Blaine Denning Sr. (born Blaine Mitchell Jr.; September 19, 1930January 25, 2016) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

Lawrence Technological University Lawrence Technological University (Lawrence Tech, LTU) is a private university in Southfield, Michigan. It was founded in 1932 in Highland Park, Michigan, as the Lawrence Institute of Technology (LIT) by Russell E. Lawrence. The university moved ...

and was inducted into their athletic hall of fame. He played professionally for the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

Elmira Colonels The Elmira Colonels (also known as the ''Rosies'') were an American basketball team based in Elmira, New York that was a member of the American Basketball League. It is, to date, the only major league sports team to have ever resided in the Sout ...

of the American Basketball League, and Baltimore Bullets of 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).

High school career

Denning attended Northern High School in

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 ...

, Michigan, where he was an All-State second team player in 1948.

College career

Denning played

for the

Lawrence Tech Blue Devils Lawrence Technological University (Lawrence Tech, LTU) is a private university in Southfield, Michigan. It was founded in 1932 in Highland Park, Michigan, as the Lawrence Institute of Technology (LIT) by Russell E. Lawrence. The university moved ...

from 1949 to 1952. He was the team's leading scorer during the 1950–51 season. Denning had his best season in 1951–52 as a senior, when he scored 589 points in 28 games, averaging 21 points per game. He helped lead the Blue Devils to the semifinals of the 1952 NAIA tournament. He was inducted into the Lawrence Tech Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011, and his number 14 was retired by the team.

Professional career

In April 1952, Denning played for the

. Later in the same month, he was selected in the

1952 NBA draft The 1952 NBA draft was the sixth annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 26, 1952, before the 1952–53 season. In this draft, ten remaining NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...

by the Baltimore Bullets. He was unable to showcase his skills beyond a few exhibition games. Although he was waived by the Bullets two days before the opening of their 1952–53 season, Denning was reinstated to their negotiation list after going unclaimed. He played for the

of the American Basketball League until he was recalled by the Bullets. He played just one game for the Bullets in December 1952; he scored five points and grabbed four rebounds. In September 1953, Denning was invited to tryout for the Bullets, but in beginning of October, he was released along with nine other players.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

References

External links

Statistics
at statscrew.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Denning, Blaine 1930 births 2016 deaths American Basketball League (1925–1955) players American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) draft picks Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players Basketball players from Detroit Elmira Colonels (basketball) players Harlem Globetrotters players Lawrence Tech Blue Devils men's basketball players Northern High School (Detroit, Michigan) alumni Point guards