The man who produced perhaps the greatest individual season in IU history has died.
Naismith and IU Hall of Fame basketball player George McGinnis is gone at the age of 73.
According to a report by the Indiana Pacers, McGinnis succumbed to complications from a cardiac arrest suffered last week at his home. He was taken to Community North Hospital where family, friends and former teammates maintained a vigil of support until his passing.
Upon graduating from Washington High School in Indianapolis, McGinnis had to sit out a season under the NCAA’s rules for freshmen at the time. He would only play one season at IU, but it might have been the best single season performance in the program’s history.
For his 1970-71 sophomore campaign McGinnis averaged 29.9 points and 14.7 rebounds at IU. He led the Big Ten in both categories. He also added 2.8 assists per game and helped the Hoosiers to add 10 more wins to their total from the previous season.
McGinnis scored 20 or more points in 21 of his 24 college games, including an Indiana record 14 times in a row. He scored over 30 points on 12 different occasions, a Hoosier single-season record.
McGinnis’ 719 points were the most in a single season by an IU player at the time, and he still holds the program’s best single-season scoring average. His 352 rebounds reflect the third best single-season effort.
Both McGinnis and IU coach Mike Woodson grew up in Indianapolis. Eight years younger, Woodson grew up idolizing “Big Mac.”
“I loved George McGinnis,” Woodson said. “He meant so much not only to IU and the state of Indiana, but to the entire basketball world.
“I looked up to George growing up in Indianapolis. He meant so much to me as a player and more importantly as a man. George was a Hall of Famer on and off the court, and I am going to miss him so much. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the McGinnis family, his friends, and his teammates. Rest easy Big Mac.”
Presented with the opportunity to earn money to support his family at the professional level, McGinnis left IU after one season. He’d later say he felt he could have helped the 1973 Final Four team win the national title.
Bookending his time at IU was more basketball greatness.
McGinnis starred on an unbeaten Indianapolis Washington High School team that won the 1969 state championship, and after his time at IU, then helped guide the Pacers to two of their three American Basketball Association championships. He was the ABA’s co-most valuable player (with Julius Erving) in the 1974-75 season. McGinnis then moved on to the Philadelphia 76ers in the National Basketball Association, where he was twice named an All-Star. He later played for the Denver Nuggets before returning to the Indiana Pacers, closing his 11-year professional career in 1982.
He compiled 17,009 points (20.2 per game) and 9,233 rebounds (11.0 per game) in 11 years of pro basketball. McGinnis was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017, becoming the seventh person with IU Basketball ties to be inducted (Bobby Leonard, Isiah Thomas, Everett Dean, Bob Knight, Branch McCracken, Walt Bellamy).
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Find us on Facebook: thedailyhoosier
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
