Lennie Rosenbluth
From Hoopedia
Leonard Robert "Lennie" Rosenbluth (born January 22, 1933, in the Bronx, New York) is a retired American basketball player.
Rosenbluth attended Staunton Military Academy in Staunton, Virginia. In 1957 he led the University of North Carolina Tar Heels to a 32-0 record. At 6’ 5” Rosenbluth averaged 27.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game during the regular season. The Helms Foundation Hall of Fame named him “Collegiate Player of the Year,” over Kansas's Wilt Chamberlain. It was North Carolina's first NCAA championship, and it brought credibility to the Atlantic Coast Conference.
In 1955, his first year of varsity basketball, he was the leading scorer for the Tar Heels. He was named third team All-America, averaging 25.5 ppg and 11.7 rebounds. In 1956 he also achieved All-America honors, but this time they were split between various first and second team selections. He was also named the ACC Male Athlete of the Year in 1957. He again led the Tar Heels in scoring with a 26.7 average.
In Rosenbluth’s senior season his Tar Heels defeated Chamberlain’s Kansas Jayhawks 54-53 in triple overtime. The UNC forward scored 20 points in the championship final, was the tournament’s overall top scorer, 28.0 ppg, and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Rosenbluth has been honored for his athletic achievements while at North Carolina. He was selected to the "All-Decade Final Four" team for the 1950s. He is in the Helms Foundation College Basketball Hall of Fame, and is listed as one of the "100 Greatest College Players of All-Time." Also, Rosenbluth is a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Honors
- Three-time All-ACC selections (1955-57)
- 1957 ACC Player and Athlete of the Year
- MVP of the 1957 ACC Tournament
- All-Tournament at three Dixie Classic Tournaments.
Until Duke University's's Christian Laettner, Rosenbluth was the only collegian to be named NCAA National Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP, and NCAA regional MVP in the same season.
Rosenbluth still hold several UNC records, including most points in a single season (895), and highest single season average (28.0).
His professional career included a brief stint with the Philadelphia Warriors. He was selected by the Warriors in the first round of the 1957 NBA draft and played for them from 1957-59. He played in 82 NBA games, averaging 4.2 ppg.
