Bullet Bob Boozer was an All-American forward at Kansas State who graduated in 1959, the year he also won gold at the Pan American Games. At K State he averaged 21.9 points for his career, and 25.9 points in his senior season, a school record not broken until 2008. A sure bet to play pro basketball, he had a dream of playing in the Olympics. So although he was drafted by Cincinnati in 1959 as the #1 pick, he made them wait a year while he played AAU basketball with the Peoria Cats – and won a gold medal. Boozer was worth the wait. He only played four years with Cincinnati but had an 11-year NBA career, playing with the Cincinnati Royals, the New York Knicks, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Chicago Bulls, the Seattle SuperSonics and the Milwaukee Bucks, during which he averaged 14.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game and played in one NBA All-Star Game – in 1968. During his last season, he helped the Milwaukee Bucks win the 1971 championship. Boozer returned to his hometown of Omaha after leaving pro basketball. He worked for Northwestern Bell Telephone as well as owning several radio stations in partnership with baseball great Bob Gibson. Boozer also did some sportscasting on local college basketball games. For Northwestern Bell, he spent 10 years as a federal lobbyist in Washington. In 1997, after retiring from Bell, he was appointed to the Nebraska State Board of Parole.
United States