Hall of Fame Professional Basketball Player. For eleven seasons (1955 to 1966), he played at the guard and forward positions in the National Basketball Association with the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals. Born John Kennedy Twyman, he attended Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and played collegiate basketball at the University of Cincinnati. While with the Bearcats, he earned All-American status and at the conclusion of his collegiate career, he was the school's all-time leader in scoring. Selected by Rochester as the 8th overall pick during the 1955 NBA Draft, Twyman went onto establish himself as one of the league's offensive threats, as he achieved All-Star honors six-times (1957 to 1960, 1962 to 1963). During the 1959-1960 season, he surpassed the 2,000 points scored mark as he yielded his career-high 2,338 total. In 823 regular season games, he compiled 15,840 points with 5,424 total rebounds. After Royals' teammate Maurice Stokes was left with permanent brain trauma when he struck his head on the court during a game in 1958, Twyman assumed legal guardianship until Stokes' death in 1970. Following his playing career, he served as a television analyst for NBA games. He was named to the University of Cincinnati Athletics Hall of Fame in 1976 and enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983, in addition to his uniform number 27 being retired by the Bearcats. He died from blood cancer.
Hall of Fame Professional Basketball Player. For eleven seasons (1955 to 1966), he played at the guard and forward positions in the National Basketball Association with the Rochester/Cincinnati Royals. Born John Kennedy Twyman, he attended Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and played collegiate basketball at the University of Cincinnati. While with the Bearcats, he earned All-American status and at the conclusion of his collegiate career, he was the school's all-time leader in scoring. Selected by Rochester as the 8th overall pick during the 1955 NBA Draft, Twyman went onto establish himself as one of the league's offensive threats, as he achieved All-Star honors six-times (1957 to 1960, 1962 to 1963). During the 1959-1960 season, he surpassed the 2,000 points scored mark as he yielded his career-high 2,338 total. In 823 regular season games, he compiled 15,840 points with 5,424 total rebounds. After Royals' teammate Maurice Stokes was left with permanent brain trauma when he struck his head on the court during a game in 1958, Twyman assumed legal guardianship until Stokes' death in 1970. Following his playing career, he served as a television analyst for NBA games. He was named to the University of Cincinnati Athletics Hall of Fame in 1976 and enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983, in addition to his uniform number 27 being retired by the Bearcats. He died from blood cancer.
Bio by: C.S.
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