Oliver M. Darden (born July 28, 1944, in Aberdeen, Mississippi) is a retired 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 three seasons 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). A 6'7"

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/ center from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. Darden was initiated into Epsilon Chapter of the

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved int ...

fraternity on campus. He was a 3-year starter along with Cazzie Russell, in what is claimed to be the "greatest basketball era at Michigan." They won or shared the Big Ten title each year. In the sophomore year, they advanced in the NCAA tournament, eventually losing to Duke in the Final Four. The junior year they lost the NCAA final game 91–80 to UCLA. The senior year, they advanced to the regional final, losing to Kentucky and Adolph Rupp, a season in which Oliver was team captain. Darden played in the

from 1967 to 1970 as a member of 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 ...

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, and

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...

. He was drafted in 1966 with the second pick in the third round (22nd overall) by the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

's Detroit Pistons, but never played for them.

Notes

1944 births Living people Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Mississippi Centers (basketball) Detroit Pistons draft picks Indiana Pacers players Kentucky Colonels players Michigan Wolverines men's basketball players New York Nets players People from Aberdeen, Mississippi Power forwards (basketball) Basketball players from Detroit Western International High School alumni {{Louisville-stub