Dennis Boyd (basketball)

Dennis Boyd (born May 21, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player.

Dennis Boyd
Personal information
Born (1954-05-21) May 21, 1954 (age 70)
Portsmouth, Virginia
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolTheodore Roosevelt
(New York City, New York)
CollegeDetroit Mercy (1973–1977)
NBA draft1977: 4th round, 72nd overall pick
Selected by the New Orleans Jazz
Playing career1978–1979
PositionGuard
Number11
Career history
1978Detroit Pistons
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Amateur career

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Out of New York City and public high school Theodore Roosevelt in the Bronx where he averaged 27 ppg as a senior,[1][2] Boyd signed to play college basketball for the University of Detroit with new Head Coach Dick Vitale beginning with the 1973–74 academic year.

Boyd established himself quickly with a Detroit program that would produce a .722 winning percentage during his time with the Titans (1973–1977). Vitale added future NBA players such as John Long, Terry Tyler and Terry Duerod and built a dominating independent program at the Jesuit university. Boyd played point guard for the team, averaged 10.3 ppg and 7.6 apg as a senior, and was noted for game-winning shots, including wins in his 1967-77 senior season over then #8 Arizona[3] and a historic road win as the #15 Titans defeated #1 and eventual national champions Marquette with Boyd hitting a game-winning jumper with 4 seconds to go to secure the 64–63 win.[4] UD advanced to the 1977 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament Sweet Sixteen, defeating Middle Tennessee in the first round before losing to Michigan 86–81 to end a stellar season.[5][6][7][8]

Professional career

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Boyd was selected by the New Orleans Jazz in the 4th round (72nd pick overall) of the 1977 NBA draft but was cut in the preseason. Vitale took the head coaching position for the Detroit Pistons of the NBA in 1978 and signed Boyd as a free agent for an 8-day stretch in 1978, with Boyd averaging 5.4 ppg in 5 games of NBA action, playing alongside former UD teammates Long and Tyler. He was released by the Pistons on December 28, 1978, bringing his brief professional career to a close.[9]

References

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  1. ^ Harvin, Al (May 13, 1973). "To Archibald, the Best Basketball Camp Is the City" – via NYTimes.com.
  2. ^ "Clipped From Daily News". March 25, 1973. p. 237 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Detroit Mercy Titans [@detroittitans] (October 25, 2017). "Dennis Boyd with the game-winner as the Titans beat No. 8 Arizona in 1976 in today's #CalihanHall 65 Great Moments In 65 Days #WelcomeBack" (Tweet). Retrieved May 11, 2022 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "Great Titan Wins, #1-10 | Detroit Titan Basketball!". udtitanbasketball.freeforums.net.
  5. ^ "Dennis Boyd College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  6. ^ "1976-77 Detroit Titans Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  7. ^ Budner, Marty. "U-D to recognize '76-'77 Sweet 16 men's basketball team". Observer and Eccentric Newspapers and Hometown Weeklies.
  8. ^ Paul, Tony. "Detroit Mercy to honor 'special' '76-77 team, Duerod". The Detroit News.
  9. ^ "Dennis Boyd Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
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