Kenneth Lee Higgs Jr. (born January 31, 1955) is an American former 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

National Basketball Association 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 S ...

(NBA) for the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

and

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

. He is a 6'0" (183 cm) 180 lb (81.5 kg)

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

and he played collegiately at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

. Higgs was selected by the Cavaliers with the 13th pick in the third round in the 1978 NBA draft. He shares the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

single-game assists record (19:

Phil Pressey Phillip Michael Pressey (born February 17, 1991) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who played at the point guard position. He is assistant coach for Missouri Tigers men's basketball. His prior professional teams wer ...

, 2012–13 Missouri; Bill Hann, ). Higgs's best season was in 1980–81 with the 1980–81 Nuggets when he averaged 7.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. He also played several seasons in 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 ...

for the

Utica Olympics The Utica Olympics, known also as Mohawk Valley Thunderbirds, were an American professional basketball team based in Utica, New York that were members of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1978 to 1980. The team was previously kno ...

Detroit Spirits The Savannah Spirits were a professional basketball team that played for two years in the Continental Basketball Association from 1986 to 1988, amassing a total regular season record of 42 wins and 60 losses for a total of 306.5 points. The team ...

and

Evansville Thunder The Evansville Thunder were a professional basketball team who played in Evansville, Indiana, from 1984 to 1986. The team was a member of the Continental Basketball Association and played at Roberts Municipal Stadium. Evansville had previous exper ...

. Born in

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lou ...

, Higgs led Owensboro High School to the 1972 KHSAA Sweet Sixteen State Championship with a 71–63 win over Elizabethtown at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. His brother,

Mark Higgs Mark Deyon Higgs (born April 11, 1966 in Owensboro, Kentucky) is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals. He was drafted in the 8 ...

, is a former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

.Kenny Higgs profile
University of Kentucky Libraries

Notes

External links

''basketballreference.com'' 1955 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Kentucky Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers players Denver Nuggets players Detroit Spirits players Evansville Thunder players LSU Tigers basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Point guards Sportspeople from Owensboro, Kentucky Utica Olympics players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople {{1950s-US-basketball-bio-stub