As a baseball player, Dave DeBusschere led his hometown University of Detroit Titans to three NCAA tournament berths. Signed by the Chicago White Sox, he pitched for them for parts of the 1962 and ‘63 seasons.
But DeBusschere’s true calling was on the basketball court. Drafted by the Pistons with their territorial pick of 1962, at 24 he became the youngest player-coach ever to serve in the NBA.
When the Knicks traded for the skilled forward during the 1968-69 season, the core of the team that would win two championships in the early 1970s was complete. DeBusschere, a Hall of Famer who was named a member of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time team, became the Knicks’ director of operations in the 1980s: He’s the one responsible for drafting Patrick Ewing.