Art Heyman — a man at the heart of the Duke/North Carolina rivalry who went on to be the No. 1 overall pick of the Knicks in 1963 — passed away Monday at the age of 71. The cause of death is not known.
Heyman is often remembered as the first great players at Duke, a three time All-American who led the school to its first Final Four back in 1963. He also lit the fire under the Duke/North Carolina rivalry when during a February game he punched Larry Brown (yes, that Larry Brown) and started a benches-clearing brawl.
The Knicks picked him No. 1 overall and Heyman played six years bouncing between the NBA and ABA. The 6’5” swingman averaged 13 points a game over his career but never blossomed into the NBA star many expected. He did, however, help the Pittsburgh Pipers win the 1968 ABA title.
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- observingii - Aug 28, 2012 at 5:12 PM
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Sorry to hear about Art Heyman, a true college great. But he was hardly the first great player at Duke. A guy named Dick Groat who turned out to be a pretty fair major league shortstop was the college basketball player of the year in 1952-53 and twice an All-American.
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- lakerluver - Aug 28, 2012 at 7:05 PM
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I see Larry Brown was an ***hole even way back then.
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- cosanostra71 - Aug 28, 2012 at 7:17 PM
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RIP, but I have to say, the guy kinda looks like Rick Santorum
