1967–68 New Jersey Americans season

1967–68 New Jersey Americans season
Head coachMax Zaslofsky
ArenaTeaneck Armory
Results
Record36–42 (.462)
PlaceDivision: 5th (Eastern (ABA))
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
1968–69 >

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.[1][2]

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)[3]

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

Roster

Standings

Game log

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[4]

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)

References

  1. ^ "1967-68 New Jersey Americans Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  2. ^ "Remember the ABA: New Jersey Americans". www.remembertheaba.com.
  3. ^ "1967 ABA Draft". basketballreference.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  4. ^ "1967-68 New Jersey Americans Roster and Stats - Regular season". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2021.