James R. Rayl (June 21, 1941 – January 20, 2019) was an American professional basketball player in the ABA. A 6'2" and 175 lb

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

, Rayl played on the first two teams of the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

from 1967 to 1969.

High school career

Born in

Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. Its population was 60,093 according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana metropolitan area, Kokomo metropol ...

, Rayl went to Kokomo High School from 1956 to 1959. He was named 1959's Indiana Mr. Basketball and the recipient of the Trester Award for the state of Indiana his senior year.

College career

Rayl attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

from 1959 to 1963, where he was an All-American his junior and senior seasons. Rayl averaged 20.6 ppg for his career and still holds the IU Hoosiers single-game scoring record of 56 points, which he did twice against

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. He shot 41.6 percent from the floor and 83.5 percent from the line in 68 games as a Hoosier.

Professional career

Jimmy Rayl was selected by the

Cincinnati Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Kings are the ...

in the third round and 23rd pick of the

1963 NBA draft The 1963 NBA draft was the 17th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 30 and May 7, 1963, before the 1963–64 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...

. He later signed and played two seasons for the

. He held a career average of 11.1 ppg.

Personal life and death

His grandson, Jace, is a guard for the

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname ...

. Rayl died at his home in Kokomo on January 20, 2019, at age 77.

Career statistics

ABA

Source

Regular season

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" !Year !Team !GP !MPG !FG% !3P% !FT% !RPG !APG !PPG , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, 74 , , 29.6 , , .387 , , .326 , , .802 , , 3.2 , , 2.8 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 27 , , 21.0 , , .356 , , .370 , , .897 , , 2.5 , , 2.3 , , 8.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 101 , , 27.3 , , .381 , , .341 , , .823 , , 3.0 , , 2.7 , , 11.1

Playoffs

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" !Year !Team !GP !MPG !FG% !3P% !FT% !RPG !APG !PPG , - , style="text-align:left;",

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

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

, 3 , , 39.3 , , .357 , , .286 , , .714 , , 3.3 , , 4.7 , , 13.0

References

External links

* 1941 births 2019 deaths All-American college men's basketball players Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Indiana Cincinnati Royals draft picks Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players Indiana Pacers players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Point guards Shooting guards Sportspeople from Kokomo, Indiana {{1940s-US-basketball-bio-stub