On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics power forward Ned Dixon “Dick” Hemric was born in Jonesville, North Carolina, in 1933. The Jonesville native played his college ball with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, with whom he would be named an All-American in 1954 and 1955.
The 6-foot-6 forward 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. It was not even equaled by the mighty Tim Duncan during his tenure with the Demon Deacons many years later.
Evidently, he played well enough to persuade the Celtics to draft him with the 10th pick of the 1955 NBA draft.