Ron Behagen
Personal information
Born (1951-01-14) January 14, 1951 (age 73)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolDeWitt Clinton
(Bronx, New York)
College
NBA draft1973: 1st round, 7th overall pick
Selected by the Kansas City–Omaha Kings
Playing career1973–1980
PositionPower forward / center
Number11, 34, 1, 27, 14, 12
Career history
1973–1975Kansas City–Omaha Kings
1975–1977New Orleans Jazz
1977Atlanta Hawks
1977Houston Rockets
1977–1978Indiana Pacers
1978Detroit Pistons
1979New York Knicks
1979Kansas City Kings
1979–1980Antonini Siena
1980Washington Bullets
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points3,977 (10.3 ppg)
Rebounds2,712 (7.0 rpg)
Assists624 (1.6 apg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Ronald Michael Behagen (born January 14, 1951) is an American former basketball player.

A 6'9" center from DeWitt Clinton High School in New York City, Behagen played basketball in junior college and at the University of Minnesota during the early 1970s. One of his teammates was future Baseball Hall-of-Famer Dave Winfield. After his college career ended in 1973, Behagen was drafted by the Kentucky Colonels in the 1973 American Basketball Association draft and by the Kansas City Kings in the first round of the 1973 NBA draft.[1]

Behagen played seven seasons of professional basketball in the NBA as a member of the Kansas City Kings, New Orleans Jazz, Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, and Washington Bullets and in Italy for Antonini Siena.[2] He received NBA All-Rookie Team honors in 1974. In his NBA career, he averaged 10.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.[3]

Brawl with Ohio State

On January 25, 1972, Behagen was involved in one of the most serious on-court incidents in college basketball history when he and several teammates attacked Ohio State University's Luke Witte. According to the Big Ten Conference's review of the game film, Witte appeared to elbow Minnesota guard Bobby Nix as the two teams headed to their locker rooms at halftime. As the game progressed, Ohio State established a 50–44 lead with less than a minute to play when Minnesota's Clyde Turner flagrantly fouled Witte during a layup attempt, knocking Witte to the floor. Corky Taylor of Minnesota helped Witte up, then kneed Witte in the groin. A melee between the two teams ensued, and Behagen came off the bench to stomp Witte in the head, leaving him unconscious.[4] Ohio State coach Fred Taylor described it as "the sorriest thing [he] ever saw in intercollegiate athletics."[5] Behagen and Corky Taylor were suspended for the rest of that season,[6] though Witte did not press charges against either.[7][8]

Later years

On January 3, 2012, Behagen was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay restitution after pleading guilty to stealing money from a 68-year-old Atlanta woman suffering from Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and dementia. According to the Fulton County District Attorney's Office, Behagen received the woman's ATM card from her caretaker, Valla Rider. Behagen withdrew $7,140 from the woman's bank account in 40 transactions between April 2011 and June 2011; all of the transactions were recorded on bank cameras. Rider had pleaded guilty to financial transaction card fraud in August 2011.[9]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1973–74 Kansas City-Omaha 80 - 25.7 .432 - .764 7.1 1.7 0.7 0.5 11.0
1974–75 Kansas City-Omaha 81 - 27.2 .399 - .754 7.3 1.9 0.7 0.5 10.7
1975–76 New Orleans 66 - 26.3 .446 - .804 8.4 2.1 1.0 0.4 11.5
1976–77 New Orleans 60 - 19.5 .418 - .714 7.2 1.4 0.7 0.3 8.6
1977–78 Atlanta 26 - 22.0 .470 - .729 6.7 1.3 1.2 0.5 11.0
1977–78 Houston 3 - 11.0 .636 - .000 2.3 0.7 0.0 0.0 4.7
1977–78 Indiana 51 - 22.2 .408 - .727 6.5 1.3 0.6 0.4 11.2
1978–79 Detroit 1 - 1.0 .000 - .000 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
1978–79 New York 5 - 7.6 .417 - 1.000 2.2 0.4 0.4 0.0 2.4
1978–79 Kansas City 9 - 14.0 .460 - .727 3.4 0.6 0.2 0.1 6.0
1979–80 Washington 6 - 10.7 .391 .000 .833 2.3 1.2 0.0 0.7 3.8
Career 388 - 23.5 .425 .000 .754 7.0 1.6 0.7 0.4 10.3

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1974–75 Kansas City-Omaha 6 - 18.0 .512 - 1.000 4.8 1.0 0.2 0.3 7.8
1979–80 Washington 2 - 7.0 .286 .000 .000 1.0 1.5 0.0 0.0 2.0
Career 8 - 15.3 .480 .000 1.000 3.9 1.1 0.1 0.3 6.4

References

  1. ^ "BasketballReference.com Ron Behagen page". Archived from the original on 2007-12-07. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
  2. ^ Lega A Basket
  3. ^ Career statistics. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  4. ^ Roy Damer. "Sidelined for '72 season". Chicago Tribune. January 29, 1972. Sports, 1.
  5. ^ Brawl of thirty-five years ago serves as a warning today. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  6. ^ Ray Christensen. Gopher Tales. Sports Publishing LLC, 2002. p. 67.
  7. ^ Forgiveness helps Witte after 1972 brawl Archived 2011-05-22 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  8. ^ "Registered & Protected by MarkMonitor".
  9. ^ Ex-NBA Player Steals Money From Woman With Alzheimer's, Dementia. CBS Atlanta. January 6, 2012. Retrieved on January 10, 2012.
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