Connie Dierking

Conrad William Dierking (October 2, 1936 – December 29, 2013) was an American professional basketball player from 1958 to 1971.

Early life Connie Dierking was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up on Long Island, where he starred in basketball for Central High School in Valley Stream, New York.

University of Cincinnati The 6'9" center then attended the University of Cincinnati, where he continued to excel, setting the Bearcats' single-season record of 18.8 rebounds per game, which still stands. He also set the Bearcats' single-game record of 33 rebounds. He led the team in scoring in 1956–57 with 18.5 points per game, and he averaged a double-double of 15.8 points and 14.9 rebounds per game in 1957–58, leading the Bearcats to the Missouri Valley Conference championship.

NBA career He was drafted in the first round of the 1958 NBA draft as the fifth overall pick by the Syracuse Nationals. He played two seasons for the Nationals, with per-game averages of 4.6 and 6.9 points and 3.6 and 6.4 rebounds, respectively. For the season, he averaged 7.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.

During the 1970–71 season, he played one game for the Royals and was traded along with Fred Foster to the 76ers for Darrall Imhoff and a future draft pick. He played 53 games for the 76ers in what would be his final season.

Career statistics

NBA Source

Regular season Year Team GP GS MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG Syracuse 64 11.3 .362 .593 3.6 .5 4.6 Syracuse 71 15.8 .365 .574 6.4 .8 6.9 Philadelphia 76 16.9 .372 .675 5.6 .7 6.5 Philadelphia 38 19.2 .389 .651 6.3 1.1 7.8 San Francisco 30 18.8 .427 .541 6.5 1.0 8.0 Cincinnati 57 13.7 .416 .610 4.3 .8 5.6 Cincinnati 77 24.7 .399 .744 7.8 2.1 9.3 Cincinnati 81 32.6 .467 .765 9.5 2.4 16.4 Cincinnati 82 31.0 .443 .762 9.0 2.7 16.3 Cincinnati 76 32.2 .419 .752 8.2 2.2 16.7 Cincinnati 1 23.0 .188 – 7.0 1.0 6.0 Philadelphia 53 5 13.5 .399 .685 4.3 1.1 5.8Career 706 5 21.9 .417 .697 6.7 1.5 10.0

Playoffs Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG 1959 Syracuse 4 8.5 .167 .778 4.3 .5 2.8 1960 Syracuse 3 10.7 .300 .000 5.0 .3 4.0 1964 Philadelphia 5 14.2 .424 .556 6.0 1.0 6.6 1966 Cincinnati 4 16.0 .500 .900 3.8 .3 6.8 1967 Cincinnati 4 37.8 .427 1.000 13.0 3.5 17.5Career 20 17.6 .399 .771 6.5 1.2 7.7