Hot Rod Hundley
Rodney Clark "Hot Rod" Hundley was an American professional basketball player and television broadcaster. Hundley played college basketball for the West Virginia Mountaineers and was selected by the Cincinnati Royals with the first overall pick of the 1957 NBA draft. In 2003, Hundley received the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Hundley's life revolved around the game of basketball. His love and talent for the game led him to achieve honors in high school and most notably during his college years. At West Virginia University, Hundley played to packed crowds at the Old Field House. His dribbling antics and daredevil maneuvers on the floor led to his popular nickname, "Hot Rod". He later was a broadcaster for the Utah Jazz.
Early life
Hundley was born on October 26, 1934, in Charleston, West Virginia. His parents divorced when he was young, after his father abandoned his teenage mother shortly after Hundley was born. He was sent to live with various relatives and friends in Charleston, and was placed in foster homes where he was abused and neglected. He was finally placed with a kindly older couple, living with them until he was 16; though his bedroom was a closet under the stairs in their small home. In high school, Hundley lived alone in a cheap hotel. He spent considerable time at YMCA basketball courts, bars, and pool halls. In 2014, the YMCA of Kanawha Valley renamed its gymnasium in Hundley's honor.Hundley showed evident talent for the game during his youth. At Charleston High School in West Virginia he averaged 30 points per game, and was named All-State three times, breaking the state's four-year scoring record in just three years, with 1,956 points.
He received over 100 scholarship offers to colleges and universities.
College career
Hundley played for West Virginia University from 1953 to 1957, with one year of freshman basketball and three years of varsity basketball. As a freshman in 1953-1954, Hundley averaged nearly 35 points per game, and set a freshman scoring record with 62 points in a game against Ohio University. He scored over 40 points in 10 of the freshman team's 22 games, including 42 points in his very first game on December 2, 1953.The Mountaineers made their first National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament appearance in 1955, Hundley's sophomore season, where they lost in the first round to eventual national champion La Salle. WVU also played in the NCAA tournaments in 1956 and 1957. The Associated Press ranked the Mountaineers No. 19 in the nation in 1954-55, No. 20 in 1955-56, and as high as No. 4 in 1956-57, with a final ranking at No. 7.
Sophomore season
As a sophomore in 1955, Hundley averaged 23.7 points per game and 8.1 rebounds in 30 games, 27 of which he started. Hundley scored 24 points against Wake Forest, then followed up with 30 against Alabama. He then scored another 47 points against Wake Forest two games later. He then followed up with 24 points against Cornell then 38 points against NYU. Two games later, he scored 35 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Carnegie Tech. Then he followed that up three games later with 30 points against VMI. He then had 17 points against Virginia Tech and 25 points with 11 rebounds against Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl. He then scored 35 points in a loss to Duke, had 21 against Penn State, 28 against Washington and Lee, 23 against William & Mary, and 35 points with 13 rebounds against Pitt. He followed the five-game stretch with 39 points and 10 rebounds against George Washington, then 25 points and 7 rebounds against Rutgers. He then had 27 points and 9 rebounds against VMI, 27 points and 12 rebounds against Washington & Lee, and then 30 points and 12 rebounds against George Washington.In the Southern Conference tournament, Hundley had the opportunity to set the tournament scoring record with two free throws in the final seconds of a game against George Washington with the Mountaineers already having the game won. However, Hundley shot a hook shot and a behind-the-back shot that both resulted in air balls.
