1970–71 Kentucky Colonels season

1970–71 Kentucky Colonels season
1970–71 Kentucky Colonels season
Head coach	Gene Rhodes (10–5); Alex Groza (2–0); Frank Ramsey (32–35)
Arena	Freedom Hall
Results
Record	44–40 (.524)
Place	Division: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Lost in the ABA Finals
< 1969–70	1971–72 >

The 1970–71 Kentucky Colonels season was the fourth season of the Colonels in the American Basketball Association. University of Kentucky star Dan Issel was signed by the Colonels. Issel was given a 10-year contract worth $1.4 million, while playing all but one game in the whole season, leading to him being named Rookie of the Year, alongside averaging 29.9 points and 13.2 rebounds per game during the season. Despite a 10–5 record, Rhodes was fired during the season. After having business manager Alex Groza coach the team for 2 games, Frank Ramsey was hired to coach the rest of the season. In the Semifinals, the Colonels beat The Floridians 4 games to 2. In the Eastern Division Finals, they beat the Virginia Squires 4 games to 2. In the ABA Finals, they lost to the Utah Stars in seven games.

Roster

35 Darel Carrier – Shooting guard
25 Bobby Croft – Center
10 Louie Dampier – Point guard
32 Tom Hagan – Guard
4 Dennis Hamilton – Power forward
8 Dan Hester – Center
4 Les Hunter – Power forward
44 Dan Issel – Center
22 Goose Ligon – Power forward
9/24 Cincy Powell – Small forward
33/54 Mike Pratt – Shooting guard
2 Walt Simon – Small forward
5/50 Sam Smith – Small forward (ended up with the Stars prior to the end of the season)
42 Al Williams – Forward
3/45 Howie Wright – Shooting guard

Final standings

Eastern Division

Eastern Division	W	L	PCT	GB
Virginia Squires *	55	29	.655	–
Kentucky Colonels *	44	40	.524	11.0
New York Nets *	40	44	.476	15.0
The Floridians *	37	47	.440	18.0
Pittsburgh Condors	36	48	.429	19.0
Carolina Cougars	34	50	.405	21.0

Playoffs

Eastern Division Semifinals^[1]

Game	Date	Location	Score	Record	Attendance
1	April 2	Kentucky	116–112	1–0	3,182
2	April 4	Kentucky	120–110	2–0	3,881
3	April 6	Florida	102–120	2–1	4,126
4	April 8	Florida	117–129	2–2	4,268
5	April 10	Kentucky	118–101	3–2	4,996
6	April 12	Florida	112–103	4–2	4,478

Colonels win series, 4–2

Eastern Division Finals

Game	Date	Location	Score	Record	Attendance
1	April 15	Virginia	136–132	1–0	4,250
2	April 17	Virginia	122–142	1–1	5,000
3	April 19	Kentucky	137–150	1–2	4,777
4	April 21	Kentucky	128–110	2–2	5,221
5	April 23	Virginia	115–107	3–2	10,013
6	April 24	Kentucky	129–117	4–2	12,822

Colonels win series, 4–2

ABA Finals^[1]

Game	Date	Location	Score	Record	Attendance
1	May 3	Utah	117–136	0–1	12,051
2	May 5	Utah	125–138	0–2	13,208
3	May 7	Kentucky	116–110	1–2	12,337
4	May 8	Kentucky	129–125 (OT)	2–2	9,863
5	May 12	Utah	127–137	2–3	13,260
6	May 15	Kentucky	105–102	3–3	11,793
7	May 18	Utah	121–131	3–4	13,260

Colonels lose series, 4–3

Awards and honors

1971 ABA All-Star Game selections (game played on January 23, 1971)

Dan Issel
Cincy Powell
ABA Rookie of the Year
- Dan Issel (shared with Charlie Scott)
ABA All-Second Team
- Dan Issel (tied with Zelmo Beaty for the Center position)

References

^ ^a ^b "1970–71 ABA Regular Season Standings". Remembertheaba.com. Archived from the original on June 11, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2016.

Colonels on Basketball Reference

External links

This article related to sports in Louisville, Kentucky is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[remembertheaba.com-1] "1970–71 ABA Regular Season Standings". Remembertheaba.com. Archived from the original on June 11, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2016.

[1]