York Larese

Summary

York Bruno Larese (July 18, 1938 – February 6, 2016) was an American basketball player and coach.

York Larese
Personal information
Born(1938-07-18)July 18, 1938
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedFebruary 6, 2016(2016-02-06) (aged 77)
Medford, Massachusetts, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight183 lb (83 kg)
Career information
High schoolSaint Ann's Academy
(New York City, New York)
CollegeNorth Carolina (1958–1961)
NBA draft1961: 2nd round, 20th overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Packers
Playing career1961–1969
PositionShooting guard
Number23, 34
Career history
As player:
1961Chicago Packers
1961–1962Philadelphia Warriors
1962–1963Trenton Colonials
1963–1964Williamsport Billies
1964–1965Allentown Jets
1965–1966Scranton Miners
1966–1969Hartford Capitols
As coach:
1969–1970New York Nets
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points302 (5.3 ppg)
Rebounds77 (1.3 rpg)
Assists94 (1.6 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Amateur career edit

Larese was born in New York City and attended St. Ann's Academy (now Archbishop Molloy High School) in Queens. A 6'4" (1.93 m) guard, he attended the University of North Carolina, leading the Atlantic 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).

Pro career edit

Larese was one of the few players drafted twice by the NBA (whose rules at the time permitted this). First, he was selected by the St. Louis Hawks (now Atlanta Hawks) in the 1960 NBA draft, but chose to return to Chapel Hill; he was drafted again in 1961, this time by the Chicago Packers (now the Washington Wizards). Larese played eight games for Chicago before being waived on November 29, 1961; the Philadelphia 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), including Wilt Chamberlain's famous 100-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 the Eastern League, winning a championship with the Allentown Jets in 1965. He played from 1966 to 1969 with the EBA's Hartford Capitols, taking over as player/coach in 1968.

Coaching career edit

In 1969, Larese moved up to the big-league basketball coaching ranks, taking the reins of the New York Nets of the ABA. The job was temporary, however; Larese agreed to coach the Nets for only one season, while Lou Carnesecca got out of his contract helming St. 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.[2] 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.

Personal life edit

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.[3]

Career playing statistics edit

Legend
  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

NBA edit

Source[4]

Regular season edit

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

Playoffs edit

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1962 Philadelphia 9 8.7 .314 .667 2.1 .6 3.3

Head coaching record edit

Legend
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 in Division semifinals

Source[5]

References edit

  1. ^ "York Larese Bio – University of North Carolina Tar Heels Official Athletic Site". www.goheels.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-04.
  2. ^ "Larese Replaces Raskin As Allentown Jets Coach". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. 23 January 1971. p. 13. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  3. ^ "YORK B. LARESE Obituary (1938–2016) Boston Globe". Legacy.com.
  4. ^ "York Larese NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  5. ^ "York Larese ABA Coaching Stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 20 January 2024.

External links edit

  • BasketballReference.com: York Larese (as player)
  • BasketballReference.com: York Larese (as coach)