Billy Keller
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William Curry Keller (born August 30, 1947) 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.


High school career

Billy Keller, the 5'10"
guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...
, spent his entire basketball career in the state of
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
. He attended George Washington Community High School, located in
Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
. He was named Indiana's Mr. Basketball his senior year.


College career

Keller attended
Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...
, located in
West Lafayette, Indiana West Lafayette ( ) is a city in Wabash and Tippecanoe Townships, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, approximately northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash ...
, where he played under head coach
George King George King may refer to: Politics * George King (Australian politician) (1814–1894), New South Wales and Queensland politician * George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston (1771–1839), Irish nobleman and MP for County Roscommon * George Clift King (184 ...
. Alongside three-time All-American
Rick Mount Richard Carl Mount (born January 5, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player who played for Purdue University from 1966 to 1970 as well as the American Basketball Association (ABA). Mount played basketball at Lebanon Senior H ...
and fellow Senior and co-captain
Herm Gilliam Herman L. Gilliam Jr. (April 5, 1946 – April 16, 2005) was an American professional basketball player. After playing college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1969 to 1977, winn ...
, he led the
Boilermakers A boilermaker is a Tradesman, tradesperson who Metal fabrication, fabricates steels, iron, or copper into boilers and other large containers intended to hold hot gas or liquid, as well as maintains and repairs boilers and boiler systems.Bure ...
to a
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...
Title and to the school's first NCAA tournament appearance, making it to the NCAA Finals game in 1969. In 75 games, "Mr. Hustle" averaged 14.1 points game throughout his career and tallied a total of 1,056 points. He received the ''
Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award was an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor players who excelled on the court in spite of their height. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter-in-law, was establi ...
'' his senior year, which is given to the nation's best player under . After his Senior season at Purdue, he participated in the Kentucky-Indiana College All-Star Game, where he first played with a three-point line. Billy went 6 for 7 beyond the arc and discovered his specialty as a three-point shooter in the next level (the NCAA didn't have a standard three-point line until 1986–87 while the ABA did throughout its existence from 1967–76).


Professional career

Billy was the 2nd pick in the 7th round of the
1969 NBA draft The 1969 NBA draft was the 23rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 7 and May 7, 1969, before the 1969–70 season. In this draft, fourteen NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college ba ...
to the
Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...
, but only played for the
ABA ABA may refer to: Aviation * AB Aerotransport, former Scandinavian airline * IATA airport code for Abakan International Airport in Republic of Khakassia, Russia Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, Uni ...
's
Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...
. Along with the likes of
George McGinnis George F. McGinnis (August 12, 1950 – December 14, 2023) was an American professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball ...
and college teammate Rick Mount, he helped lead the Pacers to three ABA Championships in '70, '72 and '73 and ABA Final appearances in '69 and '75. Keller would become one of the most successful shooters in ABA history, making 506
three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two ...
s during his seven-year career (second in league history behind only
Louie Dampier Louis Dampier (born November 20, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player. He played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA), primarily playing with the Kentucky Colo ...
's 794) while leading the league in
free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...
percentage two times in 1973 and 1976. He set an
ABA Playoffs ABA may refer to: Aviation * AB Aerotransport, former Scandinavian airline * IATA airport code for Abakan International Airport in Republic of Khakassia, Russia Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, Uni ...
record going 30–30 from the free throw line in the 1974–1975 season. He finished his 7-year ABA career averaging 11.8 points a game, with a .456 field goal percentage and scoring a total of 6,588 points.


Coaching career

Four years after his career in the ABA ended, Bill served as an assistant coach at his
alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...
during the 1979–1980 under second year head coach, Lee Rose. He helped lead Purdue to an overall record of 23–10, including an NCAA Final Four appearance. In 1978, the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) awarded Keller the Joe Boland Award for outstanding contributions to the youth of Indiana. Following the NCAA Final Four appearance, Bill returned to his hometown of Indianapolis and was named as the Head Basketball Coach at the
University of Indianapolis The University of Indianapolis (UIndy) is a private United Methodist Church-affiliated university in Indianapolis, Indiana. It offers Associate, Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees. It was founded in 1902 as Indiana Central University an ...
, replacing
Bill Bright William R. Bright (October 19, 1921 – July 19, 2003) was an American Evangelism, evangelist. In 1951 at the University of California, Los Angeles, he founded Campus Crusade for Christ as a ministry for university students. In 1952 he wrote ...
; Keller was the head coach from 1980–81 through the 1986–87 seasons. Bill coached the Brebeuf Braves Girls varsity from 1979–1980


Head coaching record

In 1992, Keller was elected to the
Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. While it honors men and women associated with high school, college, and professional basketball in Indiana, an emphasis is placed on the athlete's high ...
. He currently runs a series of basketball camps in his home state.


References


External links


Career stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keller, Billy 1947 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Indianapolis College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Indiana Pacers draft picks Indiana Pacers players Indianapolis Greyhounds men's basketball coaches Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Point guards Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball coaches Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players Shooting guards