Luther Rackley (1982) - Hall of Fame - Xavier University Athletics

Luther Rackley

Induction:
1982
Class:
1969

Luther Rackley, a member of the XU Basketball Hall of Fame and 1969 Team MVP, was one of the finest big men in the country, especially in the big games. He held his own with the likes of St. Bonaventure's Bob Lanier and Detroit's Spencer Haywood.

Rackley was a well-built, athletically talented player at 6-11 and 210. And he could easily palm the basketball in either of his big hands.

Rackley began displaying his physical tools for Xavier as a sophomore, averaging 15.0 points and a team high 12.6 rebounds a game. He posted season highs of 25 points against Utah and St. Bonaventure (Bob Lanier). Two of his better all-around games included a 24-point, 19-rebound effort against Detroit and a 25-rebound game against Dayton. He added a 17-point, 15-rebound effort against Marquette. Whenever the big game came up, the big Xavier center was ready.

Problems in the classroom limited Rackley's play to only seven games his junior year. He averaged 9.1 points and 8.4 rebounds for the seven games.

Rackley came back his senior year determined to have a great season. He did, averaging team highs of 17.5 points and 14.0 rebounds. He also led the team in minutes played (938), field goal percentage (.552), rebound total (363), and point total (455). He pumped in 29 points twice that year, and hit the 27 mark once.

In all, he led the Musketeers in scoring one year and led them in rebounding twice. (Fellow Hall of Famer Bob Quick won the scoring race the other two years and the rebounding race the other year.)

Although he stands 11th on the Xavier All-Time Rebounding List with 750 rebounds, his career rebound average of 12.7 rpg. is second only to Bob Pelkington.

After graduating from Xavier, Rackley was drafted by the Cincinnati Royals in the third round, 37th player chosen overall, in the 1969 NBA Draft. Rackley enjoyed a good rookie season, averaging 7.6 points and 5.7 rebounds in 66 games.

Rackley found himself in Cleveland, New York, and Philadelphia for his final four seasons. His only productive year in the last four was his second year in the NBA, as he averaged 7.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 74 games for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1970-71 season.

Overall, Rackley scored 1,337 points (6.0 a game) and pulled down 1,003 rebounds (4.5 a game) in 221 NBA games during a five-year career.

RACKLEY'S XAVIER CAREER STATS

Yrs.	Gms	FGM-FGA	PCT.	FTM-FTA	PCT.	REB	AVG	PTS	AVG
66-67	26	151-295	.512	89-153	.582	328	12.6	391	15.0
67-68	7	24-53	.453	16-39	.410	59	8.4	64	9.1
68-69	26	169-306	.552	117-175	.669	363	14.0	455	17.5
Career	59	344-654	.526	222-367	.605	750	12.7	910	15.4