Reggie Harding

From Hoopedia

Reginald Harding (May 4, 1942–September 2, 1972) was an American professional basketball player.

A 7'0" native of Detroit, Michigan, Harding was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the fourth round of the 1962 NBA Draft. He became the first player drafted by the NBA without having played in college, although he did not enter the NBA until the 1963-64 season. In four NBA seasons with the Pistons and Chicago Bulls, Harding averaged 9.0 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Harding also spent part of the 1967-68 season with the ABA's Indiana Pacers, averaging 13.4 points and 13.4 rebounds in 25 games.

Harding's basketball career was cut short by a number of personal problems. As a player, he was rumored to carry a pistol in his gym bag. He struggled with drug addiction. Recently revealed in Peter Benjaminson's The Lost Supreme: The Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard, Harding raped Florence Ballard, a member of The Supremes, in 1960.

Harding was shot dead at a Detroit intersection in 1972.