Ben Poquette, American basketball player
Benedict Jay Poquette (born May 7, 1955) is a retired American basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he graduated from East Lansing High School and Central Michigan University. He was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the second round (36th pick) of the 1977 NBA Draft, and played for them in 1978–79. He also played for the Utah Jazz in 1980–83, the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1984–87, and the Chicago Bulls in 1987 (his last season in the NBA).
His best seasons in the league occurred while playing for the Utah Jazz. The Jazz franchise had just arrived in Salt Lake City in 1979 after five mostly unsuccessful seasons in New Orleans. The team was thin up front, having traded away top big men Rich Kelley, Spencer Haywood, Joe C. Meriweather, and Truck Robinson in the previous two seasons. Despite being relatively undersized at 6'9" and 235 pounds, Poquette was tasked with replacing the 7'0" Kelley at center. Poquette posted modest averages of 9.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in his four seasons with Jazz, but excelled at shot-blocking, setting franchise records for most blocks in a career (517 in 321 games) and single season (174 in 1980-81). Notably, Poquette also had the somewhat dubious distinction of leading the NBA in personal fouls during that 1980-81 season, with 342 total fouls committed.
1955May, 7
Ben Poquette
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Events on 1955
- 7Jan
Metropolitan Opera
Contralto Marian Anderson becomes the first person of color to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera. - 13Feb
Dead Sea Scrolls
Israel obtains four of the seven Dead Sea Scrolls. - 18Feb
Nevada Test Site
Operation Teapot: Teapot test shot "Wasp" is successfully detonated at the Nevada Test Site with a yield of 1.2 kilotons. Wasp is the first of fourteen shots in the Teapot series. - 14May
Warsaw Pact
Cold War: Eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, sign a mutual defense treaty called the Warsaw Pact. - 23Oct
State of Vietnam referendum, 1955
Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm defeats former emperor Bảo Đại in a referendum and founds the Republic of Vietnam.