Tommy Kearns
Kearns in the 1956–57 season.
Personal information
Born (1936-10-06) October 6, 1936 (age 87)
New York City, New York
NationalityAmerican
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolSaint Ann's Academy
(Manhattan, New York)
CollegeNorth Carolina (1955–1958)
NBA draft1958: 4th round, 30th overall pick
Selected by the Syracuse Nationals
Playing career1958–1959
PositionPoint guard
Number3
Career history
1958–1959Syracuse Nationals
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Thomas Francis Kearns Jr. (born October 6, 1936) is an American former professional basketball player.

Born in New York City, he played collegiately for the University of North Carolina, where he played an integral role on the 1957 National Championship team. In an effort to rattle the 7-foot 1-inch Wilt Chamberlain of the Kansas Jayhawks in the national championship game, North Carolina coach Frank McGuire sent Kearns out at the start of the game to jump center. Kearns lost the tip-off but scored 11 points during the game. He was named first-team All-ACC in 1957 and 1958 and second-team All-America in 1957. Because of his national accolades, Kearns' number 40 was honored by the University of North Carolina and currently hangs in the rafters of the Dean Smith Center.[1]

He was selected by the Syracuse Nationals in the fourth round (29th pick overall) of the 1958 NBA draft. He played for the Nationals in the NBA for one game. He scored two points during his professional basketball career.[2]

In 2000, he played coach Garrick in Finding Forrester, a film directed by Gus Van Sant with Sean Connery and Rob Brown.[3]

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

NBA

Source[4]

Regular season

Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1958–59 Syracuse 1 7.0 1.000 – .0 .0 2.0

References

  1. ^ Halberstam, David (February 7, 1999). "He Got a Shot in the NBA, and It Went In". New York Times. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  2. ^ Gagne, Matt (July 9, 2012). "Though he played in only one NBA game, the former NCAA title-winning point guard has had a rich postbasketball life". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  3. ^ Schlosser, Jim (January 11, 2001). "Kearns has been in the spotlight as a member of the 1957 Tar Heel team that won the national championship. But his role as a coach in ``Finding Forrester' is his latest claim to fame". News & Record. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  4. ^ "Tommy Kearns NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 4 December 2023.

External links

North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball 1956–57 NCAA champions
Categories