1967–68 New Jersey Americans season

1967–68 New Jersey Americans season
Head coach	Max Zaslofsky
Arena	Teaneck Armory
Results
Record	36–42 (.462)
Place	Division: 5th (Eastern (ABA))
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference

The 1967–68 New Jersey Americans season was the first season of the franchise in the American Basketball Association (ABA). The Americans finished tied with the Kentucky Colonels for the fourth and final playoff spot. However, due to the Teaneck Armory being booked and the playing surface at Commack Long Island Arena (the future home of the team) being deemed unsuitable, the two teams did not play a one-game playoff, and thus the game was forfeited to the Colonels, giving them the last spot. The team would relocate to Long Island as the New York Nets before the next season started.

Draft

Player	School/Club Team
Sonny Dove	St. John's
Mal Graham	New York University
George Stone	Marshall
Dick Pruett	Jacksonville
Bob Wolf	Marquette
Tim Edwards	Amherst
Dan Hansard	St. Thomas (MN)
Frank Holloendoner	Georgetown
Harry Laurie	St. Peters (NJ)

Roster

1967–68 New Jersey Americans roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From C 20 Anderson, Dan 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1943-02-15 Augsburg G 33 Austin, Johnny 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1944-08-31 Boston College C 22, 41 Beard, Al 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1996-08-15 Norfolk State C 41 Caldwell, Jim 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1943-01-28 Georgia Tech G 40 Heyman, Art 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1941-06-24 Duke G 25 Jackson, Tony 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1942-11-07 St. John's F 41 Johnson, Stew 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1944-08-19 Murray State G 20, 40 Leibowitz, Barry 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1945-09-10 Long Island G 3 Lloyd, Bob 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1946-01-03 Rutgers F 32 Mathis, Johnny 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1943-07-14 Savannah State F 44 McIntyre, Bob 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1944-01-23 St. John's G 27 Nowell, Mel 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1939-12-27 Ohio State F 4 Simon, Walt 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1939-12-01 Benedict F 30 Spraggins, Bruce 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1939-08-31 Virginia Union G 40 Tart, Levern 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1942-06-01 Bradley F 22 Westbrook, Dexter 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1943 Providence F 44 Whitney, Hank 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1939-04-28 Iowa State

Head coach Max Zaslofsky Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Standings

Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Pittsburgh Pipers *	54	24	.692	—
Minnesota Muskies *	50	28	.641	4
Indiana Pacers *	38	40	.487	16
Kentucky Colonels *	36	42	.462	18
New Jersey Americans	36	42	.462	18

Record vs. opponents

1967–68 ABA Records
Team	ANA	DAL	DEN	HOU	IND	KEN	MIN	NJA	NOB	OAK	PIT
Anaheim	—	2–8	3–7	6–3	2–4	0–6	1–5	2–4	2–7	6–4	1–5
Dallas	8–2	—	4–5	8–2	3–3	5–1	2–4	3–3	4–6	7–2	2–4
Denver	7–3	5–4	—	6–3	4–2	2–4	2–4	5–1	5–5	7–3	2–4
Houston	3–6	2–8	3–6	—	3–3	3–3	3–3	3–3	0–10	7–3	2–4
Indiana	4–2	3–3	2–4	3–3	—	6–5	3–8	6–4	3–3	4–2	4–6
Kentucky	6–0	1–5	4–2	3–3	5–6	—	5–5	4–7	2–4	3–3	3–7
Minnesota	5–1	4–2	4–2	3–3	8–3	5–5	—	7–3	5–1	5–1	4–7
New Jersey	4–2	3–3	1–5	3–3	4–6	7–4	3–7	—	3–3	5–1	3–8
New Orleans	7–2	6–4	5–5	10–0	3–3	4–2	1–5	3–3	—	6–3	3–3
Oakland	4–6	2–7	3–7	3–7	2–4	3–3	1–5	1–5	3–6	—	0–6
Pittsburgh	5–1	4–2	4–2	4–2	6–4	7–3	7–4	8–3	3–3	6–0	—

Player statistics

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

Regular season statistics

As of March 20, 1968

New Jersey Americans statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Dan Anderson	78	—	33.7	.494	—	.697	11.0	1.2	—	—	14.7
John Austin	41	—	16.9	.387	.000	.721	1.6	1.4	—	—	7.7
Al Beard	12	—	9.8	.522	—	.545	3.8	.0	—	—	2.5
Jim Caldwell	12	—	21.8	.348	—	.455	7.1	.9	—	—	4.7
Art Heyman	19	—	23.1	.385	.176	.644	3.7	1.9	—	—	13.8
Tony Jackson	74	—	35.6	.383	.301	.829	6.8	1.9	—	—	19.4
Stew Johnson	55	—	21.7	.344	.302	.625	5.9	.8	—	—	8.6
Barry Leibowitz	24	—	29.5	.341	.000	.802	3.0	3.9	—	—	11.4
Bob Lloyd	58	—	17.2	.421	.375	.854	1.9	1.6	—	—	8.1
Johnny Mathis	51	—	12.9	.371	.000	.636	3.8	.5	—	—	3.4
Bob McIntyre	21	—	21.5	.374	.000	.586	4.8	.5	—	—	8.3
Mel Nowell	76	—	20.5	.402	.281	.826	2.5	2.0	—	—	9.6
Walt Simon	78	—	32.3	.453	.067	.635	6.7	2.7	—	—	13.3
Bruce Spraggins	70	—	22.7	.446	.400	.708	4.7	.9	—	—	12.2
Levern Tart	31	—	35.0	.410	.000	.829	3.9	3.3	—	—	19.0
Dexter Westbrook	7	—	8.4	.632	—	.778	1.3	.3	—	—	4.4
Hank Whitney	37	—	31.3	.393	—	.714	12.9	1.5	—	—	16.0

Awards and honors

1968 ABA All-Star Game selection (game played on January 9, 1968)

• Tony Jackson