Junior season
As a junior in 1956, Hundley set a career-high with 26.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game. He was a consensus second team All-American. Hundley's first six games of the season had scores of 34 points, 20 points, 27 points, 40 points, 20 points, and 21 points, respectively. He then had games of 23 points and 29 points against Columbia and Washington and Lee, respectively. He followed up with 17 points and 9 rebounds against Villanova, 25 points and 10 rebounds against La Salle, then a career-game of 24 points, 26 rebounds and 9 assists against VMI. He then had 28 points against Carnegie Tech and 29 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists against Penn State. He followed it up with 29 points against Pittsburgh in the Backyard Brawl, 35 points and 6 rebounds against Furman, 28 points against VMI, and then 25 points and 24 rebounds against Richmond. He followed up with 25 points against Penn State and 28 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists against Virginia Tech. He continued with 38 points against William & Mary, 40 points and 13 rebounds against St. John's, 31 points and 13 rebounds against William & Mary, and then 40 points and 7 rebounds against Pitt. He then had a season-high 42 points and 9 rebounds against Furman, then 26 points against Richmond.Senior season
In his final collegiate season, in 1957, Hundley averaged 23.1 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. He was a consensus first team All-American. He began his senior season with 23 points and 9 rebounds in the first game, 25 points and 13 rebounds in the second game, and 28 points and 12 rebounds in the third game of the season. In the next contest against Penn State, Hundley scored 17 points and totaled 16 rebounds. He then had 25 points and 10 rebounds in the 83–82 upset over the Duke Blue Devils. He then had consecutive games of 24 points, the first with 9 rebounds and the second with 12. In the January 5 game against Furman, Hundley scored a career-high 54 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in the victory, a school record for points in a game. He followed the game up with a game of 32 points and then the following game with 34 points and 15 rebounds against Villanova. He then had three games of 21 points, 19 points and then 18 points. He then had a game of 30 points with 13 points against St. John's followed by a game of 34 points and 10 rebounds against VMI. He then had a five-game stretch of 32 points, 28 points, 23 points, 39 points, and 27 points and 20 rebounds.Legacy
Hundley holds a varsity school record with 54 points in a single game against Furman and holds a freshman team record of 62 points. Over three varsity seasons, Hundley averaged 24.5 points per game, and totaled 2,180 career points, second only to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame guard Jerry West's 2,309 points. He also averaged 10.6 rebounds per game over three years. During Hundley's varsity career, WVU had a won-loss record of 72–16, with three Southern Conference titles and three NCAA tournament appearances. He scored more than 40 points in a game six times, which led to the Mountaineers scoring over 100 points in nine games.Hundley was the fourth player in NCAA history to score more than 2,000 points during his career—and he did it in three years, because freshman then could not play varsity basketball. Hundley was a second-team consensus All-American in 1955-56, and first-team consensus All-American in 1956-57. He was a two-time, first-team All-American and currently holds eight school records. As of 2025, he holds the school record for field goal attempts in a season and over a career; has three of the top ten scoring averages per season; is second all-time in points, field goals, and free throws attempted and made ; and is third all-time in points per game.
He is one of only two Mountaineers to be drafted first overall in an NBA draft, with Mark Workman going first overall to the Milwaukee Hawks five years earlier in the 1952 NBA draft. Once on a trip back to West Virginia to play in a charity game at the WVU Coliseum, constructed more than 10 years after he left WVU, Rod was said to have told Basketball Hall of Famer and fellow WVU alumnus Jerry West: "I built this building." West retorted, "Yeah but I paid it off."
Hundley was also memorable in school history for his on-court antics. His in-game repertoire included trick shots, behind-the-back passes and spinning the ball on his finger. He was famous for dribbling the ball behind his back, spinning the ball on his finger, rolling it down his arm, and even going around his back. He also often took hook shots at the free throw line and also would hang off the rim waiting for a lob pass from a teammate. He was known to sit with fans in the stands and eat popcorn, instead of participating in time-out team huddles. He was nicknamed the "clown prince".
WVU honors
In 1992, Hundley was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame. In January 2010, WVU retired his number 33, making Hundley and West the only players in school history to be awarded the honor. On February 20, 2016, a bronze statue of him was unveiled outside the blue gate of the WVU Coliseum, joining the statue of West. In 2017, he was named an inaugural member of WVU's Mountaineer Legends Society.Professional career
In 1957, the Cincinnati Royals made Hundley the first pick of the NBA draft and immediately traded his rights to the Minneapolis Lakers. Hundley and Mark Workman, who also attended West Virginia, are the only No. 1 overall draft picks to come from the same high school.Hundley played for the Lakers in Minneapolis and Los Angeles from 1957 until 1963, averaging 8.4 points per game and recording over 1,400 assists. He also played in two All Star games. His best season came in the 1959–60 season, when he averaged 12.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. On February 1, 1960, Hundley recorded a triple-double, a feat even more notable in his era, with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
On February 28, he scored a career high 33 points in a loss against the Philadelphia Warriors. That postseason, Hundley and the Lakers nearly made it back to the NBA Finals for the second year in a row, but lost in a tough seven-game series to Bob Pettit and the St. Louis Hawks in the Western Division Finals, where Hundley averaged 10.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game. The following year, during the 1960-61 NBA season, Hundley got teamed up with fellow Mountaineer legend Jerry West, as he was drafted in that year's draft.
In 1960, he was aboard the Minneapolis Lakers flight that crashed in an Iowa cornfield during a blizzard, with everyone surviving. After crashing, Hundley broke the silence by calling out "'I live to love again!'"
Hundley finished his six-year professional career at age 28 in 1963, due to his bad knees and poor training habits and lifestyle. His career totals were 3,625 points, 1,420 rebounds and 1,455 assists in his six seasons.