Richard S. Congo (born May 17, 1961) is an American former basketball player for

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

and

Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...

. He was a two-time all-conference performer and the 1984 East Coast Conference Player of the Year as a senior.

Early life

Congo is a native of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, where he attended Overbrook High School. As a senior he averaged 10 points and 10 rebounds per game.

College career

Congo chose to play for the

Lafayette Leopards The Lafayette Leopards represent the 23 Division I varsity athletic teams of Lafayette College and compete in the Patriot League. There are 11 men's teams, 11 women's teams, and one co-ed team. The club teams also compete as the Leopards. Tho ...

after his prep career. In 1979–80, his true freshman season, he averaged 8.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He took a break for personal reasons midway through the season, though he came back and helped the Leopards gain a berth into the

1980 NIT The 1980 National Invitation Tournament was the 1980 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the 32 teams selected for the tournament.

where they lost in the first round to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. He chose to leave the program after one season, contributed in part due to cultural adjustment difficulties. Due to

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

transfer rules, Congo had to

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

(sit out) his sophomore season, which was his first playing for the

Drexel Dragons The Drexel Dragons are the athletic teams of Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school's athletic program includes eighteen NCAA Division I sports including nine men's and nine women's teams, with most sports teams competing in ...

. Over the next three seasons with Drexel, Congo started all 88 games he appeared in. Congo was named to the All-

East Coast Conference The East Coast Conference (ECC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states of C ...

Second Team as a junior in 1982–83, then as a senior was named to the All-ECC First Team, a year in which he set the school single-season record for field goal percentage (.563) while averaging 16.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. He was also named the 1984 East Coast Conference Player of the Year. Congo finished his two-school collegiate career with 1,453 points and 735 rebounds. In 1989, Drexel University inducted him into their athletics hall of fame.

Professional career

The

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

selected Congo in the

1984 NBA draft The 1984 NBA draft was the 37th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, on June 19, 1984, before the 1984–85 season. The draft is generally c ...

's seventh round (160th overall). He was cut after rookie camp before appearing in a regular season game, however, and then spent time playing professionally in

Birmingham, England Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

References

External links

Richard Congo
@ sports-reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Congo, Richard 1961 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in the United Kingdom American men's basketball players Basketball players from Philadelphia Drexel Dragons men's basketball players Lafayette Leopards men's basketball players Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Power forwards (basketball)