| |
GUS JOHNSON
Gus graduated from Akron Central High School in 1958 where he was All City, All District and All Ohio. He attended college at Boise Jr. College and Idaho State. He is in the Idaho State Hall of Fame. Gus played 11 years as a professional and was five times an All Pro. He played with Baltimore (1963-1972), Phoenix (1972-1973), and Atlanta (1972-1973). He scored 9,944 points in 581 games averaging 17.1 points per game. His rebounding total was 7,379. Gus made 44% of his field goal attempts and 69.9% of his free throws. In addition to his regular NBA seasons he played 50 games in the ABA, 34 playoff games in the NBA, 17 playoff games in the ABA and the 5 NBA All-Star Games. Gus passed away in April of 1987 at 53 years of age.
Gus credited his high school coach, Joe Siegferth, at Akron Central with encouraging him and developing his skills. Joe said, "There wasn't anything he couldn't do. He would go sky high and hold himself up there for the longest time. He set up plays for us and, of course, scored." With Baltimore his forte was rebounding. How he could go up. The leap. The outlet pass. Two points for Baltimore. "He was such a gifted
|
|
