Dick Knostman
Richard W. Knostman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date United States |
| Died | March 16, 2022 (aged 90) Arizona, United States |
| Occupation | Professional basketball player |
| Years active | 1950–1954 |
| Known for | Collegiate basketball at Kansas State University; NBA player for Syracuse Nationals |
Richard W. Knostman (born August 9, 1931 – died March 16, 2022) was a professional basketball athlete from the United States.
Standing 6 feet 6 inches tall and playing the center position, Knostman attended Wamego High School in Kansas before competing collegiately at Kansas State University between 1950 and 1953. During his collegiate career, he received third-team All-American recognition in the 1951–52 season and advanced to second-team honors in 1952–53. Additionally, he earned All-Conference distinctions in the Big Seven Conference for both 1952 and 1953.
Under the guidance of coach Jack Gardner, Knostman played a pivotal role in achieving a team record of 61 wins and 13 losses (.824 winning percentage). This included three straight seasons finishing in the top ten nationally and securing second place at the 1951 NCAA Final Four. In 1953, after averaging 22.7 points per contest, he was named first-team All-American by the Helms Foundation, Look magazine, and Newspaper Enterprises Association, becoming one of only twelve Kansas State players to earn such an honor. That year, the Wildcats posted a 17–4 record and were ranked ninth by UPI and twelfth by AP polls. He also garnered second-team All-American accolades from AP, UPI, Colliers, and International News Service.
During his junior year, Knostman led Kansas State to a 19–5 record along with top-six final national rankings. He averaged 16.3 points per game and received second-team All-American status from Converse Yearbook as well as third-team honors from AP. Twice he was selected first-team All-Big Seven.
In his sophomore season, Knostman contributed an average of 7.5 points across 29 games to help Kansas State reach its sole NCAA Championship game appearance in 1951.
Although his career took place over fifty years ago, Knostman still ranks within the top five in seventeen individual game, single-season, or career statistical categories at Kansas State. His notable achievements include holding second place for free throws attempted (541), third for free throws made (349), fifth for total rebounds (774) and rebounding average (10.5 per game), second for single-season scoring average (22.7 points per game), and third for single-season rebounding average (13.3 per game). He is among only nineteen Wildcats who have scored over 1,000 career points with a total of 1,083 and stands fourteenth in career scoring average at 14.6 points per game. Impressively, he maintained a career double-double average with 14.6 points and 10.5 rebounds over 74 contests.
Knostman was drafted by the Syracuse Nationals in the 1953 NBA draft but saw limited professional action, appearing in five games and scoring a total of thirteen points.
He passed away on March 16, 2022, in Arizona.
NBA
Source
Regular season
| Season | Team | Games Played | Minutes Per Game | Field Goal Percentage | Free Throw Percentage | Rebounds Per Game | Assists Per Game | Points Per Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953–54 | Syracuse Nationals | 5 | 9.4 | .300 | .636 | 3.4 | 1.2 | 2.6 |