Red Rocha

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Red Rocha

| image = Red Rocha Bennett's ad (cropped).jpg

| caption = Rocha in 1950

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 9

| weight_lb = 185

| birth_date = {{birth date|1923|09|18}}

| birth_place = Hilo, Territory of Hawaii, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2010|02|13|1923|09|18}}

| death_place = Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.

| high_school = Hilo (Hilo, Hawaii)

| college = Oregon State (1944–1947)

| draft_round = --

| draft_pick = --

| draft_year = 1947

| draft_team = Toronto Huskies

| career_start = 1947

| career_end = 1957

| career_number = 4, 6, 16

| career_position = Center

| years1 = 1947–{{nbay|1949|end}}

| team1 = St. Louis Bombers

| years2 = {{nbay|1950|full=y}}

| team2 = Baltimore Bullets

| years3 = {{nbay|1951|start}}–{{nbay|1952|end}},
{{nbay|1954|start}}–{{nbay|1955|end}}

| team3 = Syracuse Nationals

| years4 = {{nbay|1956|full=y}}

| team4 = Fort Wayne Pistons

| cyears1 = {{nbay|1957|start}}–{{nbay|1959|end}}

| cteam1 = Detroit Pistons

| cyears2 = 1963–1973

| cteam2 = Hawaii

| highlights =

NBA champion (1955)
2× NBA All-Star (1951, 1952)
Second-team All-American – Helms (1947)
Third-team All-American – Helms (1946)
3× All-PCC (1945–1947)

| stats_league = BAA and NBA

| stat1label = Points

| stat1value = 6,362 (10.9 ppg)

| stat2label = Rebounds

| stat2value = 2,747 (6.6 rpg)

| stat3label = Assists

| stat3value = 1,153 (2.0 apg)

}}

Ephraim Joseph "Red" Rocha (September 18, 1923 – February 13, 2010{{Cite news | last=McInnes | first=Brian | title=Former UH basketball coach Red Rocha dies | newspaper=Honolulu Star-Bulletin | date=February 13, 2010 | url=http://www.starbulletin.com/news/breaking/84309417.html }}) was an American professional basketball player and coach.

Basketball

Image:Red Rocha 1948.jpg

A 6'9" center from Oregon State University, he earned All-Pacific Coast Conference honors in 1945, 1946, and 1947. He was also selected as a 1947 All-American.

Rocha played in the BAA and NBA in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He represented the Baltimore Bullets in the 1951 NBA All-Star Game, the first NBA All-Star Game. Rocha had 6,362 career points in the NBA and won an NBA title with the Syracuse Nationals in 1955.{{cite journal|date=Spring 2010|title=Legendary Hoop Star Red Rocha, Tower of the 'Thrill Kids,' Dies|journal=Oregon Stater|publisher=OSU Alumni Association|volume=95|issue=2|page=32|url=http://www.osualum.com/s/359/file_lib/1/28/201004_sports_634055524876424940.pdf}} The first person from Hawaii to play in the NBA,{{cite news|url=http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindbeaversbeat/2010/02/rip_red_rocha_whose_life_at_os.html|title=R.I.P. Red Rocha, whose life at OSU as a "Thrill Kid" and in the NBA was right out of a movie script|last=Buker|first=Paul|date=February 15, 2010|work=The Oregonian|access-date=June 19, 2010}}Cedric Ceballos was also born in Hawaii, but went to high school in California, whereas Rocha also went to high school in Hawaii. {{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/rochare01.html|title=Red Rocha NBA & ABA Statistics|work=Basketball-Reference.com|date=September 18, 2012}} Rocha still shares, with former teammate Paul Seymour, the NBA record for most minutes in a playoff game with 67.{{Cite news| title = A March Marathon – Flashback: 1953's Four-OT Thriller - Boston Celtics vs. Syracuse Nationals| magazine = Basketball Digest| date = March 2003| url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCJ/is_5_30/ai_97615973| access-date = May 28, 2008| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060330051016/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCJ/is_5_30/ai_97615973| archive-date = March 30, 2006| url-status = dead}}

After his playing days he became a coach, including head coach of the Detroit Pistons from 1958 to 1960. Rocha also coached the Hawaii Chiefs of the American Basketball League.[http://www.apbr.org/ablhist.html Association for Professional Basketball Research American Basketball League page] Rocha then became head coach for the University of Hawaii men's basketball team. At UH, he assembled what is known today as the "Fabulous Five" during the 1970 to 1972 seasons. In 1970, the team advanced to postseason play for the first time in school history. Red also co-founded the Rainbow Classic — an eight-team collegiate men's basketball tournament, with UH hosting the tournament.

Later years

He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1980, and into the Oregon State University Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. Ephraim "Red" Rocha died from cancer on February 13, 2010, in Corvallis, Oregon, at the age of 86.

BAA/NBA career statistics

=Regular season=

Year ! Team ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! PPG
class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
style="text-align:left;"\| 1947–48 \| style="text-align:left;"\| St. Louis \| 48	–	.314	.690	–	.8	12.7
style="text-align:left;"\| 1948–49 \| style="text-align:left;"\| St. Louis \| 58	–	.389	.768	–	2.7	10.5
style="text-align:left;"\| {{nbay\|1949}} \| style="text-align:left;"\| St. Louis \| 65	–	.405	.703	–	2.4	11.8
style="text-align:left;"\| {{nbay\|1950}} \| style="text-align:left;"\| Baltimore \| 64	–	.352	.809	8.0	2.3	13.1
style="text-align:left;"\| {{nbay\|1951}} \| style="text-align:left;"\| Syracuse \| 66	38.5	.401	.770	8.3	1.9	12.9
style="text-align:left;"\| {{nbay\|1952}} \| style="text-align:left;"\| Syracuse \| 69	35.6	.388	.755	7.4	2.0	11.2
style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"\| {{nbay\|1954}}† \| style="text-align:left;"\| Syracuse \| 72	34.3	.368	.782	6.8	2.5	11.3
style="text-align:left;"\| {{nbay\|1955}} \| style="text-align:left;"\| Syracuse \| 72	26.2	.361	.783	5.8	1.8	10.0
style="text-align:left;"\| {{nbay\|1956}} \| style="text-align:left;"\| Fort Wayne \| 72	16.0	.349	.757	3.8	1.1	5.3
style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"\|Career \| 586	29.9	.370	.759	6.6	2.0	10.9

=Playoffs=

Year ! Team ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! PPG
class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
style="text-align:left;"\| 1948 \| style="text-align:left;"\| St. Louis \| 7	–	.246	.733	–	.9	11.4
style="text-align:left;"\| 1949 \| style="text-align:left;"\| St. Louis \| 2	–	.444	.800	–	3.0	18.0
style="text-align:left;"\| {{nbay\|1951\|end}} \| style="text-align:left;"\| Syracuse \| 7	39.4	.432	.725	6.9	1.4	17.0
style="text-align:left;"\| {{nbay\|1952\|end}} \| style="text-align:left;"\| Syracuse \| 2	53.5	.385	.786	8.5	3.5	15.5
style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"\| {{nbay\|1954\|end}}† \| style="text-align:left;"\| Syracuse \| 11	33.7	.418	.759	6.7	1.3	12.4
style="text-align:left;"\| {{nbay\|1955\|end}} \| style="text-align:left;"\| Syracuse \| 8	23.6	.338	.846	6.5	1.9	8.5
style="text-align:left;"\| {{nbay\|1956\|end}} \| style="text-align:left;"\| Fort Wayne \| 2	9.0	.000	.667	3.0	.0	2.0
style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"\|Career \| 39	32.0	.360	.758	6.6	1.5	12.2