Kenneth Harry Warzynski (June 30, 1948 – January 18, 2019) was an 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 who played for

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

and was a second round draft pick (32nd pick overall) of 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

1970 NBA draft The 1970 NBA draft was the 24th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 23, 1970, before the 1970–71 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball player ...

Early life

Warzynski was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, on June 30, 1948, the son of Harry and Florence Warzynski. He was raised with his sister Arlene and attended Gordon Technical High School in Chicago. Warzynski graduated from Gordon Technical in 1966, where he played basketball and also varsity baseball.

College career

A 6'7" forward, Warzynski played college basketball for

under

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 ...

Coach

Ray Meyer Raymond Joseph Meyer (December 18, 1913 – March 17, 2006) was an American men's collegiate basketball coach from Chicago, Illinois. He was well known for coaching at DePaul University from 1942 to 1984, compiling a 724–354 record. Meyer ...

. As a Senior in 1969-1970, Warzynski averaged 19.7 points and 15.2 rebounds, as DePaul finished 12-13. Warzynski had 28 rebounds against

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

on Jan. 3, 1970, still the DePaul single-game team record. Warzynski ranks fourth on DePaul's all-time rebounding list and his career rebounding average of 11.6 is currently third all time. His 15.2 rebounding average in 1969-1970 is second all-time at DePaul. Overall, Warzynski averaged 16.0 points and 11.6 rebounds in his 75 career games at DePaul, with 1,203 total points and 890 total rebounds.

Professional career

The

selected Warzynski in the second round of the

. The Pistons had drafted

Bob Lanier Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. (September 10, 1948 – May 10, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who was a center for the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lanier was inducted int ...

with the #1 pick in the 1970 Draft. Warzynski never played in the NBA. The

Denver Rockets Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

of 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, ...

also selected Warzynski in the 11th round of the 1970

ABA Draft The American Basketball Association draft was held from 1967 to 1975. First overall picks Note: 1974 ABA College Draft, not 1974 ABA Draft of NBA Players Further reading *{{cite book, last=Bradley, first=Robert D., title=The Basketball Draft Fac ...

. In 1970-1971, Warzynski played for the

Rockford Royals Rockford or Rockfords may refer to: Places United States * Rockford, Illinois, a city, the largest municipality of this name *Rockford, Alabama, a town * Rockford, Idaho, a census-designated place * Rockford metropolitan area, Illinois, a United St ...

of the

Continental Basketball Association 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 m ...

, along with former DePaul teammate Al Zetsche.

Honors

* Warzynski was inducted into the DePaul Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987. His coach, Ray Meyer, was a fellow inductee in the ceremony on November 20, 1987.

Personal

Warzynski had a career in real estate in South Carolina. Warzynski died on January 18, 2019. He was survived by his four children, Julie, JoAnne, Chris and Kevin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warzynski, Ken 1948 births 2019 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Chicago DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball players Detroit Pistons draft picks Power forwards