Matthew Alexander Aitch Jr. (September 21, 1944 – April 4, 2007) 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 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).

Early life

Aitch was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, to parents Matthew Sr. and Viola (née Kinder) Aitch. He attended

Maplewood Richmond Heights High School Maplewood Richmond Heights High School is a public high school in Maplewood, Missouri, United States. History Maplewood Richmond Heights School District was established in 1876 after St. Louis split from St. Louis County. The original high sc ...

Maplewood, Missouri Maplewood is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. History Maplewood was established around the turn of the 20th century. Maplewood was one of the early suburbs of St. Louis. Located just outside ...

, where he led the team to three straight conference championships as a center.

College career

Aitch was not academically eligible to play

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 ...

basketball so he enrolled at Moberly Junior College where he played for two seasons and grew to .

John Benington John E. Benington (December 31, 1921 – September 10, 1969) was an American college basketball coach. The picture listed of John Benington is incorrect. It is not him. This is from his grand-daughter. The Findlay, Ohio native played college ...

, the head coach for the

Saint Louis Billikens The Saint Louis Billikens are the college athletics in the United States, collegiate athletic teams that represent Saint Louis University, located in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri. The Billikens compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the Nati ...

, had recruited Aitch as a high school student and received notice from a Moberly instructor that Aitch had improved his grades and could enrol. He had not committed to a school when Benington was appointed as head coach of the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...

and was convinced to follow him there. Aitch averaged 16.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game during his senior season with the Spartans in 1966–67 and was selected to the All-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

second team. He was team captain when the Spartans won the Big Ten Conference championship in 1967.

Professional career

Aitch was selected by the Detroit Pistons as the 135th overall pick of the

1967 NBA draft The 1967 NBA draft was the 21st annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 3 and 4, 1967 before the 1967–68 season. In this draft, 12 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball play ...

. He played for the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

of the

(ABA) during the 1967–68 season and averaged 5.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

Personal life

Aitch chose to stay in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

, after his graduation because he liked the area when he attended

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

. He served as an assistant coach and recruiter for the Michigan State Spartans. Aitch also worked as a minority recruiter for Michigan State University and

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

. He later worked in management for a

Meijer Meijer Inc. (, ; stylized as meijer) is an American supercenter chain that primarily operates throughout the Midwest. Its corporate headquarters are in Walker, Michigan, which is a part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area. Founded in 1934 as ...

distribution center. Aitch's daughter, Lauren, played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans women's team. She started a foundation in memory of her father called The Aitch Foundation which focuses on cancer detection research. Aitch died on April 4, 2007, at the age of 62.

References

External links

College statistics

Realgm.com
Profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Aitch, Matt 1944 births 2007 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from St. Louis Detroit Pistons draft picks Indiana Pacers players Michigan State Spartans men's basketball players Moberly Greyhounds men's basketball players Power forwards