Jim Penix is an American retired

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, known for his college career at

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

, where in 1970 he was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year. Penix came from

Rossford, Ohio Rossford is a city in Wood County, Ohio, United States, located along the Maumee River in the Toledo metropolitan area. The population was 6,299 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town includes the intersection of Interstate 75 and ...

, where he attended 17 different schools as his father's job as a construction foreman required the family to move frequently. He starred at Rossford High School, leading the team to the 1966 Ohio class A state final. He averaged 23.9 points per game that season and was named first-team All-State. Following his high school career, he followed his high school coach, Cot Marquette to junior college Penta Tech (now

Owens Community College Owens Community College (OCC) is a Public college, public community college with campuses in Perrysburg Township, Wood County, Ohio, Perrysburg and Findlay, Ohio. Owens was founded in 1965 in Toledo and chartered in 1967. The Findlay campus op ...

), where in his two-year career he averaged 28.5 points per game. He then transferred to

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

to complete his four-year career for new coach Bob Conibear. Known as an outstanding outside shooter, Penix entered the Falcons' rotation immediately as a junior, averaging 9.5 points and 4 rebounds per game for the Falcons. In his senior season, he started slowly, breaking into the starting lineup eight games into the season. Once there, his scoring touch ranked him as one of the top players in the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

(MAC). He averaged 19.5 points per game overall, but 22.9 in conference games to lead the MAC. He was named first-team All-MAC and the MAC Player of the Year at the close of the season. Following his college career, Penix was selected by the

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 ...

in the

1970 NBA draft The 1970 NBA draft was the 24th annual NBA draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 23, 1970, before the 1970–71 NBA season, 1970–71 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amate ...

and the

Denver Rockets Denver ( ) is a consolidated city and county, the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Western United States, in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains east of ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

(ABA). He signed with the Rockets but was one of their last cuts prior to the 1970–71 season. He did not play professional basketball but continued to play in local amateur leagues. He was selected into the Owens Community College inaugural athletics hall of fame class in 2016.

References

External links

Owens Community College HOF bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penix, Jim Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Ohio Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball players Denver Rockets draft picks Junior college men's basketball players in the United States People from Rossford, Ohio Sportspeople from Wood County, Ohio Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Small forwards