1971–72 Denver Rockets season

1971–72 Denver Rockets season
Head coach	Alex Hannum
Arena	Denver Auditorium Arena
Results
Record	34–50 (.405)
Place	Division: 4th (Western)
Playoff finish	Division Semifinals (lost to Pacers 3–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference

The 1971–72 ABA season was the fifth season of the Denver Rockets. It would also be the final season where the team was owned by J. William Ringsby and his son Donald W. Ringsby, who both decided to help rebrand the Rockets franchise in order to separate themselves from the local Ringsby Rocket Truck Lines business association by replacing the original team logo (which was a modification of the Ringsby Rocket Truck Lines logo) with that of a cartoony-looking rocket and changing their team colors entirely. The team finished the season with a 34–50 record, but still managed to qualify for the fourth and final playoff spot in the five-team Western Division by eight games over the Memphis Pros in what later became their final season under that team name. Denver would go the distance with the Pacers before ultimately falling short against them, with the Pacers going on to be the eventual ABA champions for the second time in three seasons. After the season ended, the father-son Ringsby duo would end up selling the Denver Rockets franchise to Frank Goldberg and Bud Fischer to help further distance the team from the original association with the Ringsby Rocket Truck Lines business in mind.

Roster

1971–72 Denver Rockets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From PF 40 Byron Beck 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) January 25, 1945 Denver PF 14 Arthur Becker 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) January 12, 1942 Arizona State PG 11 Larry Brown 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) September 14, 1940 North Carolina SF 20 Frank Card 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) December 28, 1944 South Carolina State SF 22 Julian Hammond 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) May 27, 1943 Tulsa PF 13 Julius Keye 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 200 lb (91 kg) September 5, 1946 Alcorn State F 23 Steve Mix 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) December 30, 1947 Toledo PF 31 Marv Roberts 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) January 29, 1950 Utah State C 25 Dave Robisch 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) December 22, 1949 Kansas SG 44 Ralph Simpson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) August 10, 1949 Michigan State PG 10 Al Smith 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) January 15, 1947 Bradley F 24 Dwight Waller 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) October 5, 1945 Tennessee State PG 21 Chuck Williams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) June 6, 1946 Colorado SG 12 Steve Wilson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) October 16, 1948 Hanover

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

Season standings

Eastern Division

Team	W	L	%	GB
Kentucky Colonels	68	16	.810	-
Virginia Squires	45	39	.536	23
New York Nets	44	40	.524	24
The Floridians	36	48	.429	32
Carolina Cougars	35	49	.417	33
Pittsburgh Condors	25	59	.298	43

Western Division

Team	W	L	%	GB
Utah Stars	60	24	.714	-
Indiana Pacers	47	37	.560	13
Dallas Chaparrals	42	42	.500	18
Denver Rockets	34	50	.405	26
Memphis Pros	26	58	.310	34

Playoffs

Western Division semifinals

Game	Date	Location	Score	Record	Attendance
1	March 31	Indiana	95-102	0-1	6,103
2	April 1	Indiana	106-105	1-1	6,521
3	April 4	Denver	120-122 (OT)	1-2	5,304
4	April 6	Denver	112-96	2-2	6,109
5	April 8	Indiana	79-91	2-3	9,428
6	April 9	Denver	106-99	3-3	5,815
7	April 13	Indiana	89-91	3-4	8,643

Rockets lose 4-3

Game log

• 1971-72 Denver Rockets Schedule and Results | Basketball-Reference.com

Statistics

Rk	Player	Age	G	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	2P	2PA	2P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	TOV	PF	PTS
1	Ralph Simpson	22	84	35.8	11.0	23.8	.460	0.0	0.3	.136	10.9	23.5	.464	5.4	6.8	.805	2.0	2.7	4.7	3.1	3.2	2.9	27.4
2	Julius Keye	25	84	30.4	2.3	5.7	.403	0.0	0.0	.000	2.3	5.6	.405	1.3	2.1	.621	3.8	7.9	11.7	1.8	1.7	4.1	5.9
3	Dave Robisch	22	84	28.8	6.0	13.5	.444	0.0	0.1	.000	6.0	13.5	.446	3.5	5.0	.702	3.4	6.2	9.6	2.4	1.3	3.0	15.5
4	Byron Beck	27	66	27.5	5.1	10.1	.504	0.0	0.0	.000	5.1	10.1	.506	2.1	2.5	.843	2.6	5.4	8.0	2.1	1.5	3.2	12.3
5	Larry Brown	31	76	26.5	3.2	7.3	.437	0.1	0.3	.200	3.1	7.0	.448	2.6	3.2	.811	0.7	1.5	2.2	7.2	2.9	2.7	9.1
6	Arthur Becker	30	84	26.1	5.2	11.4	.456	0.0	0.0	.000	5.2	11.3	.457	2.0	2.3	.846	2.0	3.6	5.6	1.3	1.6	3.2	12.3
7	Al Smith	25	83	21.3	3.5	8.1	.433	0.4	1.3	.299	3.1	6.8	.458	1.8	2.5	.725	1.0	1.7	2.7	3.0	2.0	2.9	9.3
8	Frank Card	27	73	19.8	3.1	6.8	.455	0.0	0.0	.000	3.1	6.8	.455	1.5	2.4	.651	1.9	2.6	4.5	1.1	1.6	2.8	7.7
9	Chuck Williams	25	84	18.8	3.1	6.9	.451	0.0	0.0	.000	3.1	6.9	.454	2.4	3.3	.745	0.7	1.1	1.9	1.9	1.2	1.7	8.7
10	Julian Hammond	28	25	16.4	2.6	5.6	.471	0.0	0.0		2.6	5.6	.471	1.2	2.0	.620	1.9	2.7	4.6	1.2	1.2	1.9	6.5
11	Marv Roberts	22	68	15.4	3.2	7.8	.407	0.0	0.1	.250	3.2	7.8	.408	1.3	1.8	.717	1.8	2.5	4.3	0.9	1.1	2.2	7.7
12	Dwight Waller	26	2	5.0	1.0	2.0	.500	0.0	0.0		1.0	2.0	.500	0.0	0.0		0.5	2.0	2.5	0.5	0.5	1.5	2.0
13	Steve Mix	24	1	4.0	1.0	1.0	1.000	0.0	0.0		1.0	1.0	1.000	0.0	0.0		1.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	2.0
14	Stephen Wilson	23	9	4.0	0.6	2.6	.217	0.0	0.2	.000	0.6	2.3	.238	0.4	0.8	.571	0.3	0.1	0.4	0.7	0.3	1.0	1.6

Awards and honors

• All-ABA 2nd Team: Ralph Simpson
• ABA All-Stars: Ralph Simpson, Arthur Becker