The family has announced the passing of Felton Spencer, 55, a former NBA player who went from being an overweight junior high player to a dominant force at the University of Louisville and the No. 6 overall choice in the NBA Draft.
There was no immediate information about the cause of death. Sadly, Spencer Pollock passed away on Sunday 12 March, afternoon, as his youngest sister Tammy Pollock revealed.
The 7-footer from Eastern High School spent 12 seasons in the NBA, splitting his time between the Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Orlando Magic, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, and New York Knicks.
He was the quintessential late bloomer, “I can recall when I couldn’t walk down the corridors in school without tripping over my feet,” before playing in an All-Star game after college. These days, I hear that I can finish in the top five in the first round.
During his final year at Louisville, Spencer averaged 14.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 68.1 percent shooting from the field, leading to his being nominated to the first-team All-Metro League. He was a second-team Parade All-American and an NBA All-Rookie the first season after graduating from Eastern.
Spencer has held the positions of a security guard at Louisville’s Atherton High School and assistant coach at Spalding University since retiring from professional sports in 2011. He spent two years as a member of Scott Davenport’s coaching staff at Bellarmine University (2016–18 and 2017–18).
Mac Wilkinson, the youngest sibling, originally committed to play basketball for Denny Crum before the Hall of Fame coach’s final season, but ultimately ended up moving to Howard University.
Check out other articles related to the sports people who have died recently:
- Don Shanes Cause of Death: How Did Detroit Sportscaster Die?
- Ryan Keelers Cause of Death: When Did the Rebel Football Student Die?
Louisville basketball released a statement via Twitter:
“We’re heartbroken by the passing of U of L great Felton Spencer. Spencer was the Cardinals’ all-time leader in career field goal percentage, the 6th overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft and a beloved member of the Louisville community. Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones.”
The University of Louisville basketball team tweeted their condolences at the loss of former player Felton Spencer. Spencer set a school record for lifetime field goal percentage while at Louisville, was selected sixth overall in the 1990 NBA Draft, and is still widely respected and admired today. The members of his family have all of our condolences.
If you want to know any other information about the NBA player’s death you can tell us in the comment section. You can also bookmark our site venturejolt.com for all the latest news.
