Levern Tart (June 1, 1942 – June 22, 2010) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player.

Early life

Born in

Marion, South Carolina Marion is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, South Carolina, United States. It is named for Francis Marion, a brigadier general from South Carolina in the American Revolutionary War. The population was 6,939 at the 2010 census. Histo ...

, Tart went to Roosevelt High School in

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...

College career

The 6'2" (later listed as 6'3"), guard Tart played college basketball at

Bradley University Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois. Founded in 1897, Bradley University enrolls 5,400 students who are pursuing degrees in more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 30 graduate programs in five colleges. Th ...

with Joe Strawder. He had not been recruited to play college basketball and so he intended to go to

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

, where Ron Burns and Bobby Knight played football before Bradley's coach discovered and signed him. In his career at Bradley Tart scored 1,053 points in 73 games for an average of 14.4 points per game. He was the Most Valuable Player of the 1964 National Invitational Tournament, which Bradley won. In that season Tart led the team with 17.5 points per game and was first-team All-

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

Amateur and semi-professional career

Tart was drafted by the Boston Celtics of the NBA and was the final player cut from their roster by

Red Auerbach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. He served as a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Boston Celtics. ...

prior to the 1964–65 season. Tart played for

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...

in the Eastern League. During that time he also coached and taught at Central Catholic High School in Kingston, Pennsylvania. Tart eventually landed with the Jamaico Saints, an AAU team.

Professional career

Tart left the AAU for the American Basketball Association. He and teammate Steve Jones signed with the Oakland Oaks in June, 1967. Tart played his entire professional career in the ABA, where he was known for effective drives to the basket, acrobatic shots with either hand, elusive speed and precise body and ball control on the floor.

Oakland Oaks

Tart was an original member of the Oakland Oaks and participated in the very first ABA game on October 13, 1967 when the Oaks defeated the

Anaheim Amigos Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

132–129. On January 9, 1968 Tart played in the inaugural ABA All Star Game. For the season Tart averaged 23.5 points per game which was third-best in the league for the season. It was in Oakland that he acquired his nickname "Jelly".

New Jersey Americans

Nine days after playing in the ABA All-Star game, on January 18, 1968 Tart was traded to the

New Jersey Americans New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

for Barry Leibowitz. He remained with the Americans through their move to New York when they became the

New York Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

New York Nets

Tart played into the 1968–1969 season with the Nets until January 31, 1969 when Tart,

Bob Verga Robert Bruce Verga (born September 7, 1945) is an American retired professional basketball player, who played in the American Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1967 to 1974. He was a guard and played co ...

and

Hank Whitney Henry Lee (Hank) Whitney (April 28, 1939 – April 5, 2020) was an American professional basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete wit ...

were traded to the

Houston Mavericks The Houston Mavericks were a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). They played in the upstart league's first two seasons, from 1967 to 1969. Their home arena was the Sam Houston Coliseum. In 1947–48, there was an unrela ...

for Leary Lentz and

Willie Somerset Willard F. Somerset (born March 17, 1942) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, Somerset attended Farrell High School in Farrell, Pennsylvania and later, Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvani ...

Houston Mavericks

Tart played for the Mavericks during the 1968–1969 season but during the season ended up with the

Denver Rockets Denver () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States#State capital, capital, and List of municipalities in Colorado#, most populous city of th ...

Denver Rockets

Tart finished the 1968–1969 season with the Denver Rockets. Despite his skills and talents, soon to become apparent with another team, Tart was not a major part of the Rockets plan on the floor.

New York Nets

The New York Nets obtained Tart in between the 1968–1969 and 1969–1970 seasons. Tart played the entire 1969–1970 season with the Nets and played in that season's ABA All Star game. During the season Tart averaged 24.1 points (third best in the ABA that season) and was the Nets' top scorer. Tart's 3.4 assists per game were tenth best in the league. In large part due to Tart's outstanding play the Nets went to their first ever full ABA playoff series, which they lost in seven games to the Kentucky Colonels. Tart also played a portion of the 1970–1971 season with the Nets until being traded again.

Texas Chaparrals

The

Texas Chaparrals These redirects lead to their targets in accordance with the naming conventions for common names and can help with writing and searches. Do not replace these redirected links with piped links. See also * Wikipedia:Naming conventions (common ...

obtained Tart and Ed Johnson from the New York Nets on January 6, 1971 in exchange for Manny Leaks. Tart finished his professional basketball career with the Chaparrals. For the entirety of his career in the ABA Tart scored 5,316 points in 274 games, averaging 19.4 points per game (24.3 in the playoffs) along with 5.0 rebounds (4.8 in the playoffs).

Career after basketball

Tart devoted much of his career after basketball to community service. He became the site manager for a Long Island, New York senior care center, and worked at night as the recreation coordinator at the Nassau County Juvenile Detention Center. Tart died at age 68 on June 22, 2010 in Long Beach, New York.Levern Tart Passes
He is survived by his son, Stephen (daughter-in-law Angie), and two grandchildren, Shaila and Andre, of Fullerton, California.

References

External links

Peoria Journal Star recap

New York Post Obituary for Levern Tart
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tart, Levern 1942 births 2010 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Florida Basketball players from South Carolina Boston Celtics draft picks Bradley Braves men's basketball players Denver Rockets players Houston Mavericks players New Jersey Americans players New York Nets players Oakland Oaks players People from Marion, South Carolina Texas Chaparrals players Wilkes-Barre Barons players Shooting guards