George R. "Hawkeye" Irvine (born February 1, 1948 in Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

) is a retired American professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player and coach. A 6'6" forward, Irvine played collegiately at the University of Washington

University of Washington

University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

 and selected by the Seattle SuperSonics

Seattle SuperSonics

The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...

 in the 8th round of the 1970 NBA Draft

1970 NBA Draft

The 1970 NBA Draft was the 24th annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on March 23, 1970 before the 1970–71 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players...

. However, he never played for his hometown SuperSonics, nor for any other NBA team. Instead, Irvine opted to play for the team that selected him in the American Basketball Association

American Basketball Association

The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...

 draft, the Virginia Squires

Virginia Squires

The Virginia Squires were a basketball franchise in the former American Basketball Association from 1970 until just before the ABA-NBA merger in 1976.-In Oakland :...

. Irvine played for the Squires for five seasons and then played a final pro season with the Denver Nuggets

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...

 during the 1975-76 season, the ABA's final season prior to the ABA-NBA merger

ABA-NBA merger

The ABA–NBA merger was the merger of the American Basketball Association with the National Basketball Association, which after multiple attempts over several years finally occurred in 1976.- Origins of ABA-NBA competition :...

.

Irvine would later serve as head coach for two NBA teams; the Indiana Pacers

Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...

, for two stints, and the Detroit Pistons

Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...

.

External links

• George Irvine playing statistics at databasebasketball.com
• George Irvine Coach Info at NBA.com