Dan Issel

Dan Issel is one of the longest running success stories in pro basketball history, and it almost did not happen. A naive of Batavia, Illinois , the 6' 9 240-pound Issel starred locally enough to draw the attention of the University Of Kentucky Wildcats. Not rated a starter candidate, Issel showed a remarkable intensity and work ethic. He became the Wildcats starting center and led them to NCAA successes. Still the NBA was not sold on him. The new Kentucky Colonels of the ABA rated him much higher and lured the still largely-unknown star there. Issel was ABA Rookie Of The Year as the Colonels starting center, leading the league at 29 points per game in scoring. Three years later, the Colonels were able to draft Artis Gilmore, the 7' 2 Jacksonville giant. Issel moved over to power forward to form one of the greatest two-big man tandems in the history of the sport. The Kentucky Colonels won the 1974 ABA title on the backs of the two stars. Issel was known as a solid scorer inside, and even out past 20 feet. He was also a rugged rebounder, defender and athlete. With the new advent of free agency, Issel was signed by the Denver Nuggets, with whom he remains better known. His signing doomed the Colonels and elevated the Nuggets just as the NBA-ABA merger took place. The Nuggets struggled to find a strong starting center, so Issel was back in the pivot, where still showed he could score 20 points per game in the NBA. In the 1980s, he was one of the high-scoring Denver Nuggets stars, along with Alex English and Kiki Vandeweghe. He was player/coach and then coach of the team as well. Between play in both leagues, Issel scored over 25,000 total career points. He is still awaiting induction in the Basketball Hall Of Fame, and surely deserves it.