Red Rocha

Ephraim Joseph "Red" Rocha (September 18, 1923 – February 13, 2010 ) was an American professional basketball player and coach.

Basketball

A 6'9" center from Oregon State University, he earned All-Pacific Coast Conference honors in 1945, 1946, and 1947. He was also selected as a 1947 All-American.

Rocha played in the Basketball Association of America (BAA)and National Basketball Association (NBA) in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He represented the Baltimore Bullets in the 1951 NBA All-Star Game, the first NBA All-Star Game. The first person from Hawaii to play in the NBA, Rocha still shares, with former teammate Paul Seymour, the NBA record for most minutes in a playoff game with 67.

After his playing days he became a coach, including head coach of the Detroit Pistons from 1958 to 1960. Rocha then became head coach for the University of Hawaii men's basketball team. At UH, he assembled what is known today as the "Fabulous Five" during the 1970 to 1972 seasons. In 1970, the team advanced to postseason play for the first time in school history. Red also co-founded the Rainbow Classic — an eight-team collegiate men's basketball tournament, with UH hosting the tournament.

Later years He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1980, and into the Oregon State University Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. Ephraim "Red" Rocha died from cancer on February 13, 2010, in Corvallis, Oregon, at the age of 86.

BAA/NBA career statistics

Regular season Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG 1947–48 St. Louis 48 – .314 .690 – .8 12.7 1948–49 St. Louis 58 – .389 .768 – 2.7 10.5 St. Louis 65 – .405 .703 – 2.4 11.8 Baltimore 64 – .352 .809 8.0 2.3 13.1 Syracuse 66 38.5 .401 .770 8.3 1.9 12.9 Syracuse 69 35.6 .388 .755 7.4 2.0 11.2 † Syracuse 72 34.3 .368 .782 6.8 2.5 11.3 Syracuse 72 26.2 .361 .783 5.8 1.8 10.0 Fort Wayne 72 16.0 .349 .757 3.8 1.1 5.3Career 586 29.9 .370 .759 6.6 2.0 10.9

Playoffs Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG 1948 St. Louis 7 – .246 .733 – .9 11.4 1949 St. Louis 2 – .444 .800 – 3.0 18.0 Syracuse 7 39.4 .432 .725 6.9 1.4 17.0 Syracuse 2 53.5 .385 .786 8.5 3.5 15.5 † Syracuse 11 33.7 .418 .759 6.7 1.3 12.4 Syracuse 8 23.6 .338 .846 6.5 1.9 8.5 Fort Wayne 2 9.0 .000 .667 3.0 .0 2.0Career 39 32.0 .360 .758 6.6 1.5 12.2

Head coaching record