John B. Tresvant (born November 6, 1939) is an American former basketball player. Tresvant played from 1964 to 1973 in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing for six teams, the St. Louis Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Cincinnati Royals, Seattle SuperSonics, Los Angeles Lakers, and Baltimore Bullets. His teams reached the NBA finals in 1970 and 1971. His defense against Connie Hawkins in the first round of the 1970 NBA playoffs was a key factor in the Lakers not being eliminated by the Phoenix Suns.
Tresvant played college basketball at Seattle University, twice playing a key role in leading the team to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. He averaged a double-double in his junior and senior years. As a junior in 1963, Tresvant set the school record for rebounds in a game with 40, breaking Elgin Baylor's school record.
Early life Tresvant was born on November 6, 1939, in Washington, D.C. Tresvant attended Spingarn High School in Washington. He played on Spingarn's football team at end, and on its baseball team as a catcher and first baseman. Tresvant was also a member of the Spingarn High School basketball team, playing as a reserve under coach William Rountree. Tresvant was a year behind future Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor at Springarn.
Years after graduating high school, when Tresvant was a 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) star basketball player at Seattle University, he said of his high school basketball days, "'I was 6–3 and awkward . . . Basketball was my poorest sport. I did better as a football end and hit .333 as a baseball catcher and first baseman'". Tresvant stated that when coach Rountree heard Tresvant was a starter for Seattle's basketball team, his old high school coach "'wouldn't believe it'", Tresvant adding "'I don't blame him a bit'".
After graduating, Tresvant joined the U.S. Air Force. He was stationed at Paine Field in Everett, Washington and repaired aircraft radar units. He grew several inches and was playing Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball when Seattle University head basketball coach Vince Cazzetta saw Tresvant and encouraged Tresvant to attend Seattle, giving Tresvant a scholarship after his military service had concluded.
College career A 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) forward/center in college, Tresvant played three varsity seasons for Seattle. As a sophomore (1961–62), he averaged 8.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. That Seattle team was 18–9 under coach Cazzetta, and was led by Tresvant's future Detroit Pistons' and Baltimore Bullets' teammate Eddie Miles.
Tresvant became a starter as a junior after learning to understand and enjoy the value of playing defense as much as being a scorer. As a junior (1962–63), Tresvant averaged 11.7 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. Coach Cazzetta unexpectedly resigned on February 6, 1963, and was replaced by assistant coach Clair Markey as interim head coach. Two days later, Seattle defeated the Montana Grizzlies 100–63. At the time it was reported that Tresvant scored 24 points and set a Seattle record with 39 rebounds in that game. It was ultimately determined that Tresvant officially had 40 rebounds in that game in breaking Elgin Baylor's Seattle record. It is the fourth-highest total for a single game in NCAA history (though Tresvant himself believes it should have been 44). Tresvant had four more rebounds than the entire Montana team.
Seattle had a 21–6 record that season, and was chosen to play in the 1963 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. On March 11, 1963, Seattle lost to Oregon State, 70–66, in the first round of the West Regional tournament. Tresvant had 16 points and Miles 28 for Seattle, but no other Seattle player scored more than nine points.
Under new head coach Bob Boyd, Tresvant averaged 17.9 points and 14 rebounds per game as a senior (1963–64), leading the team in both categories (Miles having graduated). Seattle was 22–6 that season. Tresvant led Seattle to the 1964 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Seattle upset the No. 5 Oregon State Beavers, 61–57, in the first round of the West Regional tournament, despite having lost to the Beavers twice earlier that season (85–79 and 76–72). Tresvant and teammate L. J. Wheeler fouled out of the game trying to cover Oregon State's seven foot center Mel Counts (who took 18 free throws in the game), and only scored five points. Seattle lost in the next round to the eventual national champion, No. 1 ranked UCLA, 95–90. Tresvant had 20 points and 20 rebounds against UCLA.
In 1964, Tresvant was an NCAA Far West Region All-Star selection. United Press International (UPI) named him to its All-West Coast second team. He was also selected by a group of college coaches to the second-team Northwest All-Star team that year. During his three-year Seattle career, Tresvant averaged 12.6 points and 11.1 rebounds per game.
Tresvant studied accounting at Seattle. As a 25-year old senior, Tresvant said his dream was to play in the NBA, but "'My reality is to be an accountant'". In that later vein, he hoped to find work with the Internal Revenue Service.
NBA career The St. Louis Hawks selected Tresvant in the fifth round of the 1964 NBA draft, 42nd overall. He played nine seasons in the league with St. Louis, the Detroit Pistons, the Cincinnati Royals, the Seattle SuperSonics, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Baltimore Bullets, posting NBA career averages of 9.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
St. Louis Hawks The Hawks also drafted Creighton's power forward Paul Silas in the second round of the 1964 draft, the NCAA's leading rebounder in 1963–64. Both Tresvant and Silas were expected to make the Hawks' roster for the 1964–65 season, though Silas was anticipated to have a greater impact with the Hawks. Tresvant only played in the Hawks' first four games that season. In early November 1964, the Hawks placed Tresvant on the voluntary retired list so Tresvant could return to Seattle University to complete the 15 hours of coursework necessary to obtain his business degree. He was reportedly persuaded to do so, and told to then come back for the 1965–66 season to try out again for the Hawks.
