Arrigoni Hall of Fame
A member of the 1951-54 Gaels, Richie Guerin rewrote the basketball record books at Iona College. While wearing the maroon and gold, Guerin scored 1,375 points, a career average of 19.6 points a game, and graduated the leading scorer in Iona basketball history. A two-time all-metropolitan selection with the Gaels, he scored a then school record 40 points against John Carroll University in 1954.
As a professional, Guerin played with the New York Knickerbockers and the St. Louis Hawks of the National Basketball Association, scoring 14,518 points in an 11-year career. He played in six NBA all-star games while with the Knickerbockers and led New York in scoring three seasons. He owns an NBA career-high of 57 points, which he scored while with the Knicks against Syracuse in 1959. In 1961-62, Guerin became the first guard in league history to score 2,000 points in a season when he hit for 2,303.
He completed his career with the Hawks as a player-coach, earning NBA Coach of the Year honors in 1968. Guerin became the full-time head coach in 1970 and completed his eight seasons as coach in 1972 with a 353-325 record. He left coaching that year and served as General Manager of the Hawks for the 1972-73 season.
