Dan Issel

Daniel Paul Issel ( born October 25, 1948 in Batavia, Illinois ) is a retired American professional basketball player and coach. He was at the Kentucky Center Colonels in the American Basketball Association and the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association. In 2003, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

College

Issel played for the University of Kentucky under legendary coach Adolph Rupp. He was from 1966 to 1970 in the UK, scoring 2,138 points (an average of 25.7 per game) and was nominated in two of three years as All American. On February 7, 1970 Issel scored 53 points in the 120-85 victory against the University of Mississippi, breaking the record of 51 points, the Cliff Hagen had set up.

ABA

1970 signed Issel at the Kentucky Colonels in the ABA. In his first season Issel was in the league with 29.9 points per game scorer and took 13.2 rebounds. He was promptly Rookie of the Year by such statistics. In his second season he reached 30.6 per game, was MVP and participated in the All- Star Game. 1975 won to then with the Colonels the championship.

NBA

In 1975, he signed in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets. The All -Star Game in 1977, he represented then the Nuggets. In his career, he reached a total of 27,000 points. In his time, so that only Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Julius Erving more points than he had achieved.

In 1985, Issel was honored for his involvement with the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.