Robert Lee McCoy (November 28, 1934 – July 2, 2016) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and coach. He was born in Longville, Louisiana, and attended Beauregard Parish Training School in nearby DeRidder. McCoy 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 ...

for the Grambling State Tigers from 1953 to 1957. He set a Louisiana state record for rebounds in a single game when he grabbed 34 during a 1954 game against Tougaloo College. McCoy was selected 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 ...

as the 10th overall pick of the 1957 NBA draft and became the first black player from Louisiana to be drafted into 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). Pistons head coach Charley Eckman asserted that "even such a highly regarded prospect as McCoy" would find it difficult to make the team's 10-player roster and McCoy ultimately never played in the NBA. McCoy served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1957 to 1958. He returned to DeRidder to become a teacher and basketball coach at George Washington Carver High School from 1958 to 1970. He also taught and coached at

DeRidder High School DeRidder High School is a public high school in the city of DeRidder, Louisiana, United States. The 9-12 school is a part of the Beauregard Parish School Board. School uniforms All students are required to wear school uniforms. These consist of ...

and in

Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana Calcasieu Parish (; ) is a parish located on the southwestern border of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 216,785. The parish seat and largest city is Lake Charles. Calcasieu Parish is part of the Lake C ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCoy, Bob 1934 births 2016 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball players from Louisiana Detroit Pistons draft picks Forwards (basketball) Grambling State Tigers men's basketball players High school basketball coaches in Louisiana People from Beauregard Parish, Louisiana 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen