Reid Gettys (born 1963) is an American lawyer and a former college and professional basketball player, best known as a member of the Houston Cougars men's basketball team during the early 1980s.

Biography

Gettys played high school basketball at Houston's Memorial High School, but chose to stay home to attend college and play for Guy V. Lewis, rather than following in his father footsteps in attending and playing for

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sy ...

. A "set up man" in large part, Gettys played a pivotal role in the success of the powerhouse Phi Slama Jama basketball teams at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

during the early to mid-1980s. Gettys, who ranks as Houston's all-time leader in assists with 740, was responsible for distributing the ball to teammates

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets a ...

Clyde Drexler Clyde Austin Drexler (born June 22, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player and the commissioner of the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association ...

, Benny Anders, Michael Young, Larry Micheaux and, later,

Ricky Winslow Rickie O'Neal Winslow (born July 26, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. He has a Turkish passport under the name Kartal Reşat Fırıncıoğlu. Winslow, who was selected by the Chicago Bulls, with the 28th overall pick, i ...

. Gettys had a 17-assist game against

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

on February 17, 1985. He also handed out 15 assists in a November 26, 1983, game against the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

. He was also an accurate shooter from long distance (although he played prior to the three-point line) and virtually "automatic" from the free throw line. During the 1982 NCAA Tournament, on March 21, 1982, Gettys sunk 10 consecutive free throws down the stretch to move Houston past Boston College and into the Final Four. The Gettys was drafted by the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

in the fifth round of the 1985 NBA draft, but never played in the NBA. He was a member of

Bill Musselman William Clifford Musselman (August 13, 1940 – May 5, 2000) was an American basketball coach in the NCAA, the ABA, the WBA, the CBA, and the NBA. He was known for his trademark intensity, once being quoted as saying, "Defeat is worse than deat ...

's 1987–88

Albany Patroons The Albany Patroons are a professional basketball team that plays in The Basketball League (TBL). Previously, the team competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and in the United States Basketball League (USBL). The Patroons won ...

team of 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 mi ...

(CBA) that posted a record on its way to winning the CBA championship. Gettys spent one season as an assistant coach for the Houston Cougars under his former teammate, Drexler. He has also worked as an

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

basketball analyst and has been a commentator for

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

games. Gettys later earned a J.D. degree and has worked as an attorney in Texas.Robert Weintraub.
Jamfest for the Ages
. ESPN.com. Retrieved on August 5, 2010. He and his wife, Lisa, have two sons and a daughter.

University of Houston Cougars records

*Most assists, career: 740 (in 120 games) (14 in 1981–82; 209 in 1982–83; 309 in 1983–84; 208 in 1984–85) *Highest average, assists per game, career: 6.2 (740/120) *Most assists, season: 309 (in 37 games; 1983–84) *Highest average, assists per game, season: 8.4 (309/37, 1983–84) *Most assists, game: 17, vs. Rice, February 17, 1985

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gettys, Reid Living people Albany Patroons players Basketball players from Houston Chicago Bulls draft picks College basketball announcers in the United States Houston Cougars men's basketball players Houston Cougars men's basketball coaches Point guards Texas lawyers 1963 births American men's basketball players