 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1924-07-22)July 22, 1924 Diagonal, Iowa |
| Died | May 5, 1997(1997-05-05) (aged 71) Miami, Florida |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 156 lb (71 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Diagonal (Diagonal, Iowa) |
| College | Iowa (1943–1947) |
| NBA draft | 1947: – round, – |
| Selected by thePittsburgh Ironmen | |
| Position | Forward |
| Number | 20 |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats atBasketball Reference  | |
Richard C. Ives (April 26, 1926 – May 5, 1997)[1] was an American basketball player for theUniversity of Iowa from 1943–44 to 1946–47. A native ofDiagonal, Iowa, Ives passed up the opportunity to play college basketball atDrake University on a full athletic scholarship so that he could play atIowa under coach"Pops" Harrison.[2] Ives had been a stand-out basketball player at Diagonal High School and led the team to the state championship.[1]
Ives entered the University of Iowa in the fall of 1943 as a 17-year-oldfreshman.[2] Due toWorld War II and the lack of able-bodied male student athletes across the nation, theNCAA allowed freshmen to play varsity sports in college, which until that time had been disallowed.[1] With this rare opportunity, Ives went on to have a highly successful four-year letter-winning career as a Hawkeye. He led the team in scoring for his first three seasons, and as a freshman he scored a then-unheard of school- andBig Ten Conference-record 43 points in a single game.[1][2] It is still the third highest scoring game in Iowa history and it earned him the nickname "Diagonal Dagger."[1] Ives was a three-timeAll-American, and in 1944–45 he was voted as aconsensus Second Team All-American (coincidentally, fellow sophomore teammateHerb Wilkinson was also a consensus All-American).[2] That season, the Hawkeyes also won the Big Ten Conference championship.[2]
After hissenior year in 1946–47, Ives was drafted by thePittsburgh Ironmen of theBasketball Association of America (which would become theNational Basketball Association) but never played a game for them.[3] He instead coached basketball and baseball atParsons College, married Joan Newton and lived inCedar Rapids, Iowa where Ives had a hardware business.[1] In 1954 they moved toMiami, Florida, and resided there for the rest of their lives.[1] Ives died on May 5, 1997, in Miami.[1]