They Played the Game: Ex-College Hoopsters Excel in Other Endeavors

I Know Nothing: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, resembling know-nothing Sgt. Schultz in the TV sitcom Hogan's Heroes, seems willing to divulge as much about the "Fast and Furious" ATF "gunwalking" operation selling 2,000 firearms to Mexican drug cartels as the number of baskets the nation's top cop made for Columbia's freshman basketball squad in 1969-70. In 10 games, Holder misfired on all four of his field-goal attempts.

Speaking of 10, that was the number of times astronaut John Glenn's flight was scrapped before the former freshman basketball player for Muskingum (Ohio) became the first American to orbit the Earth. The U.S., which recently marked the 50th anniversary of Glenn's mission, went from knowing virtually nothing about space in 1962 to landing a man on the moon by the end of that decade. Glenn, who served as a U.S. Senator for 24 years, subsequently became the oldest human to enter space when he joined the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1998.

At first glance, most observers would think you were from outer space by perceiving Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, UCLA's three-time national player of the year, as a normal diplomat. But Abdul-Jabbar, ranked #1 on CollegeHoopedia's list of all-time top 100 players, was recently appointed a Cultural Ambassador for the U.S. Department of State. One should know that legendary Bruins coach John Wooden acknowledged that Ralph Bunche, UCLA's Alumnus of the Year in 1949 before becoming the first black person to win the Nobel Peace Prize the next year, was instrumental in helping recruit the New York City native (then known as Lew Alcindor) to his alma mater.

Bunche deftly handled the armistice negotiations as a United Nations envoy leading to a historic Arab-Israeli truce. Two decades before Jackie Robinson arrived as UCLA's meal ticket, he emerged as the first black to play for the Bruins, earning letters as a guard for three Southern California Conference champions. Based on SI's recent "Bruins in Ruins" expose, it seems as if coach Ben Howland needed someone with Bunche's ability to mediate the internal strife on their roster.

Additional political appointees and politicians who played college basketball include Bill Bradley, Scott Brown, Robert Casey, William Cohen, Bob Dole, Ray Flynn, Al Gore, Lee Hamilton, Henry Hyde, Tom McMillen, George Mitchell, Sam Nunn, Dean Rusk, Alan Simpson, John Thune, Mo Udall, Whizzer White, Ron Wyden and President Obama.

Hoop Party: The average fan might glibly observe that "People Are Funny" or "Kids Say the Darndest Things" if someone claimed TV personality Art Linkletter was an award-winning hoopster. But the facts are that the host of House Party was indeed a standout, leading San Diego State in scoring in back-to-back seasons (1932-33 and 1933-34). Linkletter was named to the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference all-star team as a sophomore and senior. He was captain of the Aztecs' squad as a senior, finishing second in conference competition in scoring.

Additional creative individuals who might have been among the foremost "floppers" while playing college basketball before becoming actors and entertainers include Bob Barker, Beau Bridges, Jim Caviezel, Chevy Chase, Chuck "The Rifleman" Connors, Louis Gossett Jr., Craig Kilborn, Lurch, Mannix, Super Dave Osborne, Tom Selleck, Sinbad, Ken "The White Shadow" Howard and Denzel Washington.

Are You Ready For Some Football?: If you had a pulse last year, you know recently-deceased Joe Paterno became the only major-college coach to reach the 400-win plateau before he was fired by Penn State trustees after the arrest of a long-time assistant on child sexual abuse charges. But what you might not know is that Paterno was a basketball letterman for Brown in the late 1940s. "Hoopa Joe"'s scoring average of 7.3 points per game in 1947-48 was second highest on the team.

Additional prominent college football coaches who played college basketball include Red Blaik, Frank Broyles, Fritz Crisler, Mouse Davis, Dan Devine, Bobby Dodd, Vince Dooley, Pete Elliott, Don Faurot, Shug Jordan, Elmer Layden, Houston Nutt, Bennie Oosterbaan, Ara Parseghian, Erk Russell and Bob Zuppke.

Do As I Wrote; Not As I Played: Opinions differ as to whether managing editor Rick Stengel's controversial "The Protester" cover as TIME's 2011 Person of the Year exhibited the same lofty leadership skills of his college basketball coach (Princeton's Pete Carril). Stengel became a Rhodes Scholar after being the fourth-leading scorer for Princeton's 1973-74 freshman team with 8 points per game. He was a 5-11, 165-pound backup sophomore guard who scored two points in 11 games for the Tigers' squad that won the 1975 NIT.

More ex-hoopster authors and journalists who have the ability to embellish their college basketball playing days include Pat Conroy, Michael Crichton, Pete Gent, James Michener, Charley Rosen, Robert James Waller and Dr. John Edgar Wideman.

Taking Care of Business: Sean Tuohy Sr., a fast-food millionaire who owns more than 80 Taco Bell, KFC and Long John Silver restaurants, gained notoriety as the white adoptive father of African-American Michael Oher, a 2009 NFL first-round draft choice as an offensive tackle from Ole Miss and subject of the movie "The Blind Side" (starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw). Tuohy, a two-time all-league point guard, paced the SEC in assists all four basketball seasons from 1978-79 through 1981-82. He twice led the Rebels in free-throw percentage (as a sophomore and senior). Sean Tuohy Jr., known as "SJ" in the Memphis area, gave an oral commitment to play next season for Loyola (MD) in Oher's backyard this time around.

The list of prominent executives and scientists/surgeons who played college basketball includes Avery Brundage, Dr. Denton Cooley, Stedman Graham, Edwin Hubble, Vernon Jordan, David Packard, Jack Rogers, Pete Silas, Paul Tagliabue and Lloyd Ward.

Seri(es)ous Athletes: Mike Adams, a reliever for the Texas Rangers after being acquired from the San Diego Padres, is the latest former college basketball player to appear in the World Series. Many of the previous versatile notables attended major universities, however. The 6-5 Adams, who compiled a 6-4 record and 1.81 ERA for the Padres from 2008 through 2010, enrolled at Texas A&M-Kingsville on a basketball scholarship (scoring 14 points in 13 games for the small college in 1996-97).

Among the prominent World Series pitchers who were varsity basketball regulars for a current Division I school are Eldon Auker, Jim Beattie, Ralph Branca, Gene Conley, Rich Gale, Joe Gibbon, Bob Gibson, Steve Hamilton, Atlee Hammaker, Ron Reed, Robin Roberts, Rollie Sheldon and Tim Stoddard.

Men For All Seasons: John Powless, despite having both knees replaced (one in 2007 and the other in 2008), has been ranked as the world's No. 1 singles player in tennis for senior men 75 and older. He served six seasons as captain and coach of the U.S. Junior Davis Cup team. Powless averaged 6.9 ppg and 5.7 rpg as a 6-5 forward for Murray State in four seasons from 1953-54 through 1956-57 before compiling an 88-108 record as Wisconsin's head basketball coach for eight seasons from 1968-69 through 1975-76.

CollegeHoopedia.com has assembled a surprising lengthy list of prominent "secondary sport" athletes who also played college basketball (boxing, golf, soccer, tennis, track and field, volleyball plus wrestling).