Mel Nowell

Last updated
Mel Nowell
Personal information
Born (1939-12-27) December 27, 1939 (age 83)
Columbus, Ohio
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school East (Columbus, Ohio)
College Ohio State (1959–1962)
NBA draft 1962 / Round: 12 / Pick: 90th overall
Selected by the Chicago Zephyrs
Playing career1962–1968
Position Point guard / Shooting guard
Number20, 27
Career history
1962–1963 Chicago Zephyrs
1963–1964 Wilkes-Barre Barons
1966–1967Columbus Comets
1967–1968 New Jersey Americans
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA and ABA statistics
Points 963 (8.4 ppg)
Rebounds 260 (2.3 rpg)
Assists 239 (2.1 apg)
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Melvyn P. "Mel" Nowell (born December 27, 1939) is an American former basketball player.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, Nowell played for the Ohio State Buckeyes basketball team that won the 1960 NCAA championship. He played with three Hall of Famers and Hall of Fame Coach Fred Taylor. He later played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Chicago Zephyrs and in the American Basketball Association (ABA).

A 6'1 guard, Nowell was a high school star at Columbus East 1957–1958. His outside shooting and one-on-one skills were enough to rate him the #2 player in Ohio after Jerry Lucas. Fielding numerous scholarship offers, Nowell decided to follow Lucas to Ohio State in a historic recruiting class that later also included John Havlicek and Bobby Knight. Starting with fellow sophomores Lucas and Havlicek, Nowell's shooting was a key element in Ohio State's run to the 1960 NCAA title. He was named to the 1960 All-Tournament Team.

Ohio State's 1960–61 team went undefeated until the NCAA Final. Ohio State's 1961–62 also reached the NCAA Final.

Nowell did participate in the 1960 US Olympic Trials but was never seriously considered for a spot on the team. Only three blacks were named to that team, and more attention was paid to Nowell's white Ohio State teammates, a factor he considered in his remaining basketball career.

Nowell's shooting ability was such that he could have been a big scorer at another school, a fact that could have led to a bigger pro career. Instead, he played with or for four future Hall of Famers, went to three straight NCAA Finals, winning one in 1960. All three years, the Ohio State Buckeyes were undefeated at home at St. John Arena.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Lucas</span> American basketball player and author (born 1940)

Jerry Ray Lucas is an American former basketball player. He was a nationally awarded high school player, national college star at Ohio State, and 1960 gold medal Olympian and international player before later starring as a professional player in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gus Johnson (basketball)</span> American basketball player (1938–1987)

Gus Johnson Jr. was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), 235-pound (107 kg) forward–center, he spent nine seasons with the Baltimore Bullets, and his final season was split between the Phoenix Suns and the Indiana Pacers of the American Basketball Association (ABA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohio State Buckeyes</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Ohio State University

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, the Ohio buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports. The Ohio State women's ice hockey team competes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). The school colors are scarlet and gray. The university's mascot is Brutus Buckeye. "THE" is the official trademark of the Ohio State University merchandise. Led by its gridiron program, the Buckeyes have the largest overall sports endowment of any campus in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Havlicek</span> American basketball player (1940–2019)

John Joseph Havlicek was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire career with the Boston Celtics, winning eight NBA championships, four of them coming in his first four seasons with the team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Taylor (basketball, born 1924)</span> American baseball player

Frederick Rankin Taylor was a college men's basketball coach for The Ohio State University from 1959 to 1976. Prior to that, he played baseball for the Washington Senators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Scott (basketball)</span> American basketball player (born 1948)

Charles Thomas Scott, also known as Shaheed Abdul-Aleem, is an American former professional basketball player. He played two seasons in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Scott was an Olympic Gold Medalist and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.

James J. O'Brien is an American college basketball coach who has served as coach of St. Bonaventure University (1982–1986), Boston College (1986–1997), Ohio State University (1997–2004) and Emerson College, a Division III school in Boston (2011–2014).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bo Lamar</span>

Dwight "Bo" Lamar is a former professional American basketball player. Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, he graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Lamar was a leading NCAA scorer and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1973 American Basketball Association Draft.

Larry E. Siegfried was an American National Basketball Association player.

Joseph C. Roberts was an American professional basketball player who played three seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and one season in the American Basketball Association (ABA). He played for the Syracuse Nationals and Kentucky Colonels from 1960 to 1968, having earlier played for Ohio State University's 1960 NCAA champions. After retiring from playing, he served as assistant coach of the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill McGill</span> American basketball player

Bill "The Hill" McGill was an American basketball player best known for inventing the jump hook. McGill was the No. 1 overall pick of the 1962 NBA draft out of the University of Utah, with whom he led the NCAA in scoring with 38.8 points per game in the 1961–1962 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball</span> Mens basketball team of Ohio State University

The Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represents The Ohio State University in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. The Buckeyes are a member of the Big Ten Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Thacker (basketball)</span> American basketball player and coach

Thomas Porter Thacker is an American retired basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Cincinnati Royals and the Boston Celtics from 1963 to 1968, and from 1968 to 1971, for the American Basketball Association's Indiana Pacers. He is the only player to have played on an NCAA championship team, an ABA championship team, and an NBA championship team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Bradds</span> American basketball player

Gary Lee "Tex" Bradds was an American basketball player. After a successful college career at Ohio State, where he was the 1964 College Player of the Year, he played an integral role with the 1968–69 Oakland Oaks, the American Basketball Association champions. He attended Greeneview High School, where he scored 61 points in a game. The school's gym is named in his honor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1959–60 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 1959–60 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team is the only basketball team to win a national title in Ohio State history. They were coached by Hall of Fame coach Fred Taylor and had three future Hall of Famers on their roster—center Jerry Lucas, forward John Havlicek, and reserve forward Bob Knight, who entered the Hall for his storied coaching career, most notably at Indiana.

The 1960–61 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represented Ohio State University. The team's head coach was Fred Taylor.

The 1960 United States men's Olympic basketball team competed in the Games of the XVII Olympiad, representing the United States of America. The USA team, coached by California Golden Bears head coach Pete Newell, dominated the competition, winning its games by an average of 42.4 points per game. The team is considered by many to be the best amateur level basketball team of all time, and was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a unit, in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Rinka</span>

John Rinka is an American former college basketball player best known for his high-scoring offensive ability and accurate jump shot while at Kenyon College from 1966 to 1970. A 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) shooting guard, Rinka is in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) top ten in all-time scoring despite playing before the advent of the three–point line and the shot clock. He once scored 69 points in a game, which is tied for the 21st-highest single game output in NCAA history; his 41.0 points per game average in 1969–70 as well as his 3,251 career points are also the eighth-highest average and total, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Truitt</span> American basketball coach

Frank Wilson Truitt, Jr., was a multi-sport collegiate coach and a veteran of World War II.

Allan J. Hornyak is an American former basketball player known for his high school and collegiate careers. Despite being selected in the 1973 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers and also in the 1973 ABA Draft by the Indiana Pacers, Hornyak never played professional basketball.