Howard Komives

Howard K. "Butch" Komives (/ˈkoʊmaɪvz/ KOH-myvez;[1] May 9, 1941 – March 22, 2009) was an American professional basketball player who spent ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Buffalo Braves and Kansas City-Omaha Kings.

Howard Komives
Personal information
Born(1941-05-09)May 9, 1941
Toledo, Ohio
DiedMarch 22, 2009(2009-03-22) (aged 67)
Toledo, Ohio
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolWoodward (Toledo, Ohio)
CollegeBowling Green (1961–1964)
NBA draft1964 / Round: 2 / Pick: 13th overall
Selected by the New York Knicks
Playing career1964–1974
PositionPoint guard
Number16, 30, 5, 15
Career history
1964–1968New York Knicks
1968–1972Detroit Pistons
1972–1973Buffalo Braves
1973–1974Kansas City-Omaha Kings
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points7,550 (10.2 ppg)
Rebounds1,804 (2.4 rpg)
Assists2,941 (4.0 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Born in Toledo, Ohio, he graduated from Woodward High School (Toledo) in 1960.

College career

Komives played college basketball at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), where he led the team in scoring in each of his three varsity seasons. As a starting shooting guard, he teamed with Nate Thurmond, the school's all-time leading rebounder, to lead the Falcons to back-to-back Mid-American Conference (MAC) championships and NCAA tournament appearances in 1962 and 1963.

Despite Thurmond's graduation and the team's fall to third place in the conference, Komives led the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in scoring during the 1963–64 season with 36.7 points per game, still BGSU and MAC records.[2] Even though he no longer is the school's all-time leading scorer (his 1,834 total points is currently third), his 25.8 scoring average is still a Falcons record. Komives still holds the Bowling Green single game scoring record of sixty six points. In this game, he was guarded by Sumner Goldstein, who would later go on to become an attorney.

He was inducted into the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1970. His son Shane was a four-year basketball letterman at the same school from 1993 to 1996.

Professional career

Komives was selected thirteenth overall in the second round by the New York Knicks in the 1964 NBA draft.[3] He was named to the All-Rookie Team in 1965, after starting in every regular-season match and averaging 12.2 points per game. After the Knicks acquired Dick Barnett prior to the 1965–66 season, Komives was shifted to point guard, a position with which he struggled, drawing the wrath of Knicks fans. The most productive campaign of his professional career was in 1967, when his averages per contest were 15.7 points and 6.2 assists.[1]

By the time Red Holzman became the Knicks' coach midway through the 1967–68 season, Komives was involved in a personal feud with Cazzie Russell that negatively affected the rest of the team. Russell was an ardent supporter of Richard Nixon in the 1968 Presidential election, while Komives worked for the Hubert Humphrey campaign.[4] With the emergence of Walt Frazier as the starting point guard, Komives was traded along with Walt Bellamy to the Pistons for Dave DeBusschere on December 19, 1968. This was what Komives is most remembered for, but only because DeBusschere was the last major addition to the Knicks before it won its first NBA Championship in 1970.

In 2007, Komives was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame.[5]

Komives died at University of Toledo Medical Center on March 22, 2009 at age 67. His wife Marcia had found him unconscious and unresponsive in their home three days earlier.[6]

References
  1. Goldstein, Richard (March 23, 2009), "Howard Komives, Ex-Knick, Dies at 67", The New York Times
  2. Komives still holds the single game scoring record of 66 points, and in this game, he was guarded by Sumner Goldstein, who would later go on to become an attorney. http://www.hoopsanalyst.com/ncaa.htm Komives scored 66 points in one game, which is still a Bowling Green single game record. In this game, Komives was guarded by Sumner Goldstein, who would later go on to become an attorney.Archived 2008-03-14 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. 1964 NBA Draft – Basketball-Reference.com.
  4. Kalinsky, George. The New York Knicks: The Official 50th Anniversary Celebration. New York: Macmillan, Inc., 1996.
  5. "Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame: The Inductees for 2007". 2007-05-21.
  6. Former NBA player 'Butch' Komives dies at 67 Archived 2009-03-25 at the Wayback Machine
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