Rich Adams is a retired American
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player. He played four years with the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Unive ...
varsity in the NCAA, averaged 5.1 points as a freshman in coach
Gene Bartow
Bobby Gene Bartow (August 18, 1930 January 3, 2012) was an American men's college basketball coach. The Browning, Missouri, native coached 36 years at six universities after coaching two high schools in Missouri for six years. In 1972 Bartow coac ...
's only season with the fighting Illinois. The next year, Adams boosted his scoring clip to 15.9 as new coach
Lou Henson
Louis Ray Henson (January 10, 1932 – July 25, 2020) was an American college basketball coach. He retired as the all-time leader in victories at the University of Illinois with 423 victories and New Mexico State with 289 victories. Overall, Hens ...
steered the varsity to a 14–13 mark, a dramatic leap from the 8–19 record the previous year.
Adams was picked in the fourth round by the
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...
in the
1978 NBA Draft. He failed to make it in the majors and saw action instead for the
Reno Bighorns
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is t ...
in the
Western Basketball Association
The Western Basketball Association was formed in 1978 and played for one season during 1978–79. Organized by Larry Cregar, a former assistant coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA), and real ...
in 1978–79. He had overseas stints in Dubai playing for the Emirates Sports Club and the Philippines.
His daughter is the
Team USA Volleyball team middle
Rachael Adams
Rachael Alexis Adams (born June 3, 1990) is an American former professional volleyball player who played as a middle blocker for the United States women's national volleyball team. Adams won gold with the national team at the 2014 World Champio ...
.
USA Volleyball: 2018 roster
References
External links
Rich Adams
@ basketball.realgm.com
@ basketball-reference.com
1956 births
Living people
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from Illinois
Centers (basketball)
Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players
Power forwards (basketball)
San Antonio Spurs draft picks
Basketball players from Cincinnati
Shell Turbo Chargers players
Great Taste Coffee Makers players
American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines
Philippine Basketball Association imports
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