Austin "Red" Robbins (September 30, 1944 – November 18, 2009
[Jimmy Smith]
NOLA.com. November 18, 2009. Retrieved on November 18, 2009.) was an American
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.
Robbins, a 6'8"
forward/
center from
Leesburg, Florida, starred at the
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...
in the 1960s and then played professionally for the
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...
's
New Orleans Buccaneers (1967–1970),
Utah Stars
The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround.
History prior to moving t ...
(1970–1972),
San Diego Conquistadors (1972–1973; 1973–1974),
Kentucky Colonels (1973; 1974–1975), and
Virginia Squires
The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976.
The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...
(1975–1976). Robbins was nicknamed for his red hair and perceived fiery personality, and grabbed over 6,000
rebounds in his career. Robbins was also an offensive contributor with a .466 field goal percentage; and led the ABA in three pointer percentage, with a .408 mark, in the
1971-72 season.
In Game 7 of the 1971 ABA Western Division playoffs, he made 11 out of 12 field goals to lead the Utah Stars to a 108–101 victory en route to the league title.
Death
Robbins died in
Metairie, Louisiana on November 18, 2009, aged 65, after having battled cancer.
[
]
References
External links
Career statistics
a
basketball-reference.com
a
Remember the ABAItalian League stats
1944 births
2009 deaths
American expatriate basketball people in Italy
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from Florida
Centers (basketball)
Chipola Indians men's basketball players
Deaths from cancer in Louisiana
Kentucky Colonels players
New Orleans Buccaneers players
Olimpia Milano players
People from Metairie, Louisiana
People from Leesburg, Florida
Philadelphia 76ers draft picks
Power forwards (basketball)
San Diego Conquistadors players
Tennessee Volunteers basketball players
Utah Stars players
Virginia Squires players
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