Lennie Rosenbluth

(1933 - )

Lennie Rosenbluth (born January 22, 1933, in New York City) is a retired American Jewish basketball player.

In 1957, he led the University of North Carolina Tar Heels to a 32-0 record. At 6’5”, Lennie Rosenbluth averaged 27.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game during the regular season. The Helms Hall of Fame named him “Collegiate Player of the Year,” over Kansas's Wilt Chamberlin.

This was North Carolina's first national championship and it brought credibility to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

His first year of varsity basketball in 1955, and he was the leading scorer of the Tar Heels. He was named third team All-America by 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.

Throughout the years Rosenbluth has still 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 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 Hall of Fame.

Other honors include three-time All-ACC selections (1955-1957); 1957 ACC Player and Athlete of the Year; MVP of the '57 ACC Tournament; All-Tournament at three Dixie Classics. Until Duke University's Christian Laettner, Rosenbluth was the only collegians 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.

As of today, Rosenbluth holds 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 1957-1959. He played in 82 games for them and averaged 4.2 points per game.

Sources: Wikipedia