 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1939-11-02)November 2, 1939 (age 86) Covington, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | William Grant(Covington, Kentucky) |
| College | Cincinnati (1960–1963) |
| NBA draft | 1963:territorial pick |
| Drafted by | Cincinnati Royals |
| Playing career | 1963–1971 |
| Position | Point guard /shooting guard |
| Number | 25, 12, 11, 44 |
| Coaching career | 1973–1978 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1963–1966 | Cincinnati Royals |
| 1967–1968 | Boston Celtics |
| 1968–1971 | Indiana Pacers |
Coaching | |
| 1974–1978 | Cincinnati (women's) |
| Career highlights | |
As player:
| |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Thomas Porter Thacker (born November 2, 1939) is an American formerbasketball player. He played in theNational Basketball Association (NBA) for theCincinnati Royals and theBoston Celtics from 1963 to 1968, and from 1968 to 1971, for theAmerican Basketball Association'sIndiana Pacers. He is the only player to have played on an NCAA championship team, an ABA championship team, and an NBA championship team.
Thacker was born in and grew up inCovington, Kentucky across theOhio River fromCincinnati, the son of William and Velma Arvin Thacker. He attended Our Savior's High School until integration closed it in 1956.[1] He then attended the all-black William Grant High School, where he played basketball. He averaged 31.7 points per game as a junior and led the team to a 26–5 record. As a senior, he averaged 33.8 points as the team went 31–7.[2] He scored 36 points in his final high school game as the team lost the Kentucky state championship game, 85–84.[3]
In 1959 he needed a few credits to earn his degree, so he attendedHolmes High School during the summer and graduated.[1]
Thacker attended theUniversity of Cincinnati and played three varsity seasons for the Bearcats under coachEd Jucker. As a sophomore in 1960–61, he averaged 12.3 points per game and was named All-Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) as the Bearcats won the league title.[4] The Bearcats finished the season with a record of 27–3 and, on March 25, 1961, Cincinnati, led by the balanced attack of Thacker,Bob Wiesenhahn,Tony Yates,Paul Hogue andCarl Bouldin,[4] won the NCAA Championship with a 70–65 overtime win over theOhio State Buckeyes.[4]
As a junior in 1961–62, Thacker averaged 11.0 points per game and was again All-MVC. The Bearcats again captured the MVC and posted a 29–2 record. WithRon Bonham andGeorge Wilson replacing the departed Wiesenhahn and Bouldin, the Bearcats again captured the NCAA title on March 24, 1962, again over Ohio State, 71–59.[4]
As a senior in 1962–63, he averaged 15.8 points per game, led the team in assists with 4.0 per game,[4] and was named the team MVP.[4] He was also named All-MVC for the third consecutive season.[4] In addition, he was a consensus first-team All-American along with teammate Bonham.[4] The Bearcats, with the same starting lineup as the year before except for Larry Shingleton replacing the departed Hogue, won the league crown yet again and, for the third straight season, advanced to the NCAA championship game. However, on March 23, 1963, the Bearcats lost toLoyola University Chicago.[4]
Thacker was chosen in the first round (fifth overall) of the1963 NBA draft as a territorial pick by theCincinnati Royals. During his three seasons with the Royals, he played about nine minutes per game as a backup guard, averaging 2.8, 2.5, and 3.7 points per game, respectively during the 1963–64 through 1965–66 seasons.[5] On May 1, 1966, he was drafted by theChicago Bulls in the NBA expansion draft, but he decided to retire and did not play that season.
On August 4, 1967, he returned to the NBA and was signed as a free agent by theBoston Celtics. It turned out to be a fortuitous trade for Thacker. Averaging about 12 minutes per game and 4.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, he earned a championship ring as the Celtics won the NBA title in a six-game finals series over theLos Angeles Lakers.[6] He also posted a career single-game high of 17 points twice, on February 11, 1968, against the Lakers and again on March 7 against the Bulls.[7]
After Thacker's fourth NBA season, on May 6, 1968, he was drafted by theMilwaukee Bucks in the NBA expansion draft.[5] However, he opted to play in theAmerican Basketball Association (ABA) for theIndiana Pacers. In 1968–69, playing just 18 games, he averaged 5.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, all career personal bests. In 1969–70, he played 70 games, averaging 2.7 points per game and helped the Pacers capture the ABA championship[8] in six games over theLos Angeles Stars. In his third and final ABA season of 1970–71, he played eight games and his seven-year professional career ended.[5]
He became the first African-American coach at the University of Cincinnati, leading the women's basketball program from 1974 to 1978.[9] Thacker was the second coach for theCincinnati Bearcats women's basketball team and would go on to have an 55–43 record over four seasons, leading three winning campaigns during his coaching time.
Thacker earned both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from the University of Cincinnati.[1] He is also a member of the Beta Eta chapter ofKappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
Thacker owns his own small business, Tom Thacker Enterprises, in Cincinnati.[10]
He has served as deputy director of the Cincinnati Urban League,[11] and he also served as a teacher with Cincinnati Public Schools. In 1986, he was inducted into the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame and, in 1989, into the Northern Kentucky Black Hall of Fame.[1]
He was inducted into theOhio Basketball Hall of Fame at the11th Annual Ceremony on May 21, 2016, in Columbus.
| 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 |
| † | Won anNBA championship |
| † | Denotes seasons in which Barnhill's team won anABA championship |
Source[5]
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963–64 | Cincinnati | 48 | 9.5 | .293 | .491 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 2.8 | |
| 1964–65 | Cincinnati | 55 | 8.5 | .333 | .489 | 2.3 | .7 | 2.5 | |
| 1965–66 | Cincinnati | 50 | 9.6 | .406 | .395 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 3.7 | |
| 1967–68† | Boston | 65 | 12.0 | .419 | .512 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 4.2 | |
| 1968–69 | Indiana (ABA) | 18 | 19.2 | .342 | .000 | .581 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 5.4 |
| 1969–70† | Indiana (ABA) | 70 | 14.5 | .330 | .256 | .551 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 2.7 |
| 1970–71 | Indiana (ABA) | 8 | 11.5 | .353 | .000 | 1.000 | 2.8 | .9 | 1.6 |
| Career (NBA) | 218 | 10.0 | .371 | .482 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 3.3 | ||
| Career (ABA) | 96 | 15.1 | .335 | .227 | .564 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 3.1 | |
| Career (overall) | 314 | 11.6 | .360 | .227 | .508 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 3.2 | |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Cincinnati | 6 | 7.2 | .261 | .250 | 2.2 | .5 | 2.2 | |
| 1965 | Cincinnati | 4 | 11.8 | .385 | .750 | 3.0 | .8 | 3.3 | |
| 1966 | Cincinnati | 4 | 11.5 | .318 | .750 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 4.3 | |
| 1968† | Boston | 17 | 4.8 | .292 | .286 | 1.0 | .5 | .9 | |
| 1969 | Indiana (ABA) | 16 | 24.4 | .308 | .000 | .596 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 6.3 |
| 1970† | Indiana (ABA) | 14 | 13.4 | .316 | .273 | .545 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 2.4 |
| Career (NBA) | 31 | 7.0 | .305 | .474 | 1.6 | .6 | 1.9 | ||
| Career (ABA) | 30 | 19.3 | .310 | .188 | .586 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 4.4 | |
| Career (overall) | 61 | 13.0 | .308 | .188 | .558 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 3.1 | |
· Basketball Reference