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1975–76 Kentucky Colonels season

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1975–76 Kentucky Colonels season
Head coachHubie Brown
ArenaFreedom Hall
Results
Record46–38 (.548)
PlaceDivision: 4th
Conference: 4th
Playoff finishABA Semifinals
(lost to the Nuggets 3–4)
< 1974–75

The 1975–76 American Basketball Association season saw the defending champion Kentucky Colonels finish in fourth place in the ABA, defeat the Indiana Pacers 2 games to 1 in the first round of the 1976 ABA Playoffs, and lose to the regular season champion Denver Nuggets 4 games to 3 in the ABA Semifinals. The 1975–76 season was the Colonels' ninth and last, as Kentucky was one of two ABA teams left out of the 1976 ABA-NBA merger.

Offseason

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Draft picks

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Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 2 Jim Baker University of Hawaii
3 4 Allen Murphy University of Louisville
3 5 Eric Fernsten University of San Francisco
4 3 John Laskowski Indiana University
5 3 Charles Cleveland University of Alabama
6 3 Mike Rozenski St. Mary's (California)
6 3 Randy Meister Penn State
8 3 Lou Silver Harvard University

Preseason transactions

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Prior to the season, ABA Commissioner Dave DeBusschere, urged on by Colonels owner John Y. Brown, Jr., challenged the NBA to a world championship series between the ABA champion Kentucky Colonels and NBA champion Golden State Warriors in which the winner would get $1 million. NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy promptly declined.[1]

Star center Dan Issel was sold to the Baltimore Claws for $500,000, and soon ended up with the Denver Nuggets.[2]

Gene Rhodes was named vice president of operations and David Vance was named general manager.[3]

Preseason exhibition games

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Like most ABA teams, the Colonels played several preseason exhibition games against NBA opponents. The Colonels opened up the season's ABA vs. NBA action on October 1, 1975, in Cincinnati, Ohio, against the NBA's Chicago Bulls. The Colonels beat the Bulls 95–86.[4]

Three nights later on October 4, 1975, the Colonels met the NBA's New York Knicks at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. Louie Dampier scored 23 for the Colonels but New York's Earl Monroe led all scorers with 26 as the Knicks won 107–102.[5]

The next night the Colonels returned to Cincinnati to host the Detroit Pistons. Bob Lanier led the Pistons with 17 points but Artis Gilmore had 22 and Travis Grant added 17 and the game winning score, a jump shot with 4 seconds left in game, to lead Kentucky to a 114–113 victory.[6]

On October 8, 1975, the reigning champions of the ABA and NBA met at Freedom Hall in Louisville. 8,806 fans turned out to see the Golden State Warriors face the Colonels. Marv Roberts scored 20 points and former ABA player Rick Barry was held to 9 points on 3 of 11 shooting from the floor, including an airball with 31 seconds left in the game. Artis Gilmore had 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Colonels to a 93–90 victory against the NBA champions.[7]

Two nights later on October 10, 1975, the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks visited Louisville and lost to the Colonels 96–91.[8]

On October 12, 1975, the Kentucky Colonels traveled to Michigan to face the Detroit Pistons again. The game went to overtime. Despite Bird Averitt's 21 points the Pistons won the overtime game, 115–107.[9]

Two nights later on October 14, 1975, the NBA's Buffalo Braves came to Louisville and were defeated by the Colonels, 120–116.[10]

On October 17, 1975, the Philadelphia 76ers traveled to Cincinnati to face the Colonels. Former ABA player George McGinnis had 25 points but so did Artis Gilmore. Kentucky won, 112–110.[11]

Two nights later on October 19, 1975, the Colonels hosted the Washington Bullets in Lexington, Kentucky. Led by Artis Gilmore's 23 points, the Colonels won 121–111. This was the penultimate ABA-NBA matchup; two nights later in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Utah Stars 106–101.[12]

Overall in the 1975-76 preseason the ABA went 30–18 against NBA teams.[13]

Regular season

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Roster

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1975–76 Kentucky Colonels roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
SG 14 Bird Averitt 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) July 22, 1952 Pepperdine
PF 32 Jimmie Baker 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) December 25, 1953 Hawaiʻi
SG 21 Jimmy Dan Conner 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) March 20, 1953 Kentucky
PG 10 Louie Dampier 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) November 20, 1944 Kentucky
C 53 Artis Gilmore 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 240 lb (109 kg) September 21, 1949 Jacksonville
SF 5 Travis Grant 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) January 1, 1950 Kentucky State
C 3 Caldwell Jones 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 217 lb (98 kg) August 4, 1950 Albany State
SF 22 Wil Jones 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) February 27, 1947 Albany State
SG 43 Kevin Joyce 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) June 27, 1951 South Carolina
PF 25 Maurice Lucas 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) February 18, 1952 Marquette
SG 24 Ted McClain 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) August 30, 1946 Tennessee State
C 45 Jim McDaniels 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 228 lb (103 kg) April 2, 1948 Western Kentucky
SG 20 Allen Murphy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) July 15, 1952 Louisville
SG 31 Johnny Neumann 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) September 11, 1951 Mississippi
C 25 Tom Owens 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) June 28, 1949 South Carolina
SF 31 Marv Roberts 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) January 29, 1950 Utah State
PF 42 Ron Thomas 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) November 19, 1950 Louisville
SF 5 Jan van Breda Kolff 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) December 16, 1951 Vanderbilt
Head coach

