1976-77 Men's Basketball Roster | SEC Champions
Roster
Grunfeld, Ernie
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Jersey Number 22
Ernie Grunfeld
- Height:
- 6-6
- Weight:
- 215
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Forest Hills, N.Y.
- High School:
- Forest Hills High School
Bio
One of the most decorated players in all of college basketball during the 1970s, Ernie Grunfeld stands among the greatest ever to compete for the Volunteers and was the first player in program history to score 2,000 career points. He and UT teammate Bernard King combined to form the well-known All-American duo dubbed "The Ernie & Bernie Show." A naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Romania, Grunfeld won a gold medal with the U.S. National Team at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal prior to returning to Rocky Top for his senior season. He was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 11th overall pick in the 1977 NBA Draft and played nine seasons in the NBA with the Bucks, the Kansas City Kings and the New York Knicks. Grunfeld is one of only four Tennessee basketball players to have his jersey retired, as his No. 22 was honored on March 2, 2008.Additional Post-Tennessee Honors: Named to the Lakeland Ledger's 25-Year All-SEC Team in 1986 ... Inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1987 ... Selected as an SEC Legend in 2001 ... Named to UT Basketball All-Century Team in 2009 ... Inducted into the University of Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016 ... An NBA general manager for more than 20 years, he served as the top personnel executive with the New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks and Washington Wizards.
CAREER HIGHS
- Points: 43 // at Kentucky, 1/10/1976
HONORS
- 1977 First-Team All-American (Helms Athletic Foundation, John R. Wooden Award)
- 1977 Consensus Second-Team All-American
- 1977 UPI SEC Player of the Year
- 1977 AP Co-SEC Player of the Year (shared with teammate Bernard King)
- 1977 First-Team All-SEC (AP, Coaches, UPI)
- 1976 Olympic Gold Medalist
- 1976 First-Team All-American (Helms Athletic Foundation)
- 1976 Second-Team All-American (Converse)
- 1976 Third-Team All-American (NABC, UPI)
- 1976 First-Team All-SEC (AP, Coaches, UPI)
- 1975 First-Team All-SEC (AP, Coaches, UPI)
- 1974 First-Team All-SEC (AP, Coaches)
- 1974 Third-Team All-SEC (UPI)
1976-77 - SENIOR
- Finished his career as Tennessee's all-time leading scorer, with 2,249 points; only five other Vols have ever reached the 2,000-point milestone, and only Allan Houston, (2,801) has scored more points for UT.
- Stands alongside Houston as Tennessee's only four-time, first-team All-SEC honorees.
- He and teammate Bernard King remain the only Vols ever to average at least 20.0 points per game in three different seasons.
- His career average of 22.3 points per game ranks second-best in program history, trailing only King (26.4 ppg).
- Appeared in 28 games and averaged 22.8 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting a career-best .536 from the field.
- His 867 career field goals were a school record that his since been eclipsed only by Houston (902).
- Dished out a career-best 77 assists (2.8 apg) in his best season as a playmaker.
- Helped lead the Vols to the 1977 SEC Championship with a 22-6 overall record and a 16-2 mark in league play.
- Propelled Tennessee to the 1977 NCAA Tournament, where the Vols fell to a Syracuse team led by a first-year head coach named Jim Boeheim.
1975-76 - JUNIOR
- Helped power the Vols to an appearance in the 1976 NCAA Tournament.
- Along with teammate Bernard King, he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated on Feb. 9, 1976.
- His team-leading 25.3 points per game also led the SEC and still stands as the third-best single-season scoring average in program history.
- Scored a career-high 43 points during a thrilling, overtime win at Kentucky (1/10/1976).
- Scored 14 consecutive points for the Vols during the home win over Florida (1/17/1976).
- Prior to the collegiate season, he competed for USA Basketball at the 1975 International Cup and the 1975 Pan American Games.
1974-75 - SOPHOMORE
- Played in 20 games, averaging 23.8 points and 6.4 rebounds.
1973-74 - FRESHMAN
- Saw action in 26 games and averaged 17.4 points along with a career-best 7.2 rebounds per game.
- In his first collegiate game, he scored 28 points in UT's season-opening home win over North Texas State (11/30/1973)
HIGH SCHOOL
- Graduated from Forrest Hills High School in Queens in 1973 and was coached there by Irwin Isser.
- Played on the United States' silver-medal-winning basketball team at the 1973 World Maccabiah Games; he was the first high schooler ever selected to the U.S. Maccabiah team.
PERSONAL
- Full name is Ernest Grunfeld
- Born April 24, 1955, in Satu Mare, Romania
- Son of Alex and Livia Grunfeld, both of whom escaped the Holocaust and later emigrated to the United States.
- Alex Grunfeld was an internationally ranked table tennis player in Romania.
- Ernie's son, Dan Grunfeld, played basketball at Stanford from 2002-06 and later played professionally overseas.
- Dan Grunfeld authored a book about his father and family's remarkable story of perseverance, titled By The Grace of The Game.
- Academic major: Liberal Arts
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