 Larese, circa 1960 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1938-07-18)July 18, 1938 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 6, 2016(2016-02-06) (aged 77) Medford, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 183 lb (83 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Saint Ann's Academy (New York City, New York) |
| College | North Carolina (1958–1961) |
| NBA draft | 1961: 2nd round, 20th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Chicago Packers |
| Playing career | 1961–1969 |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Number | 23, 34 |
| Career history | |
| As a player: | |
| 1961 | Chicago Packers |
| 1961–1962 | Philadelphia Warriors |
| 1962–1963 | Trenton Colonials |
| 1963–1964 | Williamsport Billies |
| 1964–1965 | Allentown Jets |
| 1965–1966 | Scranton Miners |
| 1966–1969 | Hartford Capitols |
| As a coach: | |
| 1969–1970 | New York Nets |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 302 (5.3 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 77 (1.3 rpg) |
| Assists | 94 (1.6 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
York Bruno Larese (July 18, 1938 – February 6, 2016) was an Americanbasketball player and coach.
Larese was born inNew York City and attended St. Ann's Academy (nowArchbishop Molloy High School) inQueens. A 6'4" (1.93 m) guard, he attended theUniversity of North Carolina, leading theAtlantic Coast Conference in foul shooting in 1959–60 with 86.8 percent, which stood as the single-season UNC mark for 25 years.[1] (That season included a 21-for-21 effort against Duke, which is still an ACC record.) Larese was twice selected third-team All-American (in 1958–59 and 1960–61).
Larese was one of the few players draftedtwice by the NBA (whose rules at the time permitted this). First, he was selected by theSt. Louis Hawks (nowAtlanta Hawks) in the1960 NBA draft, but chose to return to Chapel Hill; he was drafted again in1961, this time by theChicago Packers (now theWashington Wizards). Larese played eight games for Chicago before being waived on November 29, 1961; thePhiladelphia Warriors signed him as a free agent the next day. Larese played 60 games for the Warriors (51 in the regular season and nine in the playoffs), includingWilt Chamberlain's famous100-point game. (Larese scored nine points in that contest, and would often joke that he and Wilt scored 109 points between them.) After being cut by the Warriors, Larese began a seven-year career in theEastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL), winning a championship with theAllentown Jets in 1965.[2] He played from 1966 to 1969 with the EBA'sHartford Capitols, taking over as player/coach in 1968.
In1969, Larese moved up to the big-league basketball coaching ranks, taking the reins of theNew York Nets of theABA. The job was temporary, however; Larese agreed to coach the Nets for only one season, whileLou Carnesecca got out of his contract helmingSt. John's. After a 39–45 record and a fourth-place finish, Larese took a job with a shoe firm, Converse Rubber Co., on Long Island. In January 1971, Larese returned to Allentown to take over his old team, the Jets.[3] After leading Allentown to the EBA playoffs that spring, however, Larese found that coaching the Jets was taking too much time away from his executive position at the shoe company, and so resigned at the end of the year.
York Larese was married to Barbara (Connally) Trockman and father of two sons (Keith and York Jr.) and two daughters (Kimberly and Karen). He died on February 6, 2016, at the age of 77.[4]
| 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 |
Source[5]
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961–62 | Chicago | 8 | 7.1 | .476 | .556 | .8 | 1.1 | 3.1 |
| 1961–62 | Philadelphia | 51 | 12.7 | .366 | .841 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 5.4 |
| Career | 59 | 11.9 | .373 | .806 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 5.1 | |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Philadelphia | 9 | 8.7 | .314 | .667 | 2.1 | .6 | 3.3 |
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1969–70 | 84 | 39 | 45 | .464 | 4th in Eastern | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | Lost inDivision semifinals |
Source[6]