Dave Twardzik

Last updated

Dave Twardzik
Dave Twardzik.jpg
Personal information
Born (1950-09-20) September 20, 1950 (age 73)
Hershey, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school Middletown Area
(Middletown, Pennsylvania)
College Old Dominion (1969–1972)
NBA draft 1972: 2nd round, 26th overall pick
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career1972–1980
Position Point guard
Number13
Career history
19721976 Virginia Squires
19761980 Portland Trail Blazers
Career highlights and awards
Career ABA and NBA statistics
Points 4,977 (9.3 ppg)
Rebounds 1,286 (2.4 rpg)
Assists 1,823 (3.4 apg)
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

David John Twardzik (born September 20, 1950) is an American former professional basketball player. He was a point guard in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is best known for being a key starting guard on the Portland Trail Blazers team that won the 1977 NBA Finals.

Twardzik at Old Dominion. Dave Twardzik ODU.jpg
Twardzik at Old Dominion.

Twardzik grew up in Middletown, Pennsylvania, and played collegiately at Old Dominion University, where he was a two-time All-American and led the Monarchs to the 1971 NCAA Division II title game. He was drafted by the Trail Blazers in 1972, but elected to play for the Virginia Squires of the ABA. Twardzik played for the Squires for four seasons until the team (and the ABA) came to an end, folding just prior to the ABA-NBA merger in June 1976. After the ABA-NBA merger Twardzik signed with the Blazers as a free agent. [1] He would be the starting two-guard of the Blazers team which won the NBA title in 1977. He played for four seasons total in Portland, and retired at the end of the 1979–80 season because of injury. His jersey number (13) was retired by the team.

After his retirement from playing, he began an NBA coaching and front-office career. He served in Portland's front office through 1985, and worked as an assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers from 1986 through 1989. He has also worked for the Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, and the Denver Nuggets. In 2003, he became Director of Player Personnel for the Orlando Magic, and was promoted to assistant general manager in 2005. He held that position until 2012. [2] Since the 2013-14 basketball season, Twardzik has been a color commentator for radio broadcasts of Old Dominion's Men's Basketball games. [3]

In 1995, Twardzik was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

Related Research Articles

Kevin Lee Pritchard is an American basketball executive, and a former player and coach, who is currently the president of basketball operations for the Indiana Pacers. Pritchard played 4 seasons in the NBA as a player, and was also the general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Indiana Pacers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Shaw (basketball)</span> American basketball player and coach

Brian Keith Shaw is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played both guard positions, but was used primarily at point guard in his 14 seasons in the NBA. He won three NBA championships playing with the Los Angeles Lakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buck Williams</span> American basketball player and coach

Charles Linwood "Buck" Williams is an American former professional basketball player and former assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers. He was well known for his rebounding ability and trademark goggles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice Lucas</span> American basketball player and coach (1952–2010)

Maurice Lucas was an American professional basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a four-time NBA All-Star and won an NBA championship with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977. He was named to the ABA All-Time Team.

The 1977 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1976–77 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers played against the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers, with the 76ers holding home-court advantage. Their four regular season meetings had been split evenly, 2–2, with neither side winning away from home. The series was played under a best-of-seven format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod Strickland</span> American basketball player and coach

Rodney Strickland is an American basketball coach and former professional basketball player. He is currently the head coach at Long Island University. Prior to LIU, he served as the program manager for the NBA G League's professional path. Strickland played college basketball at DePaul University, where he was awarded All-American honors. He had a long career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing from 1988 to 2005. Strickland was an assistant coach for the South Florida Bulls, under Orlando Antigua from 2014 to 2017. He formerly served in an administrative role for the University of Kentucky basketball team under head coach John Calipari and was the director of basketball operations at the University of Memphis under Calipari. He is the godfather of current NBA player Kyrie Irving. Strickland was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame with the Class of 2008.

The 1976–77 NBA season was the 31st season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Portland Trail Blazers winning their first NBA Championship in franchise history, beating the Philadelphia 76ers in six games in the NBA Finals.

