1967–68 New Jersey Americans season

1967–68 New Jersey Americans season
Head coachMax Zaslofsky
ArenaTeaneck Armory
Results
Record36–42 (.462)
PlaceDivision: 5th (Eastern (ABA))
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
RadioWJRZ

The 1967–68 New Jersey Americans season was the first season of the franchise in the American Basketball Association (ABA). Originally, they planned on going by the New Jersey Freighters or New York Freighters before changing their team name to the New York Americans and then New Jersey Americans by the start of the regular season due to the Americans failing to find a permanent home venue in the New York City area. The Americans finished the season tied with the Kentucky Colonels for the fourth and final playoff spot. However, due to the Teaneck Armory being booked up on the day of the one-game playoff and the playing surface at the Commack Long Island Arena (the future home of the team) being deemed unsuitable, the two teams did not play a one-game playoff, which resulted in the game being forfeited in favor of the Colonels, giving them the last playoff spot instead of the Americans. The team would relocate to Long Island and then become the New York Nets before the next season started.[1][2]

Draft

Player School/Club Team
Sonny Dove St. John's
Mal Graham New York University
George Stone Marshall
Dick Pruett Jacksonville
Bob Wolf Marquette
Tim Edwards Amherst
Dan Hansard St. Thomas (MN)
Frank Holloendoner Georgetown
Harry Laurie St. Peters (NJ)[3]

This draft was slated to have them participating under their original New Jersey Freighters name, though the selections would retroactively be considered draft picks done by the New Jersey Americans by the time the inaugural ABA season began.

Roster

1967–68 New Jersey Americans roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
C 20 Dan Anderson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1943-02-15 Augsburg
G 33 Johnny Austin 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1944-08-31 Boston College
C 22, 41 Al Beard 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1996-08-15 Norfolk State
C 41 Jim Caldwell 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1943-01-28 Georgia Tech
G 40 Art Heyman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1941-06-24 Duke
G 25 Tony Jackson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1942-11-07 St. John's
F 41 Stew Johnson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1944-08-19 Murray State
G 20, 40 Barry Leibowitz 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1945-09-10 Long Island
G 3 Bob Lloyd 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1946-01-03 Rutgers
F 32 Johnny Mathis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1943-07-14 Savannah State
F 44 Bob McIntyre 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1944-01-23 St. John's
G 27 Mel Nowell 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1939-12-27 Ohio State
F 4 Walt Simon 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1939-12-01 Benedict
F 30 Bruce Spraggins 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1939-08-31 Virginia Union
G 40 Levern Tart 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1942-06-01 Bradley
F 22 Dexter Westbrook 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1943 Providence
F 44 Hank Whitney 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1939-04-28 Iowa State
Head coach
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Standings

Team W L PCT. GB
Pittsburgh Pipers * 54 24 .692 —
Minnesota Muskies * 50 28 .641 4
Indiana Pacers * 38 40 .487 16
Kentucky Colonels * 36 42 .462 18
New Jersey Americans 36 42 .462 18

Record vs. opponents

1967–68 ABA Records
Team ANA DAL DEN HOU IND KEN MIN NJA NOB OAK PIT
Anaheim — 2–8 3–7 6–3 2–4 0–6 1–5 2–4 2–7 6–4 1–5
Dallas 8–2 — 4–5 8–2 3–3 5–1 2–4 3–3 4–6 7–2 2–4
Denver 7–3 5–4 — 6–3 4–2 2–4 2–4 5–1 5–5 7–3 2–4
Houston 3–6 2–8 3–6 — 3–3 3–3 3–3 3–3 0–10 7–3 2–4
Indiana 4–2 3–3 2–4 3–3 — 6–5 3–8 6–4 3–3 4–2 4–6
Kentucky 6–0 1–5 4–2 3–3 5–6 — 5–5 4–7 2–4 3–3 3–7
Minnesota 5–1 4–2 4–2 3–3 8–3 5–5 — 7–3 5–1 5–1 4–7
New Jersey 4–2 3–3 1–5 3–3 4–6 7–4 3–7 — 3–3 5–1 3–8
New Orleans 7–2 6–4 5–5 10–0 3–3 4–2 1–5 3–3 — 6–3 3–3
Oakland 4–6 2–7 3–7 3–7 2–4 3–3 1–5 1–5 3–6 — 0–6
Pittsburgh 5–1 4–2 4–2 4–2 6–4 7–3 7–4 8–3 3–3 6–0 —

Game log

Player 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

Regular season statistics

As of March 20, 1968[4]

New Jersey Americans statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Dan Anderson 78 — 33.7 .494 — .697 11.0 1.2 — — 14.7
John Austin 41 — 16.9 .387 .000 .721 1.6 1.4 — — 7.7
Al Beard 12 — 9.8 .522 — .545 3.8 .0 — — 2.5
Jim Caldwell 12 — 21.8 .348 — .455 7.1 .9 — — 4.7
Art Heyman 19 — 23.1 .385 .176 .644 3.7 1.9 — — 13.8
Tony Jackson 74 — 35.6 .383 .301 .829 6.8 1.9 — — 19.4
Stew Johnson 55 — 21.7 .344 .302 .625 5.9 .8 — — 8.6
Barry Leibowitz 24 — 29.5 .341 .000 .802 3.0 3.9 — — 11.4
Bob Lloyd 58 — 17.2 .421 .375 .854 1.9 1.6 — — 8.1
Johnny Mathis 51 — 12.9 .371 .000 .636 3.8 .5 — — 3.4
Bob McIntyre 21 — 21.5 .374 .000 .586 4.8 .5 — — 8.3
Mel Nowell 76 — 20.5 .402 .281 .826 2.5 2.0 — — 9.6
Walt Simon 78 — 32.3 .453 .067 .635 6.7 2.7 — — 13.3
Bruce Spraggins 70 — 22.7 .446 .400 .708 4.7 .9 — — 12.2
Levern Tart 31 — 35.0 .410 .000 .829 3.9 3.3 — — 19.0
Dexter Westbrook 7 — 8.4 .632 — .778 1.3 .3 — — 4.4
Hank Whitney 37 — 31.3 .393 — .714 12.9 1.5 — — 16.0

Awards and honors

1968 ABA All-Star Game selection (game played on January 9, 1968)

References

  1. ^ "1967-68 New Jersey Americans Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  2. ^ "Remember the ABA: New Jersey Americans". www.remembertheaba.com.
  3. ^ "1967 ABA Draft". basketballreference.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  4. ^ "1967-68 New Jersey Americans Roster and Stats - Regular season". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
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