (1972–73) at

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

before transferring. Irving, a , 215-lb (98 kg)

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 ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, recorded 1,018 points and 1,186 rebounds during his three-year career at Hofstra. He holds career per-game averages of 13.2 points and 15.4 rebounds at the school, and is the last Hofstra player to average a double-digit number of rebounds in three consecutive seasons. He led NCAA Division I in rebounding during his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

year of 1974–75 with a 15.3 per-game average. Irving was a member of two NCAA Tournament teams, and after he graduated was selected in the third round (58th overall) by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

in the

1977 NBA draft The 1977 NBA draft was the 31st annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 10, 1977, before the 1977–78 season. In this draft, 22 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players ...

, although he never played in the league. Previously, he was also selected by the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

in the ninth round (150th overall) in 1976. He is still only one of two players in Hofstra University history to accumulate both 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds during his career (

Bill Thieben William Bernard Thieben (March 28, 1935 – April 15, 2021) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Fort Wayne Pistons in and the Detroit Pistons in (the franchise was moved ...

is the other), and has been honored as an inductee in the school's Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the 2011 class. After college, Irving played for the

Toyota Tamaraws is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

, helping the team win the 1977 Invitational Championships, then in

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

(Belgium), before playing three years in Israel for Elitzur Tel Aviv and Beitar Tel Aviv. He then moved to England for a year before playing for Ahrend Donar in the Netherlands.

References

1953 births 2015 deaths American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in the United Kingdom American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American men's basketball players Arizona Wildcats men's basketball players Basketball players from Wilmington, Delaware Centers (basketball) Detroit Pistons draft picks Hofstra Pride men's basketball players Philippine Basketball Association imports Phoenix Suns draft picks Power forwards (basketball) Toyota Super Corollas players {{1950s-US-basketball-bio-stub

See also

References