Collis Temple
Temple at the 2011 banquet of the Kentwood, Louisiana Rotary Club
Personal information
Born (1952-11-08) November 8, 1952
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.com

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 (197475) 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]


References

  1. 1 2 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. (2017-02-08). "Inside Collis Temple's historic struggle as LSU's first black basketball player". Andscape. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  3. "How David Duke Used the Ku Klux Klan, and How the Klan Made Him". Slate Magazine. 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  4. Collis Temple Jr. LSUSports.net. Retrieved on February 11, 2010.
  5. Collis Temple statistics. basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on February 11, 2010.
  6. "El "Iberia Superstars" hoy en Mataró" [The "Iberia Superstars" now in Mataró] (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. 25 February 1975. p. 40. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  7. @KaraMcCullough (May 8, 2021). "My dope a🤭🤭 father-in-law" (Tweet) via Twitter.
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