 DiGregorio playing for theBuffalo Braves | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1951-01-15)January 15, 1951 (age 74) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Listed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | North Providence (North Providence, Rhode Island) |
| College | Providence (1970–1973) |
| NBA draft | 1973: 1st round, 3rd overall pick |
| Drafted by | Buffalo Braves |
| Playing career | 1973–1978 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 15, 7 |
| Career history | |
| 1973–1977 | Buffalo Braves |
| 1977–1978 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1978 | Boston Celtics |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 2,997 (9.6 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 610 (2.0 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,594 (5.1 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
| Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Ernest DiGregorio (born January 15, 1951), also known as "Ernie D.", is an American former professionalbasketball player. He played in theNational Basketball Association (NBA) for theBuffalo Braves,Los Angeles Lakers, andBoston Celtics from 1973 to 1978.
DiGregorio was namedNBA Rookie of the Year in the1973–74 season and shares the NBA rookie record for assists in a single game with 25. Due to a severe knee injury suffered early in DiGregorio's professional career, he played only five NBA seasons.
A1973 NCAA All-American atProvidence, DiGregorio was inducted into theCollege Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
DiGregorio was born on January 15, 1951, inNorth Providence, Rhode Island.[1] At age 12, he decided to become a professional basketball player, and put in thousands of hours over the years to develop his skills.[2] He played on the 1968 Rhode Island (Class B) champions atNorth Providence High School.[3] He averaged 26points per game as a freshman and 37 as a senior.[4]
DiGregorio attendedProvidence College, graduating in 1973.[5] He played basketball under Hall of Fame head coachDave Gavitt.[6] DiGregorio,Marvin Barnes andKevin Stacom led the Providence team to a Final Four appearance in the1973 National Collegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA) Tournament in DiGregorio's senior season.[2] They eventually lost toMemphis State,[7] but only after Barnes sustained a knee injury that forced an early exit, after playing only 11 minutes in the game.[3][8] DiGregorio received the NCAA East Regional Most Outstanding Player honors.[9]
In the 1972-73 season, DiGregorio averaged 24.5 points per game and 8.6 assists per game (a school record as of 2024[10]), and wasEastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Player of the Year.[9] He received the 1973 Lapchick Award as the nation’s outstanding senior.[11] He was an All-American for each of his three varsity years at Providence,[9] and a first-team consensus All-American his senior year.[12] Over his three-year career, he averaged 20.5 points a game, and a school record 7.7 assists per game (as of 2024).[9][10][13]
Providence retired his number at halftime of a February 5, 2008 game againstDePaul, giving the fans DiGregoriobobblehead figures.[11]
After playing for the Providence, DiGregorio played on a college All-Star team, coached byBob Cousy, against a team from the Soviet Union in a six-game exhibition series. DiGregorio was considered the star of the series.[14] Among others, the U.S. team also included futureHall of Fame centerBill Walton,[15]Swen Nater (who replaced Walton after an injury in game 1), Providence teammate Marvin Barnes, future Hall of Fame playerBobby Jones,[16]Pat McFarland, andTom Henderson, who defeated the Soviet team in the bruising six-game exhibition series,[17][18] which helped heal the still-open wound of the United States' loss in the 1972 Summer Olympic finals.[citation needed]
The Soviet team included, among others,Aleksander Belov.[19] The American team won the first game 83–65, with DiGregorio and Nater the leading scorers (14 points each), and DiGregorio making crowd pleasing sharp passes.[18] In the fifth game, DiGregorio scored two baskets in 13 seconds to send the game into overtime, which the U.S. won 89–80. DiGregorio had 25 points and 11 assists, and Barnes scored 8 points in overtime.[17]
DiGregorio was drafted by theKentucky Colonels of theAmerican Basketball Association in the ABA's 1973 special circumstances draft[20] but opted instead for the NBA.
