Richard A. Yunkus (born November 13, 1949) is an American former

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, best known for his All-American college career at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part o ...

. Born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

, to a family of Lithuanian descent, Yunkus was a star player at Benton High School in

Benton, Illinois Benton is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Illinois. The population was 6,709 at the 2020 census. History Founding Benton, the county seat of Franklin County, took its name from the prominent senator from Missouri, Thomas ...

, where he led the Rangers to a 61–2 record over his last two seasons. Though Yunkus was recruited by most top schools nationally, he chose to attend Georgia Tech, in part due to his interest in becoming an engineer. Rich Yunkus

At Georgia Tech, Yunkus proved a capable highly scorer and rebounder, averaging 26.6

points Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Points ...

and 11.4

rebounds per game 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

for his three-year varsity career (freshmen were ineligible in his day). He received All-American honors in both his junior and senior seasons and was an

Academic All-American The Academic All-America program is a student-athlete recognition program. The program selects an honorary sports team composed of the most outstanding student-athletes of a specific season for positions in various sports—who in turn are give ...

all three seasons. For his career, Yunkus scored 2,232 points and recorded 955 rebounds. He is still the Yellow Jackets' all-time leading scorer, despite playing only three seasons. He also is the program career leader in scoring average. Following the close of his college career in 1971, Yunkus was drafted by both the

ABA ABA may refer to: Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, United States * Asahi Broadcasting Aomori, Japanese television station * Australian Broadcasting Authority Education * Académie des Beaux- ...

Carolina Cougars The Carolina Cougars were a basketball franchise in the American Basketball Association that existed from 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North Ca ...

and the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United ...

Cincinnati Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

(third round, 38th pick overall). The Royals traded his rights to the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

, but Yunkus ultimately left the team without playing a game for them. He returned home to Benton to enter the business world.

References

External links

College stats at Sports-Reference

College stats at Draft Review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yunkus, Rich 1949 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players American people of Lithuanian descent Basketball players from Illinois Basketball players from Nebraska Carolina Cougars draft picks Centers (basketball) Cincinnati Royals draft picks Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Benton, Illinois Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Omaha, Nebraska