Larry Nelson Steele (born May 5, 1949) is a former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player, best known for being on the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

team that won the

1977 NBA Finals The 1977 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1976–77 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers played ag ...

Early life

Born in

Greencastle, Indiana Greencastle is a city in Greencastle Township, Putnam County, Indiana, United States, and the county seat of Putnam County. It was founded in 1821 by Ephraim Dukes on a land grant. He named the settlement for his hometown of Greencastle, Pennsylv ...

, Steele grew up in

Bainbridge, Indiana Bainbridge is a town in Monroe Township, Putnam County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 746 at the 2010 census. History Bainbridge was laid out in 1831. This town was named after the prominent war hero of the time, William Bain ...

, and played collegiately at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

under coach

Adolph Rupp Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. He is ranked seventh in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching at the Univ ...

. As a junior at Bainbridge High School, he had a high game of 46 points and 38 points as a high game during senior year. He scored a total of 1,646 high school points. His senior year he was selected All-County, All-Sectional, All-Regional, All- Semi-State, Indianapolis News 1st Team All-State, and a member of the Indiana All-Star Team. In 2003, he was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

College career

At the University of Kentucky, he was a three-year starter, averaging 13.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. He was selected 1st Team All-SEC twice, Co-captain, MVP, Leadership Award, Hustle Award, led the UK team in assists and free throws. In 2003, he was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. As a junior in 1970, Steele earned 3rd team UPI/Coaches All-SEC honors and in 1971 as a senior 2nd team AP and 3rd team UPI/Coaches All-SEC honors.

NBA Playing Career

Portland Trail Blazers

He was drafted by the Trail Blazers in 1971, with the 2nd pick in the 3rd round (37th overall) and by the Kentucky Colonels in the 1971 American Basketball Association draft. In 1974 he was drafted again by the Kentucky Colonels in the 5th round of the ABA draft of NBA players. He joined the Trail Blazers at the start of the Blazers' second season and became a roster mainstay for nine years before knee injuries forced him into retirement at the end of the 1979–80 season. Steele played his entire NBA career for the team (retiring from basketball at the end of the 1979–80 season). Steele led the NBA in steals in the

1973–74 NBA season The 1973–74 NBA season was the 28th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. Notable occurrences * The 1 ...

—the first year steals were recorded by the league with 2.68 swipes per game. He played 20.7 MPG on the 1977 championship team (starting nine games) averaging a career high 10.3 points per game. During his nine-year NBA career, all with the Trail Blazers, he averaged 8.2 points, 2.9 assists, 1.39 steals and 24.2 minutes while starting 337 games. The Trail Blazers retired his jersey (15) on October 11, 1981.

Personal life

After his playing days, he worked in the Blazers front office in marketing and served as a commentator with broadcaster Bill Schonely. Steele later worked as a broadcaster for the

NBA on CBS The ''NBA on CBS'' is the branding that is used for weekly broadcasts of National Basketball Association (NBA) games produced by CBS Sports, the sports division of the CBS television network in the United States. CBS aired NBA games from the 19 ...

and as a head coach at the

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

from 1987 to 1994. He currently runs a basketball camp in

Vernonia, Oregon Vernonia is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It is located on the Nehalem River, in a valley on the eastern side of the Northern Oregon Coast Range that is the heart of one of the most important timber-producing areas of the sta ...

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1971–72 , align="left" ,

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, 72 , , - , , 18.2 , , .481 , , - , , .722 , , 3.9 , , 2.2 , , - , , - , , 5.1 , - , align="left" , 1972–73 , align="left" ,

, 66 , , - , , 19.7 , , .483 , , - , , .798 , , 2.3 , , 2.4 , , - , , - , , 5.9 , - , align="left" , 1973–74 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , - , , 32.7 , , .478 , , - , , .789 , , 3.8 , , 4.0 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 2.7* , , 0.4 , , 9.7 , - , align="left" , 1974–75 , align="left" ,

, 76 , , - , , 31.4 , , .548 , , - , , .836 , , 3.0 , , 3.8 , , 2.4 , , 0.2 , , 8.6 , - , align="left" , 1975–76 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , - , , 29.4 , , .495 , , - , , .759 , , 3.6 , , 4.0 , , 2.1 , , 0.2 , , 9.9 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;" , 1976–77† , align="left" ,

, 81 , , - , , 20.7 , , .500 , , - , , .806 , , 2.3 , , 2.1 , , 1.5 , , 0.2 , , 10.3 , - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" ,

, 65 , , - , , 17.4 , , .470 , , - , , .820 , , 1.7 , , 1.3 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" , 1978–79 , align="left" ,

, 72 , , - , , 20.7 , , .420 , , - , , .824 , , 2.4 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 7.2 , - , align="left" , 1979–80 , align="left" ,

, 16 , , - , , 27.9 , , .425 , , - , , .815 , , 2.8 , , 4.2 , , 1.6 , , 0.1 , , 9.1 , -class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 610 , , - , , 24.2 , , .483 , , - , , .796 , , 2.9 , , 2.8 , , 1.8 , , 0.2 , , 8.2

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;",

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

† , style="text-align:left;",

, 18 , , - , , 14.5 , , .371 , , - , , .750 , , 1.5 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 4.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1978 , style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , - , , 31.8 , , .417 , , - , , .905 , , 4.3 , , 2.3 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 11.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , - , , 24.3 , , .571 , , - , , .889 , , 3.7 , , 2.3 , , 3.3 , , 0.0 , , 13.3 , - class=sortbottom , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 27 , , - , , 19.4 , , .424 , , - , , .823 , , 2.4 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 6.9 , -

Head coaching record

References

External links

*
Profile at Portland Trail Blazers websiteIndiana Basketball Hall of FameLarry Steele Basketball Camp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Larry 1949 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Indiana Guards (basketball) Kentucky Colonels draft picks Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players National Basketball Association broadcasters National Basketball Association players with retired numbers People from Greencastle, Indiana Portland Pilots men's basketball coaches Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Portland Trail Blazers players