Joe Roberts (basketball)
Encyclopedia
Joseph Roberts (born May 18, 1936 in Columbus, Ohio
) is an American
former professional basketball
player. Roberts played for Ohio State University
's 1960 NCAA
champions, and later played in the NBA for the Syracuse Nationals
before going into coaching. Roberts also played with Hall-of-Famers Jerry Lucas
, John Havlicek
, and Bobby Knight
. Coach Fred Taylor
also was a Hall-of-Famer for Ohio State.
under coach Jackie Moore as a 6'6", 220-lb forward. Future OSU teammate Mel Nowell
also starred for Columbus East. Roberts ended up at Ohio State when schools like Georgia Tech
and Ohio University
advised they had curfew rules for blacks like Roberts. The Buckeyes had few black players at that time, but coaches Floyd Stahl
and Fred Taylor made him feel welcome.
Roberts, fellow senior Dick Furry, and Larry Siegfried were returnees that were joined by super sophomores Lucas, Havlicek, and Nowell in 1960. That team lost just three games, one to Utah
and star center
Billy McGill, one to Adolph Rupp
's Kentucky
team, where Roberts and Nowell endured racial taunts, and one to Indiana
after the Buckeyes had won the Big Ten title. Roberts was a senior co-captain who provided veteran leadership to the sophomore stars on that team.
All five starting Buckeyes—Roberts, Havlicek, Lucas, Siegfried, and Nowell—were drafted to play in the NBA, a rare feat considering there were then just nine NBA teams. Roberts did play for Ohio State in the 1960 US Olympics
trials, but drew little attention away from his teammates and the many AAU
players who came to take their place on that team regardless of performance.
Roberts was drafted in the third round by the NBA's Syracuse Nationals. He was a reserve at both forward positions behind stars Dolph Schayes
, Lee Shaffer
, and Johnny Kerr
. He played with the Nats three seasons, with the Nats making the playoffs each year under coach Alex Hannum
. The Nats were very good, but could not get past the Boston Celtics
in their division.
Feeling that his race was limiting his opportunities, Roberts declined to stay with the team when they became the Philadelphia 76ers
in 1963. He did return to play for the Kentucky Colonels
of the ABA
for one season in 1967, the ABA's first year. He was disappointed to again be a reserve.
in the Mid-American Conference
, then Iowa
in the Big Ten, before being an assistant for the NBA's Golden State Warriors
and coach Al Attles
for five years. The Warriors, led by MVP Rick Barry
, won the NBA championship in 1975
.
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
former 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. Roberts played for Ohio State University
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of The Ohio State University, named after the state tree, the Buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports...
's 1960 NCAA
1960 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1960 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball in the United States. It began on March 7, 1960, and ended with the championship game on March 19 in Daly City,...
champions, and later played in the NBA for the Syracuse Nationals
Syracuse Nationals
The Syracuse Nationals were an American professional basketball team that existed from 1946 to 1963 as part of the National Basketball League and National Basketball Association . They are currently known as the Philadelphia 76ers, and are the NBA's oldest continued franchise.The team began in...
before going into coaching. Roberts also played with Hall-of-Famers Jerry Lucas
Jerry Lucas
Jerry Ray Lucas was a basketball player from the 1950s to the 1970s, and is now a memory education expert. In 1996, the NBA's 50th anniversary, he was named one of the 50 greatest players in National Basketball Association history...
, John Havlicek
John Havlicek
John J. "Hondo" Havlicek is a retired American professional basketball player who competed for 16 seasons with the Boston Celtics, winning eight NBA titles, half of them coming in his first four seasons....
, and Bobby Knight
Bobby Knight
-Indiana:When Indiana University was seeking a new coach in 1971, they turned to Knight. Knight was given the nickname "The General" by former University of Detroit and Detroit Pistons coach-turned-broadcaster Dick Vitale....
. Coach Fred Taylor
Fred Taylor (basketball coach)
Frederick Rankin Taylor was a college men's basketball coach for The Ohio State University from 1959 to 1976.-College career:...
also was a Hall-of-Famer for Ohio State.
Basketball career
He starred at Columbus East High SchoolColumbus East High School
Columbus East High School is one of two high schools in Columbus, Indiana. It was founded in 1972 due to the growing educational demands of the community. As the population of the community rose, Columbus High School could not support all school age students...
under coach Jackie Moore as a 6'6", 220-lb forward. Future OSU teammate Mel Nowell
Mel Nowell
Mel Nowell , was an American basketball player.Nowell played for The Ohio State University Buckeyes basketball team that won the 1960 NCAA championship. He played with three Hall of Famers and Hall of Fame Coach Fred Taylor...
also starred for Columbus East. Roberts ended up at Ohio State when schools like Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball team represents the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in NCAA Division I basketball. The team plays its home games in Alexander Memorial Coliseum. Under the tenure of Bobby Cremins, Georgia Tech established itself as a national force in basketball...
and Ohio University
Ohio University
Ohio University is a public university located in the Midwestern United States in Athens, Ohio, situated on an campus...
advised they had curfew rules for blacks like Roberts. The Buckeyes had few black players at that time, but coaches Floyd Stahl
Floyd Stahl
Floyd S. Stahl was an American collegiate athletic coach, serving in many coaching and administrative positions at Harvard University and the Ohio State University....
and Fred Taylor made him feel welcome.
