Dave Downey

Last updated
Dave Downey
Dave Downey (NCAA 1963 program).jpg
Downey circa 1963
Personal information
Born (1941-10-28) October 28, 1941 (age 83)
Canton, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school Canton (Canton, Illinois)
College Illinois (1960–1963)
NBA draft 1963: 4th round, 30th overall pick
Drafted by San Francisco Warriors
Position Forward
Career highlights
  • Big Ten Medal of Honor (1963)
Stats at Basketball Reference   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

David John Downey (born October 28, 1941) is a former collegiate basketball player for the University of Illinois Fighting Illini basketball team. He is best known for setting the Illinois single-game scoring record with 53 points at Indiana on February 16, 1963.

Contents

Downey's 18.9 career scoring average ranks fourth in school history while his 11.0 career rebounding average ranks third, with his 790 career rebounds ranking seventh on the career list. Downey earned the 1963 Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor for excellence in both academics and athletics. He was drafted into the NBA in 1963 by the San Francisco Warriors; however, he never played a game in the league.

Downey was elected to the "Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team" in 2004.

Downey was the leading scorer for his hometown high school, Canton High School. His record was then broken by Kevin Rhodes. When asked about this accomplishment, Downey simply said, "It was only a matter of time until Kevin Rhodes broke my record."

Honors

Basketball

Statistics

SeasonGamesPointsPPGField GoalsAttemptsAvgFree ThrowsAttemptsAvgReboundsAvgBig Ten
Record
Overall
Record
1960–61 2440216.8157404.38988123.71526711.15–99–15
1961–62 2244520.2174385.45297130.74626912.27–715–8
1962–63 2651319.7201459.438111156.7122549.811–320–6
Totals72136018.95321248.426296409.72479011.023–1944–29

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References

  1. "FightingIllini.com" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-08-24. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  2. "IBCA Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  3. BasketballMuseumOfIllinois.com
  4. Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame
  5. Sports-Reference.com