Jesse Arnelle

Hugh Jesse Arnelle (December 30, 1933 – October 21, 2020) was an American basketball player and attorney.

Athletics Born in New Rochelle, New York, Arnelle played football and basketball for Penn State University. He led the basketball team to the 1954 NCAA Final Four. He was named an All-American that season. Arnelle was also named to the 1954 NCAA All-Tournament team and the East Regional Most Valuable Player. Arnelle finished his Penn State basketball career as the program's all-time leading scorer and rebounder with 2,138 points and 1,238 rebounds. He was selected by the Fort Wayne Pistons in the 2nd round (15th pick overall) of the 1955 NBA draft. He played for the 1955-56 Pistons in 31 games, averaging 4.7 ppg and 5.5 rpg, before breaking his nose in February 1956, ending his rookie season. His NBA career did not continue afterward. and in 1969 he moved to San Francisco and took the California bar exam. Arnelle worked as a trial lawyer in the public defenders office.

In 1987, Arnelle teamed with William Hastie to form the law firm of Arnelle & Hastie, San Francisco, (which later became Arnelle, Hastie, McGee, Willis and Green).

Arnelle has served on the board of directors of URS Corp. since January 2004.

Career statistics

NBA Source

Regular season YearTeamGPMPGFG%FT%RPGAPGPPG1955–56Fort Wayne 31 13.2 .317 .623 5.5 .6 4.7