The Case For Counts: One of the most feared college players of his generation, Mel Counts emerged onto the scene as the pride of Coos Bay, Oregon in 1961 and the Beavers star dominated the college basketball landscape during his few seasons in Corvallis. A second-team All-American selection in 1964, Counts averaged a mind-numbing 22.2 points and 15.4 rebounds per game over 89 contests in his Oregon State career, as one of the best true seven-footer centers ever to play on the west coast. Counts’ gaudy college career earned him the 7th overall pick in the 1964 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics, the team he’d eventually win NBA titles with in 1965 and 1966 as the back-up center to legendary Hall of Famer, Bill Russell.
BTD’s Best All-Time Basketball Player: #3 Mel Counts v. #6 Red Rocha (Black Bracket)
