A 6-9 (2.05) forward, Mike Bantom played for St. Joseph’s University in his hometown of Philadelphia before joining the ill-fated 1972 U.S. Olympic basketball team. He was drafted in the first round by the Phoenix Suns in 1973 the eighth pick overall in that year’s NBA draft and established himself immediately by making the NBA AII-Rookie team and averaging 10.1 points a game that year. He was traded to Seattle in 1976 and eventually played in the NBA thru 1982, with Phoenix, Seattle, the Knicks, Indiana, and the 76ers, retiring with a career scoring average of 12.1 ppg.
United States