The 1970–71 NBA season was the 25th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Milwaukee Bucks winning the NBA Championship, beating the Baltimore Bullets 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals. Three new teams made their debut: the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Buffalo Braves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LaRue Martin</span> American basketball player (born 1950)

LaRue Martin is an American former professional basketball player. Martin was drafted first overall out of Loyola University Chicago by the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association's (NBA) controversy riddled 1972 NBA draft. He was drafted ahead of future Hall of Famers Bob McAdoo and Julius Erving. Martin has been discussed as one of the worst first overall draft picks in NBA history, but he moved on to forge a successful corporate career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stu Inman</span> American coach in the National Basketball Association

Stuart Kirk Inman was an American basketball player, coach and executive. He was selected in the sixth round of the 1950 NBA draft from San Jose State University by the Chicago Stags; however, he did not play in the NBA.

Johnny Reginald Davis is an American former professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA with four teams in ten years from 1976 to 1986, winning an NBA championship in his rookie season (1976–77) with the Portland Trail Blazers. He also played for the Indiana Pacers, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Gattison</span>

Kenneth Clay Gattison is an American former professional basketball player and National Basketball Association (NBA) assistant coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Parkhill</span>

Barry Parkhill is a retired American professional basketball player from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1st round of the 1973 NBA draft but elected to play in the American Basketball Association (ABA) instead. A 6'4" guard-forward from the University of Virginia, Parkhill played in three ABA seasons for two different teams. He played for the Virginia Squires and the Spirits of St. Louis.

The 1977 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1976–77 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. It was Portland's first NBA title. Bill Walton was named NBA Finals MVP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Dominion Monarchs men's basketball</span> College basketball team

The Old Dominion Monarchs men's basketball team represents Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, United States in NCAA Division I men's competition. The school's team currently competes in the Sun Belt Conference.

The 1976–77 season was the Portland Trail Blazers' 7th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The revamped Trail Blazers had an exceptional start, winning 22 of their first 31 games. The team won their last 5 games to post a record of 49–33. The Trail Blazers reached the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and proceeded to stampede through the postseason. By the time the Blazers had made it to the 1977 NBA Finals, the city of Portland was truly in the grips of "Blazermania". After losing the first two games of the championship series at Philadelphia, the Trail Blazers won four in a row to bring the trophy to Portland. The championship capped the team's first winning season. The Blazers had a remarkable 45–6 record at home, which included a perfect 10–0 mark in the playoffs.

The 1975-76 American Basketball Association season saw the San Diego Sails fold due to weak home attendance and other financial pressures; the team folded 11 games into the season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Hughes (basketball)</span>

Kim Galen Hughes is an American former basketball player and coach. He played professional basketball in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the New York / New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets, and Milwaukee Bucks between 1975 and 1981. Hughes served as the interim head coach for the Los Angeles Clippers for 33 games in 2010. On July 4, 2015, he was fired from his position as an assistant coach with the Portland Trail Blazers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armon Johnson</span> American basketball player

Armon Deshawn Johnson is an American former professional basketball player who played two seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dana Pagett</span> American basketball player

Dana P. Pagett is an American retired professional basketball player who spent one season in the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a member of the Virginia Squires during the 1971–72 season. He attended University of Southern California where he was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers during the eleventh round of the 1971 NBA draft. After that season he signed with the Portland Trail Blazers, but was released before the start of the 1972–73 National Basketball Association (NBA) season. He was an assistant coach for the Loyola Marymount Lions, Long Beach State 49ers and Utah State Aggies men's basketball teams. He was also the assistant coach for Rancho Santiago Community College District men's basketball team and was later promoted to the head coach position.

References

  1. Arnold, Geoffrey; Uthman, Daniel (June 4, 2007). "The 1976-77 NBA champion Portland Trail Blazers: 30 years later". OregonLive.com. Retrieved June 4, 2007.
  2. Josh Robbins and Brian Schmitz. "Magic fire longtime assistant GM and 6 scouts Archived 2012-06-27 at the Wayback Machine ". Orlando Sentinel. June 24, 2012. Retrieved on June 25, 2012.
  3. "Twardzik Joins ODU Men's Basketball Broadcasting Team". ODU Athletica. Old Dominion University Athletics. Retrieved December 10, 2017.