Professional Basketball Player. After playing for Hopkinsville High School in Kentucky, he went on to star at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California from 1971 to 1973. Averaging 33.9 points per game, the left-hander was the nation's leading scorer during the 1972-73 season. The Portland Trail Blazers selected him in the fourth round of the 1973 National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft, but he chose to play in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and started his career with the San Antonio Spurs. After a year in Texas, Averitt returned to his home state and suited up for 162 games in two seasons with the Kentucky Colonels. He averaged 13.1 points per game in his first season playing for Hall of Fame coach Hubie Brown and alongside Hall of Fame teammates Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore and Louie Dampier. While he played for the Colonels at Freedom Hall, the team set up the "Birdwatchers Society," a fan club in the guard's honor. The Colonels defeated the Indiana Pacers in the 1975 ABA Finals to bring home the teams' only championship. Averitt averaged 17.9 points per game during the 1975-76 season, the Colonels' last before the team folded when the ABA merged with the NBA. Colonels owner John Y. Brown Jr. brought Averitt with him to Buffalo, New York, when in 1976 he used the money he received for agreeing to fold the Colonels to buy the Buffalo Braves of the NBA. Averitt spent a year in New York, played for the New Jersey Nets during the 1977-78 season and ended his professional career after rejoining the Braves for the 1977-78 campaign. He moved back to Hopkinsville, Kentucky after his playing days ended and, in the mid-1990s, he was in a car accident that left him partially disabled.
Professional Basketball Player. After playing for Hopkinsville High School in Kentucky, he went on to star at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California from 1971 to 1973. Averaging 33.9 points per game, the left-hander was the nation's leading scorer during the 1972-73 season. The Portland Trail Blazers selected him in the fourth round of the 1973 National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft, but he chose to play in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and started his career with the San Antonio Spurs. After a year in Texas, Averitt returned to his home state and suited up for 162 games in two seasons with the Kentucky Colonels. He averaged 13.1 points per game in his first season playing for Hall of Fame coach Hubie Brown and alongside Hall of Fame teammates Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore and Louie Dampier. While he played for the Colonels at Freedom Hall, the team set up the "Birdwatchers Society," a fan club in the guard's honor. The Colonels defeated the Indiana Pacers in the 1975 ABA Finals to bring home the teams' only championship. Averitt averaged 17.9 points per game during the 1975-76 season, the Colonels' last before the team folded when the ABA merged with the NBA. Colonels owner John Y. Brown Jr. brought Averitt with him to Buffalo, New York, when in 1976 he used the money he received for agreeing to fold the Colonels to buy the Buffalo Braves of the NBA. Averitt spent a year in New York, played for the New Jersey Nets during the 1977-78 season and ended his professional career after rejoining the Braves for the 1977-78 campaign. He moved back to Hopkinsville, Kentucky after his playing days ended and, in the mid-1990s, he was in a car accident that left him partially disabled.
Bio by: Glendora
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