Lennie Rosenbluth

Leonard Robert Rosenbluth (January 22, 1933 – June 18, 2022) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA), but he is remembered, first and foremost, for his college basketball player days. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels, where he was Helms Foundation Player of the Year, consensus first-team All-American (1957), second-team All-American – AP, UPI, INS (1956), third-team All-American – NEA, Collier's (1956), ACC Player of the Year (1957), and 3× first-team All-ACC (1955–1957).

Early life Rosenbluth was born in the Bronx on January 22, 1933. His family was Jewish. He was the son of Rose (Kaufman) and Jack Rosenbluth. He attended James Monroe High School in the Bronx, and Staunton Military Academy in Staunton, Virginia, for the 1952–53 school year. Rosenbluth played only eight games in high school.

In his senior season in 1957, Rosenbluth averaged 27.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game while leading the Tar Heels to a 32–0 record. His regular season performance earned him the Helms Hall of Fame "Collegiate Player of the Year" designation over the University of Kansas's Wilt Chamberlain. The Tar Heels went on to defeat Chamberlain's Jayhawks 54–53 in triple overtime for the NCAA Basketball Championship, North Carolina's first, which brought credibility to the fledgling Atlantic Coast Conference. Rosenbluth's scored 20 points in the championship final, was the tournament's overall top scorer at 28.0 ppg, and was named to the All-Tournament Team. He was also named the ACC Player of the Year

Rosenbluth was honored for his athletic achievements while at North Carolina. His No. 10 was retired by the Tar Heels.

Other honors Rosenbluth also received a number of other accolades and awards during his playing career:

Three-time All-ACC selections (1955–57)

Until 1992, Rosenbluth was the only collegian to be named NCAA National Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP, and NCAA regional MVP in the same season. His feat has since been matched by Christian Laettner of Duke University and UNC's Antawn Jamison.

Rosenbluth held several UNC records at the time of his death, including most points in a single season (897), and highest single-season average (28.0).

Professional career Rosenbluth was selected in the first round (6th overall selection) of the 1957 NBA draft by the Philadelphia Warriors. He ultimately played in 82 games for the Warriors, Throughout his two seasons in the NBA, Rosenbluth averaged 4.2 PPG and 1.8 rebounds per game.

Later life After retiring from professional basketball, Rosenbluth worked as a high school teacher and coach in Florida.

Career statistics

NBA Source

Regular season Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG Philadelphia 53 7.0 .343 .631 1.7 .4 4.4 Philadelphia 29 7.1 .297 .724 1.9 .2 3.7Career 82 7.0 .327 .655 1.8 .4 4.2

Playoffs Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG 1958 Philadelphia 4 2.8 .333 .667 .8 .0 2.0