Tresvant returned to the Hawks for the 1965–66 season. He played 15 games for the Hawks as a reserve power forward, averaging 14.2 minutes, 6.7 points, and 5.7 rebounds per game. His best game as a Hawk was against the Baltimore Bullets where he had 14 points and 10 rebounds in just 16 minutes. The Hawks put him on the inactive list to make room for Paul Silas on their roster. On December 24, 1965, the Hawks traded Tresvant and Chico Vaughn to the Detroit Pistons for Rod Thorn. Hawks' coach Richie Guerin had intended to keep five forwards on the team's roster, including Tresvant; but injuries caused Guerin to reduce that number to four, requiring that either Tresvant or Silas be traded. Guerin believed Silas was the more proven player in the NBA and traded Tresvant.
Detroit Pistons In Detroit, Tresvant joined his former Seattle teammate Eddie Miles, who was the Pistons' leading scorer. The team was led by its 25-year old player-coach, Dave DeBusschere. Tresvant played in 46 games for the Pistons as a reserve power forward that season (1965–66), averaging 16.4 minutes, 8.3 points, and 6.1 rebounds per game. He made his Pistons' debut on Christmas Day 1965, with 11 points and three rebounds. He had six double-doubles with the Pistons that season, including a 22 point, 16 rebound game against the Los Angeles Lakers and Elgin Baylor, and a 14 point and game-high 22 rebound game against Jerry Lucas, Oscar Robertson, Happy Hairston, and the Cincinnati Royals.
Tresvant played in 68 games for the Pistons the following season (1966–67). He averaged 22.8 minutes, 9.9 points, and 7.1 rebounds per game. He had 13 double-doubles that season, including among others, an 18 point, 15 rebound game against the Royals; a 25 point, 10 rebound game against the San Francisco Warriors; a 22 point, 11 rebound game against the Hawks; and a 16 point, 18 rebound game against the Chicago Bulls. Tresvant joined the Pistons starting lineup late in the season.
Tresvant played in 55 games for the Pistons in the 1967–68 season, averaging 30.4 minutes, 13.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. On January 31, 1968, the NBA's trade deadline, the Pistons traded Tresvant and Tom Van Arsdale to the Cincinnati Royals for Happy Hairston and Jim Fox. Tresvant played in 169 games for the Pistons, averaging 23.6 minutes, 10.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.
Cincinnati Royals Tresvant played in 30 games for the Royals in finishing the 1967–68 season, averaging 26.7 minutes, 10.3 points, and 5.6 rebounds per game. The Royals' starting power forward was future Hall of Famer Jerry Lucas, who average over 44 mintues per game of playing time. The following season (1968–69), Tresvant played in 51 games for the Royals, mostly as a starter. He averaged 33 minutes, 11.9 points, and 8.2 rebounds per game. For the second consecutive season, however, Tresvant was traded at the January 31 trade deadline. The Royals traded Tresvant to the Seattle SuperSonics for second-year forward Al Tucker, the SuperSonics first draft pick in 1967. In 81 games over his two seasons with Cincinnati, Tresvant averaged 30.7 minutes, 11.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.
Seattle SuperSonics In 26 games as the SuperSonics' starting power forward at the end of the 1968–69 season, Tresvant averaged a double-double: 13.6 points and 10.3 rebounds in nearly 31 minutes per game. The Supersonics acquired power forward Bob Boozer in September 1969. Boozer played in all 82 games that season, averaging over 31 minutes per game at power forward. Tresvant played in 49 games for the SuperSonics that season, averaging 26.1 minutes, 12.6 points, and 7.4 rebounds per game. On January 21, 1970, the SuperSonics sold Tresvant's contract rights to the Los Angeles Lakers. Tresvant played in 75 games for the SuperSonics during his time with them, averaging 12.9 points and 8.4 rebounds in nearly 28 minutes per game.
Los Angeles Lakers The 1969–70 Lakers were the first playoff team for which Tresvant had played. In 20 regular season games, he averaged 11.1 minutes, 5.9 points, and 3.2 rebounds per game. The Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns in seven games to win the 1970 NBA Western Division semifinals. Tresvant played in five of those games, averaging 18.2 minutes, 5.8 points, four rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. More importantly, his defense against Suns' future Hall of Fame forward Connie Hawkins was a key factor in the Lakers surviving a three games to one series deficit, to win the series in seven games.
The Lakers did not use Tresvant in Games 2 and 3 against the Suns; both losses. Even with Wilt Chamberlain at center for the Lakers, Suns forwards Paul Silas and future Hall of Famer Hawkins were overpowering Laker forwards Elgin Baylor and Happy Hairston. In Game 4, Lakers' coach Joe Mullaney substituted Tresvant (29 minutes) and Rick Roberson (24 minutes) to go up against the Suns' forwards. Even though Tresvant played well defensively on Hawkins, the Lakers lacked offense and lost again; and were down three games to one in the best-of-seven series.