Thunderstorm Alex

Alex Thunderstorm
Alex Thunderstorm
	Alex groza
Finished his career
Position	Center
Nicknames	Beak ( The Beak )
Growth	201 cm
Weight	99 kg
Citizenship
Date of Birth	October 7, 1926
Place of Birth	Martins Ferry , Ohio , USA
Date of death	January 21, 1995 (68 years old)
Place of death	San Diego , California , USA
School	Martins Ferry (Martins Ferry, Ohio)
College	Kentucky (1944-1945, 1946-1949)
NBA draft	2nd (1st round), 1949 , Indianapolis Olympians
Statistics
Games	130
Glasses	2925 (average 22.5 per game)
Rebounds	709 ( 5.5 on average per game)
Gears	318 ( 2.4 on average per game)

Alexander John "Alex" Groza ( born Alexander John "Alex" Groza ; October 7, 1926 , Martins Ferry , Ohio , USA - January 21, 1995 , San Diego , California , USA ) is an American professional basketball player and coach who was remembered for his performances at student level as part of The Magnificent Five from Kentucky Wildcats . He played at the National Basketball Association for the Indianapolis Olympians club. His older brother Lou Grose is a 4-time NFL champion with the Cleveland Browns . Champion of the 1948 Summer Olympics in London . In 1951, he was suspended from life in the NBA for juggling game results.

Early years

Alex Groza was born on October 7, 1926 in the city of Martins Ferry ( Ohio ), he studied at the same school in which he played for the local basketball team. In its composition, he won the Ohio State Championship among school teams (1943-1944) for two years in a row.

Student career

In 1949 he graduated from the University of Kentucky , where for four years with a break (in 1945-1946 he had to interrupt his studies at the university for one year, since he was serving in the army at that time) he played for the Kentucky Wildcats basketball team, in which he spent a successful career under the guidance of a coach, a member of the basketball Hall of Fame , Adolf Rapp , gaining 1744 points in 120 games (an average of 14.5 per game). Under the Storm, Wild Cats won the regular season and tournament of the Southeast Conference (1945, 1947-1949) for four years, and also entered the playoffs of the US student championship (1948-1949) for two years in a row.

For two years in a row, the Kentucky Wildcats became champions of the National University Sports Association (NCAA) , and Alex Groza, being the team captain, became her top scorer for two years in a row and was recognized as the most outstanding player in this basketball tournament . On March 19, 1948, they reached the final of four NCAA tournaments ( Eng. Final Four ), where they first defeated the team of George Kaftan and Bob Cousey, Holy Cross Crusaders , with a score of 60-52, in which Groza became the best player of the match, gaining 23 points, and then in the final game, March 23, defeated the team of Jackie Robinson and Red Owens “ Baylor Beers ” with a score of 58–42, in which Alex also became the best player in the match, gaining 14 points. The following season, “Wild Cats” re-entered the final of four NCAA tournaments, where they first defeated Bill Erickson and Dwight Eddleman 's Illinois Fighting Illini 76–47 team in all semifinal matches, in which Groza became the best the player of the match, gaining 27 points, and then in the final game, March 26, beat the team of JJ El Parks and Bob Harris “ Oklahoma A&M Eggs ” with a score of 46-36, in which Alex again became the best player in the match, gaining only 25 points.

In addition, in 1947, Kentucky Wildcats basketball players became vice champions of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) , losing in the final match in a bitter struggle to the team of the University of Utah Utah with a score of 45–49. For three consecutive years, as part of Wild Cats, Alex joined the team of all the stars of the Southeast Conference (1948 and 1949 - 1st team, 1947 - 2nd), as well as three consecutive years - in the NCAA All-American team (1947 and 1949 - 1st team, 1948 - 2nd). Sweater number 15, under which Storm spoke for the Kentucky Wildcats, was withdrawn from circulation and hung out under the arches of the Rapp Arena , the basketball court on which the Wild Cats spend their home matches.

Professional career

He played in the center position. In 1949, Alex Groza was selected at the BAA Draft under number 2 by the Indianapolis Olympians team, who played at the National Basketball Association (NBA) , where he reunited with his student team partners Cliff Barker , Ralph Beard and Wallace Jones , in which he played his entire short professional career. In his debut season, he averaged 23.4 points per game and was named the NBA rookie of the year (the NBA still does not officially recognize the results of the vote until the 1952/53 season, since in 1948-1952 the rookie of the year was chosen by the authors of newspaper publications) . In total, the NBA spent 2 seasons. In 1951, he participated in the All-NBA All-Star Game . For two consecutive years he was included in the 1st national team of all NBA stars ( 1950 - 1951 ). In total, during his career in the NBA he played 130 games in which he scored 2925 points (an average of 22.5 per game), made 709 rebounds and 318 assists .

In 1951, he, along with several other former players at the University of Kentucky, was charged with rigging match results for the 1948/1949 season. NBA Commissioner Maurice Podolof imposed a lifelong ban on playing in the league.

Team Career

In 1948, Alex Groza became part of the US national team the Olympic champion of the Summer Olympic Games in London , the backbone of which was composed of basketball players of the so-called " Great Five " from the "Kentucky Wildcats", as well as the players of the Phillips 66 team from the Amateur Sports Association (AAU) .

Coaching career

After completing her professional career as a player, Alex Groza worked as the head coach of the Bellarmine Knights University student team at Bellarmine Knights ( Louisville , Kentucky ), winning with her in 1963 the championship title of the Kentucky Inter-University Sports Conference, in which she spoke, and Groza became the same year trainer of the year of the conference. Given that Alex received a life-long ban on any activity in the NBA, he decided to try his hand at the administrative field in the newly formed American Basketball Association (ABA) , which has nothing to do with the NBA. In 1966, Storm got a job as general manager in the Kentucky Colonels team, and in 1970 became her interim head coach, in which he had a positive dynamics of victories and defeats (2-0). In 1972, Alex moved to San Diego , where he continued his administrative activities, becoming the general manager of the San Diego Conquistadors club, replacing Wilt Chamberlain in this position, and before the start of the 1974/1975 season he became his head coach, having negative dynamics victories and defeats (15–23), in the middle of which he was dismissed from his post due to unsatisfactory team results, and Beryl Shipley was appointed in his place, in which the “Conquistadors” performed no better (16–30), eventually taking last place in the West division not , and without getting into the playoffs. The next season, the team changed its name to San Diego Sales , and Storm transferred to the position of club coach for player development, but on November 12, 1975, after eleven matches (3-8), it was disbanded due to insufficient support from fans.

Recent years and death

After the liquidation of the team, Storm remained in San Diego, where until his death he worked as a sales manager at Reynolds International . His wife was named Gene Watson, who bore him two sons and two daughters. Alex Thunderstorm died on Saturday, January 21, 1995 , from cancer in his 69th year of life.