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LEONARD
ROSENBLUTH
Sport: Basketball
Inducted: 2003
Country: USA
Born: January 22, 1933, in Bronx, New
York
Died: June 18, 2022
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Rosenbluth and his UNC Tar Heels coach Frank McGuire |
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In 1957, University of Kansas’ 7-foot giant Wilt Chamberlain
was the most intimidating collegiate player in the United
States. But University of North Carolina’s 6’5” Lennie
Rosenbluth was the country’s best player. The Tarheels’ consensus
All-America led UNC to a 1957 undefeated––32-0–– season
and the NCAA championship. Rosenbluth registered 27.9 points
and 8.6 rebounds per game during the regular season. The
Helms Hall of Fame named him “Collegiate Player of
the Year”.
North Carolina ranked No. 1 after the 1957 season, and its
basketball success not only brought the campus to the forefront
of the college sports, it also legitimized the credentials
of the Atlantic Coast Conference (AAC). The ‘57 NCAA
title also launched the Tarheels long and successful winning
tradition and reputation as the ‘cradle for development’of
basketball superstars.
In 1955, sophomore Rosenbluth’s 25.5 ppg and 11.7 rebounds
drew national attention and third team All-America recognition.
(Freshman did not play varsity sports during the ‘50s.)
In 1956, he again led the Tarheels in scoring, 26.7 ppg,
and his All-America honors were split between various first
and second team selections.
It all came together for UNC and their star forward in 1957,
as Rosenbluth and the University basketball program produced
the first undefeated AAC team to win the NCAA. The ’57
final game match-up produced what is considered to this day
one of college basketball’s greatest battles, as Rosenbluth’s
Tarheels defeated Chamberlain’s Kansas Jayhawks 54-53
in triple overtime. The UNC forward scored 20 points in the
championship final, was the tournament’s overall top
scorer, 28.0 ppg, and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
In 1989, when the NCAA selected five ‘All-Decade Final
Four’ teams, Rosenbluth was named to the ‘All-1950s’ team,
along with such future professional legends: Chamberlain,
Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell and Jerry West.
He is also a member of the Helms College Basketball Hall
of Fame, and is listed as one of the “100 Greatest
College Players of All-Time”.
Lennie Rosenbluth’s honors include: three-time All-ACC
selections (1955-1957); 1957 ACC Player and Athlete of the
Year; MVP of the '57 ACC Tournament; All-Tournament at three
Dixie Classics. He and Antawn Jamison, UNC's most-recent
superstar, and Duke's Christian Laettner are the only collegians
to be named NCAA National Player of the Year , ACC Player
of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP, and NCAA regional MVP in
the same season.
As of 2005, the North Carolina court legend still holds eight Tarheel basketball
records, including most points in a single season (895), and highest single season
average (28.0). Rosenbluth’s three-season total of 2,045 points still ranks
3rd all-time at UNC, despite his career’s absence of a freshman season
and the three-point shot.
Rosenbluth was selected by the Philadelphia Warriors in the first round of the
1957 NBA draft and played for the Philadelphia Warriors 1957-1959.
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