James Forbes

Personal information
Born	(1952-07-18)July 18, 1952 Fort Rucker, Alabama
Died	January 21, 2022(2022-01-21) (aged 69) El Paso, Texas
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	201 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school	Bel Air (El Paso, Texas)
College	UTEP (1971–1974)
NBA draft	1974: 4th round, 70th overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Position	Power forward
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men's basketball Representing  United States Olympic Games 1972 Munich Team

James Ricardo Forbes (July 18, 1952 – January 21, 2022) was an American basketball player. His college career at the University of Texas at El Paso was crowned by his participation at the 1972 Olympics as a member of the youngest-ever U.S. team. Forbes played in the highly controversial 1972 Olympic Men's Basketball Final, which ended in a loss for his team. Protesting refereeing in that match, he and the rest of the team have never accepted the silver medal.^[1]

Life and career

Forbes was born in Fort Rucker, Alabama, on July 18, 1952.^[2] He attended Bel Air High School^[2] in El Paso, Texas. He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the fourth round of the 1974 NBA draft, but he never played professionally. Forbes was later an assistant coach for the UTEP Miners before going to coach high school basketball in El Paso. As a high school coach, he guided the Riverside Rangers to the Texas 5A Final Four in 1995 and the Andress Eagles to the Texas 5A Sweet Sixteen in 2009. Forbes has more than 700 career high school coaching victories.^[3]

Forbes died from complications of COVID-19 in El Paso, on January 21, 2022, at the age of 69.^[3][4]