COUSY, BOB

born Aug. 9, 1928, New York, N.Y., U.S. byname of Robert Joseph Cousy American professional basketball player and coach and collegiate coach, who was one of the greatest ball-handling guards in the National Basketball Association (NBA), expert both at scoring and at playmaking. Cousy played collegiate basketball at the College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, Mass.; 194950), where he was an All-American. He joined the Boston Celtics in 1950. He led the NBA in assists (195360), his one-game record of 28 (1959) standing until 1978. He directed the Celtics' play in five championship seasons (195963). After he left the Celtics in 1963, he coached at Boston College (196369), leading his team to five post-season tournaments. He returned to professional basketball in 1969 as head coach of the Cincinnati Royals (and played in seven games that season). He coached the team (which became the Kansas CityOmaha Kings in 1972) until November 1973. He became commissioner of the American Soccer League in 1975 and remained until 1979. He then became a television sports commentator for the Celtics' games. Cousy was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970. In 1980 he was named to the all-time NBA team as a guard.