Lucas, Jerry R.
Basketball
b. March 30, 1940, Middletown, OH
Lucas scored 2,466 points for Middletown, OH, High School, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's career record. As a 6-foot-9 sophomore center, he led Ohio State to the 1960 NCAA championship, and he starred for the gold medal U. S. Olympic team that summer. Oscar Robertson and Jerry West were on that team, but Olympic coach Pete Newell called Lucas "the greatest player I've ever coached."
Ohio State also went to the NCAA finals in 1961 and 1962, but lost to the University of Cincinnati both times. During his three-year career, Ohio State won 78 of 84 games. Lucas was a three-time All-American and was named college player of the year in both 1961 and 1962. He led the nation in field goal percentage three times and in rebounding twice.
Lucas signed with the Cleveland Pipers of the American Basketball Association in 1962, but the ABL folded before he could play a game. He joined the NBA's Cincinnati Royals for the 1963-64 season and was the league's rookie of the year, averaging 17.7 points a game.
Cincinnati traded him to the San Francisco Warriors during the 1969-70 season. He ended his career with the New York Knicks from 1971-72 through 1972-73, when New York won its first NBA championship. In 685 games, he scored 12,894 points, an averaged of 18.8 per game, and had 12,942 rebounds. He was the third player in history to average more than 20 points and more than 20 rebounds a game in 1964-65, and he's one of a small number to have more than 10,000 points and more than 10,000 rebounds in his NBA career.