He was selected third overall by theBuffalo Braves (a franchise now known as the Los Angeles Clippers) in the1973 NBA draft, out of Providence College.[21] DiGregorio won theNBA Rookie of the Year Award in1973–74 after averaging 15.2 points, and leading the league in bothfree throw percentage (.902) and assists per game (8.2), while playing 35.9 minutes per game.[22][1][23] DiGregorio still holds the NBA rookie record for assists in a single game with 25 (a record now shared withNate McMillan).[24] The following year, he had a severe knee injury that cut short his future productivity and remaining career.[25]
He would never again come close to his 1973-74 level of production. He played only 31 games of the 1974-75 season, and 67 games the next year, playing only 20 minutes a game and averaging less than seven points a game. His coachJack Ramsay thought DiGregorio had lost speed and quickness after knee surgery, and made him the team's fourth guard; though DiGregorio disagreed with that assessment.[14] During DiGregorio's last full season with the Braves (1976–77), he was up to 28 minutes a game, and averaged 10.7 points and 4.7 assists per game.[1] He led the league in free throw percentage a second time, with a then-NBA record 94.5%.[1][citation needed] As of 2024, this is the 9th best seasonal percentage of all-time.[26]
In 1977, he joined fellow NBA starsJulius Erving,Rick Barry,Wilt Chamberlain, andPete Maravich,[citation needed] in endorsingSpalding's line of rubber basketballs, with a signature "Ernie D." ball making up part of the collection.[27][11]
Before the1977–78 season, the Brave's sold DiGregorio's contract rights to theLos Angeles Lakers, after Buffalo had acquired future Hall of Fame point guardNate "Tiny" Archibald; part of a greater plan of player transactions in Buffalo.[28][14] DiGregorio played in a Lakers' uniform, under coachJerry West (who had been hopeful about DiGregorio as his point guard), in only 25 games before being waived.[25][1][14]
TheBoston Celtics signed him as a free agent but he played only sparingly for the rest of the season.[25][1] He would not play in the NBA again, although he did not formally retire until 1981.[citation needed]
After 1978, he returned to Providence College to earn a degree.[3] In 1981, at only 30 years old, Celtic coachBill Fitch gave DiGregorio an opportunity to try out for the Celtics.[31] DiGregorio tried to make a comeback with the Nets in 1983.[22] He was a head coach for theRhode Island School for the Deaf.[11] He later became the head coach at his high school alma mater, North Providence High.[22] He was also a referee in the Continental Basketball Association for a year, and worked with an advertising firm in public relations. He later took a job at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut.[22] He has written children's books, worked in the community holding basketball clinics and advised young basketball players at local schools. He worked as Director of Operations for theBuffalo 716ers of theAmerican Basketball Association.[11][32]
| 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973–74 | Buffalo | 81 | — | 35.9 | .421 | — | .902* | 2.7 | 8.2* | 0.7 | 0.1 | 15.2 |
| 1974–75 | Buffalo | 31 | — | 23.0 | .440 | — | .778 | 1.5 | 4.9 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 7.8 |
| 1975–76 | Buffalo | 67 | — | 20.4 | .384 | — | .915 | 1.7 | 4.0 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 6.7 |
| 1976–77 | Buffalo | 81 | — | 28.0 | .417 | — | .945* | 2.3 | 4.7 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 10.7 |
| 1977–78 | L.A. Lakers | 25 | — | 13.3 | .410 | — | .800 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 3.9 |
| 1977–78 | Boston | 27 | — | 10.1 | .431 | — | .923 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 3.9 |
| Career | 312 | — | 25.2 | .415 | — | .902 | 2.0 | 5.1 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 9.6 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Buffalo | 6 | — | 40.0 | .430 | — | .889 | 2.7 | 8.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 13.7 |
| 1976 | Buffalo | 9 | — | 24.1 | .484 | — | 1.000 | 1.4 | 5.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 7.6 |
| Career | 15 | — | 30.5 | .453 | — | .941 | 1.9 | 6.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 10.0 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970–71 | Providence | 28 | — | 36.2 | .481 | — | .830 | 4.0 | 6.5 | — | — | 18.6 |
| 1971–72 | Providence | 27 | — | 38.0 | .436 | — | .802 | 3.0 | 7.9 | — | — | 17.7 |
| 1972–73 | Providence | 31 | — | 36.0 | .478 | — | .802 | 3.2 | 8.6 | — | — | 24.5 |
| Career | 86 | — | 36.7 | .468 | — | .812 | 3.4 | 7.7 | — | — | 20.5 | |