John Bernard "Jay" Handlan (February 2, 1928 – January 10, 2013) was an American college basketball star at

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, Virg ...

from 1948 to 1952. He was born in

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in Ohio County, West Virginia, Ohio and Marshall County, West Virginia, Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The county seat of Ohio County, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mo ...

. A

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

, Handlan is best known for being a prolific scorer and for setting the still–standing

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) record for

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

attempts in a game with 71.

College career

During his four-year career with the W&L Generals, Handlan set two NCAA basketball records, including most

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 ...

s made in a single game without a miss (18) and field goal attempts (71). The former record has since been broken, but the 71 field goal attempts is a record that will probably last forever, given today's focus on team-concept basketball and a slower-style pace of play. The attempts record occurred on February 17, 1951 in a 97–82 win over

Furman University Furman University is a private university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1826 and named after Baptist pastor Richard Furman, the Liberal arts college, liberal arts university is the oldest private institution of higher l ...

. Handlan scored 66

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

that game, which is in the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

top five record for most points in a game by a single player. He shot 30-for-71 in field goal attempts but missed his first seven shots. He scored 49 of his 66 points in the first half alone. When asked about his 71 shot attempts and school-record 66 points performance, Handlan offered his rationale for why he was allowed to do so:

We weren't super formidable. I was the only scholarship player on the team. That night was sort of a planned situation. It was 'Let's see what I can get.' To be honest, I was tired at the half.

Handlan owns the highest single-season scoring average (26.7 points per game) in Washington and Lee history as well as the top career scoring average (21.3 points per game). In his last collegiate game, played on March 1, 1952 against

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

, Handlan surpassed the 2,000-point threshold to become just the third player to score 2,000+ points in major college basketball history. He entered that contest with 1,987 points and scored 15, finishing his Washington and Lee career with 2,002 points—currently the second highest in school history behind Dom Flora's 2,310.

Later life

Shortly after he concluded his college career, Handlan was drafted by 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)'s

Indianapolis Olympians The Indianapolis Olympians were a founding National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in Indianapolis. They were founded in 1949 and folded in 1953. Their home arena was Butler Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University, now known as Hi ...

in the 1952 draft. However, he never played a game in the NBA. He instead played in the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

(AAU) for a brief period, including a selection in 1953–54 as an all-star while playing for the

Akron Goodyears The Akron Goodyear Wingfoots are one of the oldest basketball teams in the United States. They were founded in 1918, by the workers at the Goodyear Tire Company, in Akron, Ohio. The teams, while giving workers recreation, also helped to promote ...

. He eventually became the president of an engineering firm in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and owned a house in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Handlan died on January 10, 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Handlan, Jay 1928 births 2013 deaths Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from West Virginia Forwards (basketball) Indianapolis Olympians draft picks Sportspeople from Wheeling, West Virginia Washington and Lee Generals men's basketball players

College career

Later life

See also

References