Tommy Kron
{{short description|American basketball player}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Tommy Kron
| image =
| width =
| caption =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 5
| weight_lb = 200
| birth_date = {{birth date|1943|02|28}}
| birth_place = Owensboro, Kentucky, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2007|11|29|1943|02|28}}
| death_place = Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
| high_school = Tell City (Tell City, Indiana)
| college = Kentucky (1963–1966)
| draft_year = 1966
| draft_round = 3
| draft_pick = 24
| draft_team = St. Louis Hawks
| career_start = 1966
| career_end = 1970
| career_number = 30, 11, 40
| career_position = Shooting guard
| years1 = {{nbay|1966|full=y}}
| team1 = St. Louis Hawks
| years2 = {{nbay|1967|start}}–{{nbay|1968|end}}
| team2 = Seattle SuperSonics
| years3 = 1969–1970
| team3 = Kentucky Colonels
| stats_league = NBA and ABA
| stat1label = Points
| stat1value = 1,351 (6.0 ppg)
| stat2label = Rebounds
| stat2value = 672 (3.0 rpg)
| stat3label = Assists
| stat3value = 605 (2.7 apg)
| bbr = kronto01
}}
Thomas M. Kron (February 28, 1943 – November 29, 2007) was an American professional basketball player. A guard, Kron played his rookie season (1966–1967) with the St. Louis Hawks. He was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1967 Expansion draft and spent two seasons there, and finished his career with the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association, becoming a fan favorite during the 1969 and 1970 seasons.
High school career
Kron played for the legendary Orlando "Gunner" Wyman at Tell City High School (Tell City, Indiana); he led the Marksmen to 4 Sectional and 3 Regional titles; during his junior season (1960–61), he led them to the Indiana Final Four. The Marksmen lost their semi-final matchup to the Indianapolis Manual Redskins, starring the "Van Arsdale Twins", Dick Van Arsdale and Tom Van Arsdale. He was named All-State and an Indiana All-Star in 1962. Kron was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001.
College career
Kron played college basketball at the University of Kentucky under legendary coach Adolph Rupp; he was a member of 2 SEC championship teams (1963–64, 1965–66). As a senior member of Rupp's Runts during the 1965–1966 season, he led Kentucky to the NCAA Championship Finals versus Texas Western, playing alongside such All-Americans as Pat Riley, Thad Jaracz and Louie Dampier.{{Cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/kentucky/obituary.aspx?n=tommy-kron&pid=98821369|title=Mr. Tommy Kron's Obituary on Lexington Herald-Leader|website=Lexington Herald-Leader|access-date=January 12, 2017}}
Upon graduation from Kentucky, Kron had scored 719 points, grabbed 500 rebounds, and dished out 134 assists. In 1964–65 he was named both First Team All-Southeastern Conference by the coaches and Third Team by the AP. In 1965–66, he was named Third Team All-Southeastern Conference by the UPI.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/statistics/Players/Kron_Tommy.html|title = UK Career Statistics and Bio for Tommy Kron}}
Professional career
In 1966, the St. Louis Hawks made him their 3rd round pick; as a rookie, he averaged 2.1 points per game off the bench. He then moved to Seattle, following the 1967 NBA expansion draft, as a member of the SuperSonics and spent the next two seasons (1967–68 and 1968–69) coming off the bench and averaging 9.7 and 5.1 respectively. He then moved to the ABA rejoining his Kentucky teammate Louie Dampier in leading the Colonels to the playoffs.
Death
Tommy Kron died of bladder cancer at age 64 on November 29, 2007. He is interred at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky.
Career statistics
{{NBA player statistics legend}}
=NBA/ABA=
==Regular season==
| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" | |||||||
| Year
! Team ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! 3P% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! PPG | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|1966}}
|style="text-align:left;"| St. Louis | 32 | 6.9 | .310 | .684 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 2.1 | |
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|1967}}
|style="text-align:left;"| Seattle | 76 | 23.6 | .396 | .790 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 9.7 | |
| style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|1968}}
|style="text-align:left;"| Seattle | 76 | 14.8 | .392 | .701 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 5.1 | |
| style="text-align:left;"| {{abay|1969}}
|style="text-align:left;"| Kentucky (ABA) | 40 | 12.3 | .374 | .368 | .891 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 4.0 |
| class="sortbottom"
|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career (NBA) | 184 | 17.1 | .389 | .753 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 6.5 | |
| class="sortbottom"
|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career (overall) | 224 | 16.2 | .387 | .368 | .768 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 6.0 |
==Playoffs==
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kronto01.html] @ basketball-reference.com
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20101126081250/http://hoopshall.com/hall/k/tommy-kron/] @ hoopshall.com
- {{Find a Grave|23174068}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kron, Tommy}}
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Basketball players from Indiana
Category:Deaths from bladder cancer in the United States
Category:Kentucky Colonels players
Category:Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players
Category:People from Tell City, Indiana
Category:Seattle SuperSonics expansion draft picks
Category:Seattle SuperSonics players
Category:Sportspeople from Owensboro, Kentucky
Category:St. Louis Hawks draft picks
Category:St. Louis Hawks players
Category:Deaths from cancer in Kentucky
Category:Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery
{{1940s-US-basketball-bio-stub}}