Born in New York City, he played collegiately for the University of North Carolina, where he played an integral role on the 1957 National Championship team. In an effort to rattle the 7-foot 1-inch Wilt Chamberlain of the Kansas Jayhawks in the national championship game, North Carolina coach Frank McGuire sent Kearns out at the start of the game to jump center. Kearns lost the tip-off but scored 11 points during the game. He was named first-team All-ACC in 1957 and 1958 and second-team All-America in 1957. Because of his national accolades, Kearns' number 40 was honored by the University of North Carolina and currently hangs in the rafters of the Dean Smith Center.[1]
He was selected by the Syracuse Nationals in the fourth round (29th pick overall) of the 1958 NBA draft. He played for the Nationals in the NBA for one game. He scored two points during his professional basketball career.[2]
^Halberstam, David (February 7, 1999). "He Got a Shot in the NBA, and It Went In". New York Times. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
^Gagne, Matt (July 9, 2012). "Though he played in only one NBA game, the former NCAA title-winning point guard has had a rich postbasketball life". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
^Schlosser, Jim (January 11, 2001). "Kearns has been in the spotlight as a member of the 1957 Tar Heel team that won the national championship. But his role as a coach in ``Finding Forrester' is his latest claim to fame". News & Record. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
^"Tommy Kearns NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
External linksedit
Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
This biographical article relating to a United States basketball player, coach, or other figure born in the 1930s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
tommy, kearns, tommy, kearins, actor, maggie, thomas, francis, kearns, born, october, 1936, american, former, professional, basketball, player, kearns, 1956, season, personal, informationborn, 1936, october, 1936, york, city, yorknationalityamericanlisted, hei. For Tommy Kearins the actor see The Maggie Thomas Francis Kearns Jr born October 6 1936 is an American former professional basketball player Tommy KearnsKearns in the 1956 57 season Personal informationBorn 1936 10 06 October 6 1936 age 87 New York City New YorkNationalityAmericanListed height5 ft 11 in 1 80 m Listed weight185 lb 84 kg Career informationHigh schoolSaint Ann s Academy Manhattan New York CollegeNorth Carolina 1955 1958 NBA draft1958 4th round 30th overall pickSelected by the Syracuse NationalsPlaying career1958 1959PositionPoint guardNumber3Career history1958 1959Syracuse NationalsCareer highlights and awardsNCAA champion 1957 Third team All American AP 1958 2 First team All ACC 1957 1958 Stats at NBA comStats at Basketball Reference comBorn in New York City he played collegiately for the University of North Carolina where he played an integral role on the 1957 National Championship team In an effort to rattle the 7 foot 1 inch Wilt Chamberlain of the Kansas Jayhawks in the national championship game North Carolina coach Frank McGuire sent Kearns out at the start of the game to jump center Kearns lost the tip off but scored 11 points during the game He was named first team All ACC in 1957 and 1958 and second team All America in 1957 Because of his national accolades Kearns number 40 was honored by the University of North Carolina and currently hangs in the rafters of the Dean Smith Center 1 He was selected by the Syracuse Nationals in the fourth round 29th pick overall of the 1958 NBA draft He played for the Nationals in the NBA for one game He scored two points during his professional basketball career 2 In 2000 he played coach Garrick in Finding Forrester a film directed by Gus Van Sant with Sean Connery and Rob Brown 3 Contents 1 Career statistics 1 1 NBA 1 1 1 Regular season 2 References 3 External linksCareer statistics editLegend GP Games played GS Games started MPG Minutes per game FG Field goal percentage 3P 3 point field goal percentage FT Free throw percentage RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game SPG Steals per game BPG Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career highNBA edit Source 4 Regular season edit Year Team GP MPG FG FT RPG APG PPG1958 59 Syracuse 1 7 0 1 000 0 0 2 0References edit Halberstam David February 7 1999 He Got a Shot in the NBA and It Went In New York Times Retrieved March 15 2022 Gagne Matt July 9 2012 Though he played in only one NBA game the former NCAA title winning point guard has had a rich postbasketball life Sports Illustrated Retrieved March 15 2022 Schlosser Jim January 11 2001 Kearns has been in the spotlight as a member of the 1957 Tar Heel team that won the national championship But his role as a coach in Finding Forrester is his latest claim to fame News amp Record Retrieved March 15 2022 Tommy Kearns NBA stats Basketball Reference Sports Reference LLC Retrieved 4 December 2023 External links editCareer statistics and player information from NBA com nbsp and Basketball Reference com nbsp This biographical article relating to a United States basketball player coach or other figure born in the 1930s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tommy Kearns amp oldid 1188346134, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
