Athletes - Louie Dampier

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	Athletes - Louie Dampier

Louie Dampier (born November 20, 1944 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is a former professional basketball player. A 6-0 guard, Dampier is one of only a handful of men to play all nine seasons in the ABA (1967-1976), all with the Kentucky Colonels. He also played three seasons (1976-1979) in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs.

University of Kentucky

Dampier was a multi-sport athlete at the University of Kentucky, playing baseball as well as basketball. Playing under legendary coach Adolph Rupp, Dampier and Pat Riley led the Wildcats, who fielded an all-white basketball team, to the 1966 NCAA championship game, where they lost to Texas Western (now the University of Texas at El Paso), which fielded an all-black starting lineup. During his three years at Kentucky (at the time, freshmen were ineligible to play varsity sports), Dampier was a two-time All-American and three-time All-Southeastern Conference. He was also named Academic All-Southeastern Conference twice and Academic All-American once. Upon graduation from Kentucky in 1967, Dampier scored 1575 points, at the time third in school history.

Pro Basketball

In 1967 the Cincinnati Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) selected Dampier in the fourth round of the NBA Draft. Dampier eventually signed with the Kentucky Colonels of the fledgling ABA and teamed with Darel Carrier to form the most explosive backcourt duo in the league. In each of the ABA's first three seasons, both Dampier and Carrier averaged at least 20 points per game. Both were three-point field goal specialists (the ABA had used the three-point field goal from day one), but especially Dampier who made 500 during a three-year stretch: a record 199 during the 1968-69 season, 198 in 1969-70 and 103 in 1970-71. (The 199 stood as a professional basketball record, ABA or NBA, until John Starks made 217 during the 1994-95 season. Dennis Scott broke that record a year later with 267; that record still stands today.) At the conclusion of the ABA's history, Dampier made a career-record 794 3-point field goals. He also finished #1 all-time in the ABA in points scored (13726), assists (4044) and minutes played (27770). During the 1970-71 season, he hit 57 consecutive free throws for what was then a pro record (ABA or NBA). Seven times, he was named an ABA All-Star. He was named a unanimous choice for the ABA Top 30 team. He played on the Colonels’ 1975 ABA Championship team, which featured another ex-Kentucky Wildcat, Dan Issel, as well as 7-2 center extraordinnaire Artis Gilmore.

After the 1976 season, the ABA ceased operations with Kentucky and two other teams folding. Dampier was selected by the San Antonio Spurs (one of the four teams to merge into the NBA) in the dispersal draft. Playing mostly as a role player behind George Gervin, Dampier averaged 6.7 points in 232 games.

Dampier is a former assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets.

Several divisions in the new ABA were initially named after stars of the old ABA, including Dampier. Today the the league has three divisions—a Red Division, a White Division, and a Blue Division (after the colors of the ball used in both the old and new ABA).

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