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125. Geoff Petrie

Few players are both a basketball player and a scholar, Geoff Petrie is one of the few. A four year starter at Princeton, who would go on to be one of the games best front office persons.

Petrie went the unconventional way to NBA stardom. He attended Princeton University, one of the most elite schools in the United States. The Ivy league is not usually considered one of the strongest divisions in college sports due to the elite culture of the schools and their primary focus being on education and not athletics. He was a 4 time all-Ivy-League player, helped guide Princeton to a #8 ranking in 1969 and an appearance in the 1969 NCAA tournament.

After a great career at Princeton Petrie entered the NBA draft and was selected with the 8th overall pick by the expansion Portland Trailblazers. Petrie had a spectacular rookie season with the Blazers. He averaged 25 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds per game. The numbers helped him not only become an NBA all-star but also co-rookie-of-the-year with Boston’s Dave Cowens.

His second year was a bit of a struggle. He got hurt and missed 22 games and failed to average 20 points a game. Luckily for Petrie and the Blazers he returned to his rookie numbers . He averaged 24 points the next season as well and once again made the all-star team.

The Blazers got a lot out of Petrie but failed to make the playoffs in any of Petrie’s seasons there. He played two more years with the Blazers before being traded to the Atlanta Hawks for the second pick in the 1976 ABA dispersal draft and Maurice Lucas. The deal was fantastic for the Blazers who’d go on to win their only NBA title the next year. Petrie never played in the NBA again and soon entered the private sector.

He had a solid career with the Blazers. His 51 points was a team record until 2005 when it was broken by Damon Stoudemire. His jersey number was retired by the Blazers.

Today Petrie is considered one of the better GM’s in the NBA. He helped build the title contending Sacramento Kings of the early 2000s.

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