Paul Hoffman (basketball)

This article is about the basketball player. For other uses of the name, see Paul Hoffman (disambiguation).

Paul Hoffman

Personal information
Born	(1925-05-05)May 5, 1925
Died	Baltimore, Maryland
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school	Jasper (Jasper, Indiana)
College	Purdue (1943–1947)
Playing career	1947–1955
Position	Guard / Forward
Number	32, 11, 12, 14
Career history
1947–1954	Baltimore Bullets
1954–1955	New York Knicks
1955	Philadelphia Warriors
Career highlights and awards
BAA champion (1948) 3× Second–team All-American – Helms (1945–1947) Third-team All-American – Converse (1947)
Career BAA and NBA statistics
Points	3,234 (10.2 ppg)
Rebounds	1,129 (5.1 rpg)
Assists	911 (2.9 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Paul James Hoffman (May 5, 1925 – November 12, 1998) was an American professional basketball player.

College career

Hoffman, a 6'2" guard/forward, attended Jasper High School in Jasper, Indiana from 1939 to 1943; his coach was the legendary Cabby O'Neill. After high school, he attended Purdue University, where he played under head coach Ward Lambert. He became the only four time First Team-All Big Ten selection in Boilermaker history and one of the first two players to be selected in the NBA Draft with teammate Bulbs Ehlers. He led Purdue in scoring all four seasons and won the MVP award for his performance in the 1947 All-American All-Star game at Madison Square Garden. Hoffman was a three-time second team Helms Foundation All-American

1945 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
1946 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
1947 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

Professional playing career

Hoffman was drafted by the Toronto Huskies in the 1947 BAA Draft. He averaged 10.5 points per game in his rookie season and was named NBA Rookie of the Year—a designation not currently sanctioned by the NBA for the 1947–48 season.

He played six seasons in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Baltimore Bullets, New York Knicks and Philadelphia Warriors. He averaged 2.9 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 10.2 points per game, and scored 3,234 career points. He helped lead the Bullets to the NBA Championship 1948. He missed two seasons due to health issues; following his playing and collegiate coaching career, he served as the Bullets' general manager for two seasons (1963-64 & 1964-65).

Coaching career

From 1956 to 1959, he was head baseball coach at Purdue, replacing Hank Stram; his career totals were 52-49-2 (.505) all games and 18-30-1 (.367) in Big Ten Conference games. He was replaced as the head baseball coach by former Boilermaker star Joe Sexson. He also worked as an assistant for the basketball team under head coach Ray Eddy.

Later years

He served as general manager for the Baltimore Bullets. from June 1963 through May 1965; the Bullets recorded an overall record of 68-92 (.425) and reached the NBA Western Division Finals in the 1964-65 season.

In 1977, he was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. In 1993, at age 68, he was named to the named to the Indiana All-Stars, for the 1942-43 season. The All-Stars, an all High School Senior team, are named at the conclusion of the school year; the team originated in 1939. However, World War II, kept a team from being named and staging the annual 2-game series with the State of Kentucky. The Indianapolis Star sponsored the team for decades and the Lions Club was the largest recipient of charitable donations from the series.

He died of a brain tumor at 73 in 1998.

External links

• Career statistics
• Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame profile