George Senesky

George Senesky
	Senesky in 1948
Personal information
Born	April 4, 1922; Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	June 25, 2001 (aged 79); Cape May Court House, New Jersey, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	179 lb (81 kg)
Career information
High school	Mahanoy; (Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania)
College	Saint Joseph's (1940–1943)
Playing career	1945–1954
Position	Guard
Number	8
Coaching career	1955–1958
Career history
As player:
1945–1946	Philadelphia Sphas
1946–1954	Philadelphia Warriors
As coach:
1955–1958	Philadelphia Warriors
Career highlights and awards
	As player: BAA champion (1947); Helms Foundation Player of the Year (1943); Consensus first-team All-American (1943); NCAA scoring champion (1943); No. 4 retired by Saint Joseph's Hawks; As coach: NBA champion (1956); NBA All-Star Game head coach (1956);
Career NBA playing statistics
Points	3,455 (7.2 ppg)
Rebounds	878 (3.5 rpg)
Assists	1,553 (3.2 apg)
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball Reference
Career coaching record
NBA	119–97 (.551)

George Lawrence Senesky (April 4, 1922 – June 25, 2001) was an American professional basketball player and coach. A 6'2" guard from Saint Joseph's University, he was the 1942–43 College Basketball Season's Consensus Player of the Year and played for eight seasons in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA), all with the Philadelphia Warriors. He later coached the franchise, from 1955 through to 1958, winning the NBA title in 1956.

Professional career

A Pennsylvania native, Senesky played for the St. Joseph Hawks from 1940 to 1943. In his final year, he averaged 23.4 points a game scoring 515 total points in 22 games of that season, a school record. Seven years later, his brother Paul broke the record. He was the unofficial NCAA scoring champion for that year. Afterwards, he served in the Army Air Forces in World War II. After he had served, he played for the Philadelphia Sphas of the American Basketball League for one season. He then went to play for the Philadelphia Warriors in the first season of the Basketball Association of America in 1947. That same year, the Warriors won the BAA Finals over the Chicago Stags. He scored 10.4 points per game in the 1950–51 season, with 679 points in 65 games. In his eight seasons, he played 482 games, made 1279 out of 4087 shots for a .313 percentage, and 897 out of 1277 free throws for a .702 percentage. He four seasons in which he averaged more than 8 points a game. After a season where he averaged 1.9 points a game with 111 points in 58 games, he retired.

Coaching career

Two seasons after retiring from the Warriors, Senesky returned to coach the team. Like the man he had replaced, Senesky won a title in his first year. In his first year, he coached them to a 45–27 record, finishing 1st in the Eastern Division. The Warriors beat the defending champion Syracuse Nationals in five games to advance to their first NBA Finals since 1948. In the Finals, the Warriors beat the Fort Wayne Pistons in five games to win their first championship in nine years.

In his second year, he led them to a 37–35 record, finishing three games behind the eventual champion Boston Celtics in the Division. The Warriors were swept in two games by the Syracuse Nationals.

In his third (and final) year, they finished with the same record and place in the division. They beat Syracuse in three games to advance to the Division Finals, but they lost to the Celtics in five games.

Death

Senesky died of cancer on June 25, 2001, at the age of 79.^[1]

BAA/NBA 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
†	Won an NBA championship

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1946–47†	Philadelphia	58	–	.267	.661	–	.6	6.3
1947–48	Philadelphia	47	–	.277	.667	–	1.1	8.8
1948–49	Philadelphia	60	–	.267	.730	–	3.9	6.5
1949–50	Philadelphia	68	–	.320	.704	–	3.9	9.0
1950–51	Philadelphia	65	–	.354	.761	5.0	5.3	10.4
1951–52	Philadelphia	57	33.8	.361	.753	4.1	4.9	8.3
1952–53	Philadelphia	69	33.9	.330	.637	3.7	3.8	6.0
1953–54	Philadelphia	58	13.3	.345	.547	1.1	1.4	1.9
Career		482	27.3	.313	.702	3.5	3.2	7.2

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1947†	Philadelphia	10	–	.317	.808	–	.8	10.9
1948	Philadelphia	13	–	.314	.644	–	.8	9.9
1949	Philadelphia	2	–	.136	.750	–	2.0	6.0
1950	Philadelphia	2	–	.375	.500	–	1.5	7.0
1951	Philadelphia	2	–	.182	.778	3.5	7.5	7.5
1952	Philadelphia	3	40.0	.545	.636	4.0	3.7	14.3
Career		32	40.0	.320	.699	3.8	1.6	10.1

References

^ Richard Goldstein (June 29, 2001). "George Senesky, 79, All-American Who Played in the N.B.A.". The New York Times. p. B 7. Archived from the original on September 13, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2021.

External links

[1] Richard Goldstein (June 29, 2001). "George Senesky, 79, All-American Who Played in the N.B.A.". The New York Times. p. B 7. Archived from the original on September 13, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2021.

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