Tresvant was born on November 6, 1939, in Washington, D.C.[1] He played high school football and baseball in Washington, but did not play basketball as he was cut from the team for being too short.[2]
A 6 ft 7 in forward/center, Tresvant played three seasons in Seattle. He averaged 17.9 points and 14 rebounds per game as a senior, and 12.6 points and 11.1 rebounds per game in his three-year career at Seattle. In 1963, he officially had 40 rebounds in a game against the University of Montana at the Seattle Center Arena, breaking future Hall of Fame great Elgin Baylor's school record, the fourth-highest total for a single game in NCAA history (though Tresvant himself believes it should have been 44). He had four more rebounds than the entire Montana team.[2][3][4]
As a senior, Tresvant led Seattle to the 1964 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament. Seattle defeated Oregon State in the first round of the West regional bracket, but lost to eventual national champion UCLA, 61–57, in the next game.[5][6] Tresvant had 20 points and 20 rebounds in that game.[7] Tresvant was an NCAA Far West Region All-Star selection. United Press International (UPI) named him to its All-West Coast Second Team. He was also selected by a group of college coaches to the second-team Northwest All Star team that year.[4][8]
Tresvant has been inducted into the Seattle University Athletics Hall of Fame.[4]
NBA career
Tresvant was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks in 1964 and played nine seasons in the NBA.
He was selected in the fifth round (42nd overall) of the 1964 NBA draft by the St. Louis Hawks.[9][10] He played nine seasons in the league with St. Louis, the Detroit Pistons, the Cincinnati Royals, the Seattle SuperSonics, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Baltimore Bullets, posting NBA career averages of 9.2 points and 6.3 rebounds.[9][1]
He was a member of the 1969-1970 Lakers team that lost the seven-game NBA finals to the New York Knicks, playing in four games.[11] He averaged nearly six points for the Lakers in the 1970 playoffs,[12] and supplied the energy off the bench in Game 4 of the finals that led the Lakers to an overtime win.[13]
The following year, he was a member of the Bullets team that defeated the reigning champion Knicks in a seven-game Eastern Conference finals, playing a more significant role. He played in all seven games, averaging 38 minutes, 11 points and 12 rebounds per game.[1] In a Game 4 Bullets win, Tresvant had 17 rebounds.[14] During the series, he defended against Knicks Hall of Fame forward Dave DeBusschere, his former Detroit teammate and coach.[15] The Bullets were then swept in the NBA finals by the Milwaukee Bucks, where he again played in every game.[16] He averaged 12.8 rebounds per game over 18 playoff games,[17] and had the most personal fouls (64) of any player in the playoffs that year.[18]
He played two more seasons in Baltimore before retiring, including two more (unsuccessful) playoff series against the Knicks, playing in all 11 playoff games against them.[1]
Personal life
After retiring from basketball because of a knee injury, Tresvant worked as an industrial arts teacher and middle school basketball coach. In 2006, he invented the Total Rebounder Exercise System (TRES), a basket designed for use in training young players in rebounding techniques.[2]
Tresvant is divorced and the father of three grown children. As of 2006, he resided in Snohomish, Washington.[2][19]
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