Roberts, fellow senior Dick Furry, and Larry Siegfried were returnees that were joined by super sophomores Lucas, Havlicek, and Nowell in 1960. That team lost just three games, one to Utah
Utah Utes men's basketball
The University of Utah Utes have consistently been one of the most successful basketball programs in the NCAA. They are currently an NCAA Division I program that plays in the Pacific-12 Conference. The school has made the NCAA Tournament 26 times, which ranks 16th in NCAA history and 3rd behind...
and star center
Center (basketball)
The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
Billy McGill, one to Adolph Rupp
Adolph Rupp
Adolph Frederick Rupp was one of the most successful coaches in the history of American college basketball. Rupp is fourth in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching...
's Kentucky
Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, representing the University of Kentucky, is the winningest in the history of college basketball, both in all-time wins and all-time winning percentage. Kentucky's all-time record currently stands at 2058–647...
team, where Roberts and Nowell endured racial taunts, and one to Indiana
Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball
The Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Indiana University . The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the NCAA. The Hoosiers play on Branch McCracken Court at the Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana on the IU...
after the Buckeyes had won the Big Ten title. Roberts was a senior co-captain who provided veteran leadership to the sophomore stars on that team.
All five starting Buckeyes—Roberts, Havlicek, Lucas, Siegfried, and Nowell—were drafted to play in the NBA, a rare feat considering there were then just nine NBA teams. Roberts did play for Ohio State in the 1960 US Olympics
United States at the 1960 Summer Olympics
The United States competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. It was the first Summer Olympics in which the athletes marched under the present flag...
trials, but drew little attention away from his teammates and the many AAU
Association of American Universities
The Association of American Universities is an organization of leading research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education...
players who came to take their place on that team regardless of performance.
Roberts was drafted in the third round by the NBA's Syracuse Nationals. He was a reserve at both forward positions behind stars Dolph Schayes
Dolph Schayes
Adolph "Dolph" Schayes is a retired American professional basketball player and coach in the NBA. A top scorer and rebounder, he was a member of the 1955 NBA champion Syracuse Nationals and a 12-time All-Star....
, Lee Shaffer
Lee Shaffer
Lee Philip Shafer II is an American former professional basketball player.A 6'7" forward, Shaffer starred at the University of North Carolina, where he was the ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year in 1960. He then played three seasons in the National Basketball Association as a member of the...
, and Johnny Kerr
Johnny Kerr
John G. “Red” Kerr was an American basketball player, coach, and color commentator. He played in the NBA from 1954 to 1966, mainly as a member of the Syracuse Nationals...
. He played with the Nats three seasons, with the Nats making the playoffs each year under coach Alex Hannum
Alex Hannum
Alexander Murray Hannum was a professional basketball player and Hall-of-Fame coach.-Coaching career:Hannum is mostly known for coaching the Wilt Chamberlain-led Philadelphia 76ers of 1966-67 to the NBA championship, ending the eight-year title streak of the Boston Celtics. He had also coached the...
. The Nats were very good, but could not get past 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...
in their division.
Feeling that his race was limiting his opportunities, Roberts declined to stay with the team when they became the Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
in 1963. He did return to play for the Kentucky Colonels
Kentucky Colonels
The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of any franchise in the league's history, but the team did...
of the ABA
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:...
for one season in 1967, the ABA's first year. He was disappointed to again be a reserve.
Coaching career
He later became an assistant coach for Western MichiganWestern Michigan Broncos men's basketball
The Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The school's team competes in the Mid-American Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2004...
in the Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
, then Iowa
Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball
The Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team represents the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, as a member of the Big Ten Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. They currently play in 15,500-seat Carver-Hawkeye Arena, along with the school's women's basketball, wrestling, and...
in the Big Ten, before being an assistant for the NBA's Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
and coach Al Attles
Al Attles
Alvin A. "Al" Attles Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player and coach. He is a graduate of Weequahic High School in Newark and North Carolina A&T State University...
for five years. The Warriors, led by MVP Rick Barry
Rick Barry
Richard Francis Dennis Barry III , better known as Rick Barry, is a retired American professional basketball player. He is considered by many veteran basketball observers to be one of the greatest pure small forwards of all time as a result of his very precise outside shot, uncanny court vision,...
, won the NBA championship in 1975
1974-75 NBA season
The 1974–75 NBA season was the 29th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Golden State Warriors winning the NBA Championship, sweeping the Washington Bullets 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals.-Notable occurrences:...
.
External links
- NBA & ABA stats @ basketballreference.com