George Kaftan is a retired American 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.

George grew up in New York City and went to Xavier High School in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

 before going to Holy Cross for college. Though just 6'3", Kaftan was the starting center for the College of the Holy Cross

College of the Holy Cross

The College of the Holy Cross is an undergraduate Roman Catholic liberal arts college located in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA...

 team that won the 1947 NCAA Basketball Tournament

1947 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

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. In 1947 Kaftan also won Most Outstanding Player

NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player

At the conclusion of the NCAA men's and women's Division I basketball championships , the Associated Press selects a Most Outstanding Player. The MOP need not be, but almost always is a member of the Championship team, especially since the third place game was eliminated after 1981...

 honors after averaging 21 points per game in three games.

Kaftan was selected in the second round of the 1949 BAA Draft. Kaftan later played professionally for the Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...

 (1949–1950), New York Knicks

New York Knicks

The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

 (1950–1952) and Baltimore Bullets (1952–1953). He averaged 7.5 points per game in his professional career.

Kaftan is now a member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame and the Holy Cross Varsity Club Hall of Fame.