Regan Truesdale

Regan Truesdale (born July 31, 1963) is an American former college basketball player at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. He was twice named Southern Conference Player of the Year, is the second-leading scorer in The Citadel Bulldogs basketball history, and continues to hold several records at the school. Truesdale was born in Heath Springs, South Carolina, and lives there again now that his basketball career is over.

College career

Truesdale, who is the second leading scorer in Bulldog history as of 2011–12, amassed 1,661 points and 688 rebounds in 109 games. His teams finished 58–55 for a .513 winning percentage. The Bulldogs finished 26–1 at home over Truesdale's junior and senior seasons. An especially notable statistic is that 313 of his 688 rebounds were on the offensive end.

His freshman year he came off of the bench, averaging 2.3 points per game behind leading scorers Felipe de las Pozas and Louie Gilbert. His sophomore year began the prolific scoring for which he became known. Installed as a starter for 19 of the 28 games, Truesdale averaged 13.1 points per game, second on the team behind de las Pozas. In a February 5, 1983 game with eventual national champion NC State, Truesdale scored a game-high 21 points. Truesdale posted his highest field goal percentage in his sophomore campaign at 53.2%.

In his junior season, Truesdale became the focal point of the Bulldog offense, averaging a career high 22.0 points per game, good enough for fourth all-time on The Citadel's list. Truesdale scored 617 points in the 1983–84 campaign, trailing only his effort in his senior season in Bulldog record books. This season resulted in his first Southern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year Award. Notable games in his junior season included a January 9, 1984 meeting with Marshall in which he scored a career- and game-high 41 points. He finished 22 of 28 from the free throw line, including 13 of 15 in the first half as the Thundering Herd attempted to contain him with fouls. The game was particularly heated as Marshall head coach Rick Huckabay had told media he thought the Southern Conference should eject The Citadel and military rival VMI in order to improve the conference's RPI ranking, among other disparaging remarks. In front of an especially rowdy Corps of Cadets at McAlister Field House, the Bulldogs upended Marshall 84–76. This game kicked off a 22–game home win streak for the Bulldogs that extended through Truesdale's senior season. Also during his junior season, Truesdale scored a game-high 26 points in a February 4, 1984 match-up with top ranked North Carolina as part of the North–South Doubleheader, which featured college teams from North and South Carolina.

Truesdale's senior season saw him average 21.5 points per game, with a career and all-time Bulldog high of 624 points. Regan earned his second Southern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year Award, one of only ten players with this honor in the sixty-year history of the award. He was also named an Honorable Mention All-American by the Associated Press. This season was also the last for legendary Bulldog coach Les Robinson before he took the job at East Tennessee State

Statistics

Scoring

Career Statistics

Professional career

After his college career, Truesdale played two years in the Continental Basketball Association, one season each with the Kansas City Sizzlers and the Savannah Spirits. He then played a season in New Zealand followed by a season with the World Basketball League's Memphis Rockers.

Player recognition

The records section is accurate through the 2011–12 season.

Honors

Honored Jersey January 23, 2010

Citadel Hall of Fame (inducted 2003)

Twice Southern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year (1984 and 1985)

Honorable Mention AP All-American (1985)

Records

;Category (total), place on Citadel list
Points, Career (1,661), 2nd – passed by Cameron Wells on January 3, 2011 held record for nearly 24 years.

Scoring Average, Career (15.2), 6th

Field Goals, Career (638), 2nd

Field Goals Attempted, Career (1,283), 2nd

Free Throws Made, Career (377), 3rd

Free Throws Attempted, Career (498), 6th

Offensive Rebounds, Career (313), 2nd

Defensive Rebounds, Career (375), 6th

Rebounds, Career (688), 2nd

Double-doubles, Career (22), 1st

30–Point Games (7), 2nd

Steals, Career (130), T-7th

Minutes, Career (2934), 10th

Points, Season (624 in 1984–85), 1st

Points, Season (617 in 1983–84), 2nd

Scoring Average, Season (22.0 in 1983–84), 4th

Scoring Average, Season (21.5 in 1984–85), 6th

Field Goals, Season (242 in 1984–85), 1st

Field Goals, Season (225 in 1983–84), T–2nd

Field Goals Attempted, Season (477 in 1984–85), 2nd

Field Goals Attempted, Season (474 in 1983–840, 3rd

Free Throws Made, Season (161 in 1983–84), 4th

Free Throws Made, Season (140 in 1984–85), 7th

Free Throws Attempted, Season (209 in 1983–84), 5th

Free Throws Attempted, Season (181 in 1984–85), 8th

Offensive Rebounds, Season (107 in 1983–84), 1st

Offensive Rebounds, Season (103 in 1984–85), 2nd

Offensive Rebounds, Season (83 in 1982–83), 8th

Defensive Rebounds, Season (149 in 1984–85), 2nd

Rebounds, Season (252 in 1984–85), 2nd

Rebounds, Season (227 in 1983–84), 4th

Steals, Season (48 in 1984–85), 10th

Points, Game (41) 2nd (vs Marshall, Jan. 9, 1984)

Points, Game (38) T-5th (at Furman, Jan. 19, 1984)

Free Throws Made, Game (22) T-1st (vs Marshall, Jan. 9, 1984)

46 games with more than 20 points

73 games with more than 10 points

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Truesdale, Regan
1963 births
Living people
American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from South Carolina
Centers (basketball)
Kansas City Sizzlers players
People from Lancaster, South Carolina
Power forwards (basketball)
Savannah Spirits players
The Citadel Bulldogs basketball players
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American sportspeople