Geoffrey Michael Petrie (born April 17, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player. A native of Pennsylvania, he played professional basketball in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Portland Trail Blazers where he won NBA Rookie of the Year in 1971. After retirement as a player he entered management, and was the President of Basketball Operations for the Sacramento Kings in the NBA until June 2013.

Geoff Petrie
Petrie, c. 1971
Personal information
Born (1948-04-17) April 17, 1948 (age 75)
Darby, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolSpringfield (Springfield, Pennsylvania)
CollegePrinceton (1967–1970)
NBA draft1970: 1st round, 8th overall pick
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Playing career1970–1976
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
Number45
Career history
19701976Portland Trail Blazers
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As executive:

Career statistics
Points9,732 (21.8 ppg)
Rebounds1,271 (2.8 rpg)
Assists2,057 (4.6 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life edit

Geoff Petrie was born in Darby, Pennsylvania, on April 17, 1948. He attended Springfield High School, in Springfield, Pennsylvania, and played collegiate ball at Princeton University.

In Petrie's sophomore season at Princeton, the team was co-champion of the Ivy League with a 20–6 (12-3 Ivy) record.[1] Despite the fact that Princeton had three of the five first-team All-Ivy team members, including Petrie plus second-team member John Hummer,[2] they lost the one-game league playoff to the Jim McMillian–led 1968 Columbia Lions men's basketball team.[1] That year, the team rose as high as eighth in the AP Poll.[2] The following season, Petrie led the Ivy League in scoring (23.9 points/game in conference games), and the team accumulated a 19–7 (14–0) record, including an appearance in the 1969 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.[1] They lost to St. John's in the tournament, but Petrie was again on the first-team All-Ivy squad.[3] As a senior, Petrie was second-team All-Ivy, but the Tigers placed third in the conference to the undefeated (in Ivy League games) Corky Calhoun-led Penn Quakers men's basketball team and McMillian's Lions.[4] Although Princeton did not appear in the 1970 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, they hosted Penn's game.[4] All three of his varsity years were spent under head coach Pete Carril.[1] Petrie was co-captain of the 1969–70 team with classmate Hummer.[1] Petrie was All-East both as a junior and a senior.[5]

Petrie scored 1,321 points in college, third in school history at the end of his career in 1970 and still seventh after the 2009–10 season. His 541 in 1968–69 was fourth, behind each of Bill Bradley's single-season totals, until Brian Taylor moved him down to sixth, where he still stands. Petrie continued to rank fourth in school history with an 18.3 points/game average through the 2009–10 season. His 1969–70 single season average of 22.3 is sixth, behind only Bradley and Taylor and his 20.8 average the prior year stands eighth. Petrie's 530 career field goal stands fourth on the school list behind Bradley Kit Mueller and Craig Robinson. 216 field goals in 1968–69 ranks fifth behind Bradley and Taylor, while his 189 the following year ranks eighth. Seventeen made against Fordham, January 26, 1970, trails only Bradley's three best nights.[6]

Professional career edit

Player edit

At 6'4", Petrie could play either the guard or forward positions and was a long range shooter. He played in two All-Star games and in 1971, the Trail Blazers' first year in existence, was named co-Rookie of the Year with the Boston Celtics' Dave Cowens after averaging 24.8 points per game. The Associated Press reported Petrie's salary during his rookie season was approximately $80,000.[7]

Until Damon Stoudamire's 54 point performance in 2005, Petrie held the Trail Blazers' individual scoring record for one game at 51 — a feat he accomplished twice. His jersey number, 45, was retired by the Trail Blazers. Following the 1975–76 NBA season, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in a transaction that landed Portland Maurice Lucas.[8][9] Petrie did not play any games for the Hawks after suffering a career-ending knee injury.[10][11]

Petrie is credited as the first NBA player to switch from Converse brand athletic shoes, which were popular in the 1970s, to Nike brand.[12]

Post-playing career edit

 
Petrie in 2009

Petrie worked in the private sector for several years after leaving the NBA, and in 1985 began working for the Trail Blazers.[10] He worked as a commentator for Blazer radio broadcasts and several other positions before being hired as senior vice president for operations.[10] He left Portland in 1994 and was hired by the Sacramento Kings as president of basketball operations.[10] As an executive he won the NBA Executive of the Year Award twice with the Kings, first in 1999 and again in 2001.[10]

On December 29, 2009, Petrie received a three-year extension as team president through the 2012–13 season.[13] On June 17, 2013, Petrie was replaced as team president of the Kings by Pete D'Alessandro.

NBA career statistics edit

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

Regular season edit

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1970–71 Portland 82 37.0 .443 .722 3.4 4.8 24.8
1971–72 Portland 60 35.9 .417 .789 2.2 4.1 18.9
1972–73 Portland 79 39.7 .464 .778 3.5 4.4 24.9
1973–74 Portland 73 38.4 .481 .853 2.8 4.3 1.2 0.2 24.3
1974–75 Portland 80 38.9 .456 .839 2.6 5.3 1.0 0.2 18.3
1975–76 Portland 72 35.5 .461 .829 2.3 4.6 1.1 0.1 18.9
Career 446 37.6 .455 .805 2.8 4.6 1.1 0.1 21.8
All-Star 2 1 15.5 .214 1.000 1.0 2.5 0.5 0.0 4.0

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Princeton Athletic Communications (June 12, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • All-Time Results". Princeton University. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "1967-68 Ivy Men's Basketball". ivyleaguesports.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  3. ^ "1968-69 Ivy Men's Basketball". ivyleaguesports.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  4. ^ a b "1969-70 Ivy Men's Basketball". ivyleaguesports.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  5. ^ Princeton Athletic Communications (June 12, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • Ivy League & National Awards". Princeton University. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  6. ^ Princeton Athletic Communications (June 12, 2009). "Men's Basketball Record Book • Individual & Team Records". Princeton University. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  7. ^ "NBA Rookie of the Year Prospect; But Who is Geoff Petrie". Victoria Advocate. Victoria, Texas. Associated Press. March 4, 1971. p. 22. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  8. ^ George Cunningham (August 6, 1976). "Hawks get Petrie, Hawes". The Atlanta Constitution. pp. 1D, 6D. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
  9. ^ "Geoff Petrie". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Geoff Petrie". Player History. Portland Trail Blazers. Archived from the original on March 7, 2010. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
  11. ^ "Petrie's through with surgery". Detroit Free Press. September 18, 1977. pp. 2E. Retrieved February 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 
  12. ^ Biderman, David. "Why The Hightop Has One Foot in the Grave". Wall Street Journal. p. D10.
  13. ^ "Rebuilding kings lock up Petrie with three-year extension". NBA.com. December 29, 2009.

External links edit