1956-1960 Problems:

Jim Spivey: Jim Spivey is no relation to former Kentucky great Bill Spivey, but he was a tremendous player for Southeastern Oklahoma. That college name may ring a bell thanks to alumnus and rebound king, Dennis Rodman. The school only has record of Spivey's total career points. There is no breakdown, but I was still able gather his scoring and games played through additional research. Yet to be obtained are his remaining college statistics.

Small School Gems: To some degree, Raeford Wells, Ed Kazakavich, Ken Remley, Charles Sharp, and Dan Swartz have various holes in their college stats. If you feel there are any errors in the numbers, please contact me, stating the correction and your source of reference. Unfortunately the stats were built from the ground up and had no singular source, but are a collection of various sources.

Highlights:

Wayne Embry: Hall of Famer Wayne Embry (as a contributor, not a player) was a five time All-Star. As an African American he had several great ccomplishments: Embry was one of the first in all of professional sports to hold a front office position, the very first to be named NBA General Manager, and in 1994, he became the NBA's first black team president (as part of the Cleveland Cavaliers).

Quality Role Players: Role players during this time period were not tremendous as a whole, yet greatly improved over previous years with key players like Dave Piontek, Bucky Bockhorn, and Paul Neumann. This can be attributed to the death of the NIBL (National Industrial Basketball League) and ABL (American Basketball League). Both leagues were unable to compete financially as the NBA rose to prominence and became more attractive to players who might otherwise have gone elsewhere just five years prior.

I'm glad to bring this latest source of draft history out of my vault. Up next will be the release of 3rd and 4th round picks from 1961-1965.

Enjoy! Matthew Maurer