Hubie Brown

Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster

Season standings

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Team W L PCT. GB
Denver Nuggets * 60 24 .714 —
New York Nets * 55 29 .655 5
San Antonio Spurs * 50 34 .595 10
Kentucky Colonels * 46 38 .548 14
Indiana Pacers * 39 45 .464 21
Spirits of St. Louis 35 49 .417 25
Virginia Squires † 15 68 .181 44
San Diego Sails † 3 8 .273 —
Utah Stars † 4 12 .250 —
Baltimore Claws † 0 0 .000 —

Asterisk (*) denotes playoff team
† did not survive the end of the season.
Bold – ABA champions[14]

Game log

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1975–76 game log
November
Game Date Team Score High points Location
Attendance		 Record
December
Game Date Team Score High points Location
Attendance		 Record
January
Game Date Team Score High points Location
Attendance		 Record
February
Game Date Team Score High points Location
Attendance		 Record
March
Game Date Team Score High points Location
Attendance		 Record
April
Game Date Team Score High points Location
Attendance		 Record
1975–76 season schedule

Month by Month

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October 1975

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November 1975

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December 1975

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January 1976

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February 1976

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March 1976

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Playoffs

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Quarterfinals[15]

Game Date Location Score Record Attendance
1 April 8 Kentucky 120–109 1–0 3,288
2 April 10 Indiana 95–109 1–1 5,850
3 April 12 Kentucky 100–99 2–1 5,267

Colonels win series, 2–1

Semifinals

Game Date Location Score Record Attendance
1 April 15 Denver 107–110 0–1 15,234
2 April 17 Denver 138–119 1–1 16,384
3 April 19 Kentucky 126–114 2–1 9,644
4 April 21 Kentucky 106–108 2–2 11,444
5 April 22 Denver 117–127 2–3 17,068
6 April 25 Kentucky 119–115 (OT) 3–3 6,312
7 April 28 Denver 110–133 4–3 18,821

Nuggets win series, 4–3

Player statistics

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Legend

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Season

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Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG

Playoffs

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Awards and records

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Awards

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Records

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On December 18, 1975, the Colonels had their smallest crowd ever, 2,761, for a 115–102 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.[19]

On April 28, 1976, the Colonels were the opponent, in the ABA Semifinals, when the Denver Nuggets set their franchise's attendance record, with 18,821 present for the Nuggets' 133–110 win in Game 7.[20]

Transactions

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Aftermath

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With the conclusion of the 1975–76 ABA season, negotiations to finalize the ABA-NBA merger began. On June 17, 1976, Colonels owner John Y. Brown Jr. agreed to fold the Colonels in exchange for $3 million from the ABA teams entering the NBA. The Colonels' players were put into a dispersal draft along with the players from the Spirits of St. Louis. The Chicago Bulls took Artis Gilmore for $1.1 million; the Portland Trail Blazers took Maurice Lucas for $300,000; the Buffalo Braves took Bird Averitt for $125,000; the Indiana Pacers took Wil Jones for $50,000; the New York Nets took Jan Van Breda Kolff for $60,000 and the San Antonio Spurs took Louie Dampier for $20,000. Brown took the money he received for the Colonels and used part of it to purchase the NBA's Buffalo Braves, which he later parlayed into ownership of the Boston Celtics.[26]

References

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  1. ^ Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2016-01-21 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2016-01-21 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2016-01-21 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2009-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2009-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2009-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2009-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2009-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2009-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2009-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2009-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2009-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2009-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ 1975-76 ABA Season Summary - Basketball-Reference.com
  15. ^ "1975-76 ABA Regular Season Standings". Remembertheaba.com. Archived from the original on November 29, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  16. ^ Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2016-01-21 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2016-01-21 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2016-01-21 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ 1975-76 Game Log, RememberTheABA.com
  20. ^ 1975-76 Game Log, RememberTheABA.com
  21. ^ Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2016-01-21 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2016-01-21 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2016-01-21 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2016-01-21 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ^ Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2016-01-21 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ Kentucky Colonels Year to Year Notes 1975–76 at RememberTheABA.com Archived 2016-01-21 at the Wayback Machine
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