On this day in 1933, former Boston Celtic power forward Ned Dixon “Dick” Hemric was born in Jonesville, North Carolina.
The Jonesville native would play his college ball with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, where he would make All-American in 1954 and 1955, and set a scoring record (2,587 career points) in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) that stood until 2009 and a rebounding record (1,802 career rebounds) that still stands.
Evidently, he played well enough to convince the Celtics to draft him with the 10th overall pick of the 1955 NBA Draft.
Happy birthday in heaven Dickie Hemric. Ur ACC career scoring record went untouched from 1956 until it was broken by J. J. Redick. Ur ACC record of 1,802 career rebounds may never be touched. 2nd is Tim Duncan with 1,570. But most importantly, ur a champion with the good guys! pic.twitter.com/o8JFsLSFJe
— HonestLarry (@HonestLarry1) August 29, 2020
Hemric would play 138 games over two seasons for Boston, averaging 6.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game over 17.3 minutes per game before walking away from the game in 1957.
Hemric would pass away of natural causes on August 3rd, 2017, just a few short weeks from his 84th birthday at his home in North Canton, Ohio.
