John R. McConathy (April 9, 1930 – April 19, 2016) was an American professional basketball player and educator, originally from Bienville Parish in North Louisiana.[1] McConathy was selected in the 1951 NBA draft by the Syracuse Nationals after a collegiate career at Northwestern State in Natchitoches, Louisiana, in which he was an All-American player.[1] He played for the Milwaukee Hawks in 1951–52 and averaged 1.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists per contest in 11 games.[1]

John McConathy
Personal information
Born(1930-04-09)April 9, 1930
Sailes, Louisiana, US
DiedApril 19, 2016(2016-04-19) (aged 86)
Bossier City, Louisiana, US
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
CollegeNorthwestern State (1947–1951)
NBA draft1951: 1st round, 5th overall pick
Selected by the Syracuse Nationals
Playing career1951–1952
PositionForward
Number15
Career history
1951–1952Milwaukee Hawks
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points14 (1.3 ppg)
Rebounds20 (1.8 rpg)
Assists8 (0.7 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Background

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McConathy was born in rural Sailes near Gibsland in Bienville Parish.[citation needed] He maintained a farm in Sailes.[2]

Career

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McConathy competed in both basketball and track and field at Northwestern State.[3] After graduation and his brief professional basketball career, McConathy was employed by the Bienville Parish School Board at Gibsland and Ringgold and then the Bossier Parish School Board. His Bossier High School basketball team won a state championship in 1960. He was the Bossier superintendent from 1972 to 1983.[4] In this capacity, he was a driving force behind the establishment of Bossier Parish Community College, at which his oldest son, Mike McConathy, was the basketball coach from 1983 to 1999. Mike McConathy then became basketball coach at Northwestern State University,[5][6] a position which he still fills.

After he retired as school superintendent, McConathy worked for two decades as an agent for the New York Life Insurance Company. He was a founding member of Citizens National Bank, of which he was a former board chairman for twenty-five years and remained a bank director at the time of his death.[2]

Personal life and death

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McConathy was married to the former Corene Floyd (born March 1933). There are four McConathy children: coach Mike McConathy and wife Connie, of Natchitoches, Bill McConathy and wife Anne, of Haughton in south Bossier Parish, Pat McConathy and wife Suanne, of Bossier City, and Melinda McConathy Guest and husband Greg, of Bossier City, and eleven grandchildren.[2] McConathy was an active member of the First Baptist Church of Bossier City. McConathy died in his sleep at the age of eighty-six. Pastors Brad Jurkovich of First Baptist and Justin Haigler of The Simple Church officiated on April 23 at his funeral at First Baptist Bossier. Former pastor Fred L. Lowery officiated thereafter graveside at Williamson Cemetery in Sailes, at which his parents are also interred.[2]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Source[1]

Regular season

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Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1951–52 Milwaukee 11 9.6 .138 .429 1.8 .7 1.3

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "John McConathy NBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "John McConathy". The Shreveport Times. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  3. ^ "NSU legend John McConathy passes, funeral Saturday in Bossier City". Northwestern State Athletics. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  4. ^ Tiffany Flournoy (April 19, 2016). "NSU basketball legend passes away". KTBS-TV. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  5. ^ Scott Ferrell. "NSU hoops legend John McConathy dies at 86". The Shreveport Times. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  6. ^ LA Tech Hall of Famer: Mike McConathy. Retrieved on February 6, 2013.
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