Ernie DiGregorio

Ernest "Ernie" DiGregorio, known as "Ernie D." (born January 15, 1951), is an American former National Basketball Association player. He was the 1973-74 NBA Rookie of the Year and holds the NBA rookie record for assists in a single game with 25. Due to a severe knee injury suffered early in DiGregorio's professional career, he played only five NBA seasons.

Career

DiGregorio played on the 1968 Rhode Island (Class B) champions at North Providence High School.

DiGregorio and Marvin Barnes lead Coach Dave Gavitt's Providence team to a Final Four appearance in the NCAA Tournament in DiGregorio's senior season, where they eventually lost to Memphis State, but only after Barnes sustained a knee injury that forced an early exit. After playing for the Providence College Friars, DiGregorio played on a college all-star team, and along with Bill Walton, led the U.S. in defeating a Soviet team in an exhibition game which helped heal the still-open wound of the United States' loss in the 1972 Summer Olympic finals debacle. Ernie "D" was then drafted by the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association but opted instead for the NBA.