Bob Lavoy

Bob Lavoy (June 29, 1926 – December 18, 2010) was an American professional basketball player and coach. Lavoy played for three years at Western Kentucky University before a short stint in the National Basketball Association. Lavoy spent most of his time in the NBA with the Indianapolis Olympians but also played a season with the Syracuse Nationals. He also coached at the University of Tampa for eight years.

Bob Lavoy

Personal information
Born	(1926-06-29)June 29, 1926 Aurora, Illinois
Died	December 18, 2010(2010-12-18) (aged 84) Tampa, Florida
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school	East Aurora (Aurora, Illinois)
College	Western Kentucky (1947–1950)
NBA draft	1950: 1st round, 8th overall pick
Selected by the Indianapolis Olympians
Playing career	1950–1954
Position	Power forward / center
Number	8, 16
Career history
As player:
1950–1953	Indianapolis Olympians
1953	Milwaukee Hawks
1953–1954	Syracuse Nationals
As coach:
1958–1966	Tampa Spartans
Career highlights and awards
Second team All-American – INS (1950)
Career NBA statistics
Points	2,156 (8.2 ppg)
Rebounds	1,634 (6.2 rpg)
Assists	391 (1.5 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

College career

Lavoy played his college ball at Western Kentucky University and led the Hilltoppers to a 78–12 record during his three years in Bowling Green. He helped Western Kentucky capture a Kentucky Intercollegiate Conference title and two Ohio Valley Conference championships. Lavoy and the Hilltoppers played in the National Invitational Tournament three years in a row. The closest the Hilltoppers came to winning the NIT was in 1948 when the Hilltoppers fell in the semifinals to Saint Louis University 60–53. Saint Louis was led by future member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, Ed Macauley.

Lavoy was inducted into the Western Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame, the Illinois Athletic Hall of Fame and the East Aurora High School.

Professional career

Lavoy was drafted by the Indianapolis Olympians with the 9th overall pick in the 1950 NBA draft. Lavoy started for the Olympians for three seasons and was 10th in the league in field goal percentage in 1952 and 9th in 1953. The Olympians folded after the 1952–53 season and Lavoy was selected by the Milwaukee Hawks in the dispersal draft. He never played a game for the Hawks though, and was traded to the Syracuse Nationals for Noble Jorgensen. Lavoy only played one season in Syracuse and in that season, the Nationals lost in the 1954 NBA Finals to the Minneapolis Lakers in seven games. During his four-year career in the NBA, Lavoy averaged 27 minutes a game, 8.2 points a game (.384 FG%, .707 FT%), 6.2 rebounds a game and 1.5 assists a game.

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
*	Led the league

NBA

Source:

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1950–51	Indianapolis	63		.357	.632	4.9	1.2	8.3
1951–52	Indianapolis	63	29.0	.397	.753	7.6	1.7	10.3
1952–53	Indianapolis	70	33.2	.402	.694	7.5	1.9	8.8
1953–54	Milwaukee	8	15.6	.444	.563	3.8	1.3	5.1
1953–54	Syracuse	60	19.2	.372	.752	4.8	1.1	5.4
Career		264	27.0	.384	.707	6.2	1.5	8.4

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1951	Indianapolis	3		.000	.600	2.0	1.3	1.0
1952	Indianapolis	2	39.0	.333	.750	10.0	2.0	12.0
1953	Indianapolis	2	23.5	.250	.400	5.0	1.0	5.0
1954	Syracuse	13*	27.5	.389	.800	6.5	1.5	9.1
Career		20	28.4	.345	.753	6.1	1.5	7.8

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com  and Basketball-Reference.com