Collis Temple

Collis Temple
Temple at the 2011 banquet of the Kentwood, Louisiana Rotary Club
Personal information
Born (1952-11-08) November 8, 1952 (age 71)
Kentwood, Louisiana, U. S.
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High schoolO.W. Dillon
(Kentwood, Louisiana)
CollegeLSU (1971–1974)
NBA draft1974: 6th round, 94th overall pick
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
PositionSmall forward
Number40
Career history
1974–1975San Antonio Spurs
1975Iberia Superstars
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Collis Temple Jr. (born November 8, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player for Louisiana State University and the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA.

Career

College

The Kentwood, Louisiana native was the first African-American to play varsity basketball at Louisiana State University (LSU). When he joined the team in 1971, the Louisiana National Guard was called to protect him from angry segregationists.[1] In the fourth season of the Slate podcast Slow Burn, Temple shared his experiences interacting with a young David Duke while they were both students at LSU.[2][3]

As a senior, Temple earned All-Southeastern Conference honors after averaging 15.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.[4] In 2017, Temple was elected to the Louisiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional

Temple was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 94th pick of the 1974 NBA draft. He spent one season (1974–75) with the San Antonio Spurs. He averaged 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in 24 games.[5] In February 1975, he joined the Iberia Superstars of the European Professional Basketball League.[6]

Personal

Temple has three sons and one daughter. Collis III and Garrett Temple both played at LSU. [1] His daughter-in-law is Miss USA 2017 winner Kára Temple.[7]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

ABA

Source[5]

Regular season

Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1974–75 San Antonio 24 4.3 .415 .000 .800 1.3 .6 .2 .2 1.8

References

  1. ^ a b Mark Schlabach. "LSU's First Black Player Revels in Legacy's Growth". Washington Post. March 30, 2006. Retrieved on February 11, 2010.
  2. ^ Spears, Marc J. (February 8, 2017). "Inside Collis Temple's historic struggle as LSU's first black basketball player". Andscape. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  3. ^ "How David Duke Used the Ku Klux Klan, and How the Klan Made Him". Slate Magazine. June 10, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  4. ^ Collis Temple Jr. LSUSports.net. Retrieved on February 11, 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Collis Temple ABA statistics". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  6. ^ "El "Iberia Superstars" hoy en Mataró" [The "Iberia Superstars" now in Mataró] (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. February 25, 1975. p. 40. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  7. ^ @KaraMcCullough (May 8, 2021). "My dope a🤭🤭 father-in-law" (Tweet) – via Twitter.