Allen Dean Eberhard (born May 10, 1952) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player.

Amateur career

Out of rural

Springville, Iowa Springville is a city in Linn County, Iowa, Linn County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,154 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids metropolitan area, ...

, and Springville High School, Eberhard was third team All-State in his senior year, graduating in 1970. His high school coach had contacts with

Norm Stewart Norman Eugene Stewart (born January 20, 1935) is a retired American college basketball coach. He coached at the University of Northern Iowa (then known as State College of Iowa) from 1961 to 1967, but is best known for his career with the Univer ...

, coach of the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the "Fighting Tigers of Columbia" who, in 1864, protected Columbia ...

, who had previously led the

Northern Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

program, and Eberhard would sign with the Tigers. Sitting out his freshman season as required by NCAA rules at the time, the adjustment from a high school class of 41 students to the Missouri campus was an adjustment. Eberhard said, "I remember the first day I walked on campus with 22,000 students and I wasn't sure what I was doing. I wondered if I made the right decision. That's why it was so important growing up on the farm. My family's mental toughness and work ethic taught me valuable lessons. I did a lot of growing up that first year away from home. I learned a lot about life. Our freshman year was good for all of us." Eberhard thrived at Missouri, scoring 1,347 points in his career, averaging 19.7 ppg and 12.0 rpg in his senior season (1973–74) and a

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

for his Tigers career with 16.8 ppg and 10.1 rpg, helping the team to back-to-back 20 win seasons in 1971–72 and 1972–73 and as high as a #5 national ranking. Eberhard was twice name as the MVP at the Big Eight Holiday Tournament and earned All Big Eight honors his junior and senior years.

Professional career

Eberhard was drafted with the 15th pick in the first round of the

1974 NBA draft The 1974 NBA draft was the 28th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and was held on May 28, 1974, before the 1974–75 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and ot ...

by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. Eberhard became a key bench contributor for Detroit, averaging a career high 9.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg in 25.1 mpg over 81 games in the 1975-76 Detroit Pistons season, helping Detroit to its first playoff series win since

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

. Eberhard was plagued by injuries in his NBA career, including a broken ankle that required surgery in the 1978-79 pre-season, forcing his release from Detroit and the end of his playing career. In total, Eberhard played four seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) for the Pistons, averaging 6.8 ppg and 3.5 rpg in 220 career games.

Personal life

Eberhard has coached basketball at

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

and for his alma mater

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. He would settle in Columbia where he worked for the university in the MU athletic department for the Tiger Scholarship Fund, in the campus development office, and served on board of the university's Thompson Center Foundation for Autism. He also served as the executive director for the Governor's Council for Fitness and Health in Missouri. He was inducted into the Iowa High School Basketball Hall of Fame, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and in 2003 the university's athletic Hall of Fame. Eberhard was named to the Missouri All-Century Team in 2006. Eberhard is the uncle of former

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

and former

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

basketball player

Cody Zeller Cody Allen Zeller (born October 5, 1992) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers. Zeller was s ...

, former

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

player

Tyler Zeller Tyler Paul Zeller (born January 17, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels. As a freshman, he played on their 2009 national championship team and as a senior was ...

, and former

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

and former

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

player Luke Zeller.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" !Year !Team !GP !MPG !FG% !FT% !RPG !APG !SPG !BPG !PPG , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, 34 , , 8.1 , , .365 , , .810 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .4 , , .0 , , 2.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 25.5 , , .414 , , .834 , , 4.8 , , 1.0 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 68 , , 17.9 , , .476 , , .790 , , 3.3 , , .7 , , .7 , , .2 , , 6.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 15.6 , , .444 , , .672 , , 2.8 , , .7 , , .4 , , .1 , , 4.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 220 , , 18.8 , , .433 , , .797 , , 3.5 , , .8 , , .7 , , .2 , , 6.8

Playoffs

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" !Year !Team !GP !MPG !FG% !FT% !RPG !APG !SPG !BPG !PPG , - , style="text-align:left;",

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 8 , , 22.8 , , .436 , , .737 , , 3.3 , , .9 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 14.0 , , .111 , , .625 , , 3.0 , , .7 , , .3 , , .0 , , 2.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 11 , , 20.4 , , .375 , , .704 , , 3.2 , , .8 , , .8 , , .4 , , 5.0

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eberhard, Al 1952 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Basketball players from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Detroit Pistons draft picks Detroit Pistons players Kentucky Colonels draft picks Missouri Tigers men's basketball players Small forwards