Paul J. Arizin

While "Pitchin" Paul Arizin owned a textbook perfect jump shot, a shot that opposing coaches described as genius akin to Renoir or Rembrandt, the story of Arizin's climb to greatness reads like a Horatio Alger tale. In high school he did not try out for basketball until his senior year, and then he failed to make the team. Attending Villanova University without a scholarship, Arizin's hard work and perseverance paid off, earning him a place on the team as a sophomore. This once unknown player set a single-game scoring record with 85 points against the Philadelphia Naval Air Materials Center, a record that was later abandoned because the naval center was not an accredited college. He was named the College Player of the Year in 1950. Arizin led the NBA in scoring in 1952 (25.4 ppg) and 1957 (25.6 ppg) and was among the league's best each season. As a member of the Philadelphia Warriors, Arizin played in the NBA All Star Game ten times during his career.