Richard S. Congo (born May 17, 1961) is an American former basketball player for

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 18 ...

and

Drexel University Drexel University is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony Joseph Drexel, Anthony J. Drexel, a financier ...

. He was a two-time all-conference performer and the 1984 East Coast Conference Player of the Year as a senior.

Early life

Congo is a native of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, where he attended Overbrook High School. As a senior he averaged 10 points and 10 rebounds per game.

College career

Congo chose to play for the

Lafayette Leopards The Lafayette Leopards represent the 23 Division I varsity athletic teams of Lafayette College and compete in the Patriot League. There are 11 men's teams, 11 women's teams, and one co-ed team. The club teams also compete as the Leopards. Thou ...

after his prep career. In 1979–80, his true freshman season, he averaged 8.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He took a break for personal reasons midway through the season, though he came back and helped the Leopards gain a berth into the

1980 NIT The 1980 National Invitation Tournament was the 1980 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the 32 teams selected for the tournament.

where they lost in the first round to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. He chose to leave the program after one season, contributed in part due to cultural adjustment difficulties. Due to

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

transfer rules, Congo had to

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

(sit out) his sophomore season, which was his first playing for the

Drexel Dragons The Drexel Dragons are the athletic teams of Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school's athletic program includes eighteen NCAA Division I sports including nine men's and nine women's teams, with most sports teams competing in ...

. Over the next three seasons with Drexel, Congo started all 88 games he appeared in. Congo was named to the All-

East Coast Conference The East Coast Conference (ECC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located primarily in the state of New York, with a single ...

Second Team as a junior in 1982–83, then as a senior was named to the All-ECC First Team, a year in which he set the school single-season record for field goal percentage (.563) while averaging 16.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. He was also named the 1984 East Coast Conference Player of the Year. Congo finished his two-school collegiate career with 1,453 points and 735 rebounds. In 1989, Drexel University inducted him into their athletics hall of fame.

Professional career

The

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

selected Congo in the

1984 NBA draft The 1984 NBA draft was the 37th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, on June 19, 1984, before the 1984–85 season. The draft is generally ...

's seventh round (160th overall). He was cut after rookie camp before appearing in a regular season game, however, and then spent time playing professionally in

Birmingham, England Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands region, in England. It is the largest local authority district in England by population and the second-largest cit ...

References

External links

Richard Congo
@ sports-reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Congo, Richard 1961 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in the United Kingdom American men's basketball players Basketball players from Philadelphia Drexel Dragons men's basketball players Lafayette Leopards men's basketball players Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Power forwards 20th-century American sportsmen