Collis Temple

Collis Temple

Temple at the 2011 banquet of the Kentwood, Louisiana Rotary Club
Personal information
Born	(1952-11-08) November 8, 1952 (age 72) Kentwood, Louisiana, U. S.
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school	O.W. Dillon (Kentwood, Louisiana)
College	LSU (1971–1974)
NBA draft	1974: 6th round, 94th overall pick
Drafted by	Phoenix Suns
Position	Small forward
Number	40
Career history
1974–1975	San Antonio Spurs
1975	Iberia Superstars
Stats at Basketball Reference

Collis Temple Jr. (born November 8, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs in the American Basketball Association (ABA). He played college basketball for the LSU Tigers.

Career

College

The Kentwood, Louisiana native was the first African-American to play varsity basketball at Louisiana State University (LSU). When he joined the team in 1971, the Louisiana National Guard was called to protect him from angry segregationists. ^[1] In the fourth season of the Slate podcast Slow Burn, Temple shared his experiences interacting with a young David Duke while they were both students at LSU. ^{[2] [3]}

As a senior, Temple earned All-Southeastern Conference honors after averaging 15.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. ^[4] In 2017, Temple was elected to the Louisiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional

Temple was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 94th pick of the 1974 NBA draft. He spent one season (1974–75) with the San Antonio Spurs. He averaged 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds in 24 games. ^[5] In February 1975, he joined the Iberia Superstars of the European Professional Basketball League. ^[6]

Personal

Temple has three sons and one daughter. Collis III and Garrett Temple both played at LSU. ^[1] His daughter-in-law is Miss USA 2017 winner Kára Temple. ^[7]

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

ABA

Source ^[5]

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1974–75	San Antonio	24	4.3	.415	.000	.800	1.3	.6	.2	.2	1.8

References

1. Mark Schlabach. "LSU's First Black Player Revels in Legacy's Growth". Washington Post. March 30, 2006. Retrieved on February 11, 2010.
2. Spears, Marc J. (February 8, 2017). "Inside Collis Temple's historic struggle as LSU's first black basketball player". Andscape . Retrieved January 15, 2021.
3. "How David Duke Used the Ku Klux Klan, and How the Klan Made Him". Slate Magazine. June 10, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
4. Collis Temple Jr. LSUSports.net. Retrieved on February 11, 2010.
5. "Collis Temple ABA statistics". Basketball Reference . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
6. "El "Iberia Superstars" hoy en Mataró" [The "Iberia Superstars" now in Mataró] (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. February 25, 1975. p. 40. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
7. @KaraMcCullough (May 8, 2021). "My dope a🤭🤭 father-in-law" (Tweet) – via Twitter.