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Buckeye Legend Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
John Havlicek

Buckeye Legend Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

John Havlicek recently was awarded the New England Lifetime Achievement award.  He was rewarded for a stellar collegiate and professional career, as well as his work off of the court.  After reading this below, from a sports career standpoint, it is somewhat of an understatement. 

By Ryan Leonardo

One of the 50 Best Ever

    Bobby Knight played with Havlicek from 1960-62, both part of the 1960 championship.  Havlicek averaged 14.6 ppg, and shot over 50% from the field.  He also was part of the only Ohio State basketball title.  Havlicek went on to play all 16 seasons in the NBA in Boston, winning 8 championships.  The NBA regards him as one of the 50 best players ever.  He amassed over 26,000 points, 8,000 rebounds, and over 6,100 assists.  That in-brief resume, including a 1984 Hall of Fame induction, is enough to surpass almost every other player in terms of credentials.

Three Championship Games

    Havlicek not only led the Buckeyes to a 76-8 record while in school, he led them to the championship game three times, winning one.  He was such an athlete, that in 1962, the Cleveland Browns drafted him in the first round.  Although he didn’t make it as a Hall of Fame receiver, he excelled in everything else.  Jerry West said “The guy is the ambassador of our sport. John always gave his very best every night and had time for everybody -- teammates, fans, and the press."

Top 10 of All Time

    Havlicek scored 29 points in his last game at Boston Garden, in which Red Auerbach said, "He epitomizes everything good.  "If I had a son like John I'd be the happiest man in the world."   John Havlicek in this top 10 list of Buckeye Legends.

  1. Paul Brown
  2. Archie Griffin
  3. Wayne Woodrow Hayes
  4. John Havlicek
  5. Jesse Owens
  6. Bill Willis
  7. Lou Groza
  8. Rex Kern
  9. Howard Cassady
  10. Jerry Lucas

    This is in no particular order, only because my opinion could never place any of these greats, or many others that were left out, into a numerical list based on rank.  They are all number one to me.

 
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