John Givens (basketball)

John Givens (May 12, 1926 – December 8, 2009)[1] was an American basketball player and coach.

For the Scottish footballer, see John Givens (footballer).

Boarn and raised in McHenry in Ohio County, Kentucky,[2][3] Givens played college basketball at Western Kentucky University for coach E.A. Diddle. He was drafted by the NBA's Rochester Royals in the sixth round of the 1950 draft.[4]

Givens was a starting guard on the 1950–51 Sheboygan Red Skins of the National Professional Basketball League. The Red Skins finished with the league's best record at 29–16, after which the league dissolved. Givens was one of the league's most electric performers and finished seventh in NPBL scoring with 569 points in 44 games, a 12.9 per-game average.

Givens became the first head coach of the Kentucky Colonels during the American Basketball Association's first season in 1967–1968. Givens also became the first coach in the history of the ABA to be fired, after a 5–12 start. He was replaced as head coach of the Colonels by Gene Rhodes.[5]

Givens later coached at Thomas Jefferson High School and Fern Creek High School, both in Jefferson County, Kentucky, before he retired.[2]

Givens died on December 8, 2009, at his home in Louisville, Kentucky.[2] He was survived by his widow, Eldora.

References
  1. A Biographical Directory of Professional Basketball Coaches
  2. Burba, Paula, 'Johnny Givens, first Colonels coach, dies at 83: Givens coached at many levels', Louisville Courier-Journal, December 9, 2009
  3. "John Givens". Basketball Reference. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  4. 1950 NBA Draft – Basketball-Reference.com
  5. "Remember the ABA: Kentucky Colonels Year-to-Year Notes". Archived from the original on 2007-06-18. Retrieved 2007-03-05.



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