Art Heyman and Larry Brown, two kids from the playgrounds of Long Island, were supposed to be roommates and play freshman basketball at the University of North Carolina in 1959.
But after committing to the Tar Heels, Heyman changed his mind and enrolled at Duke. College basketball, especially in the state of North Carolina, would never be the same,
Heyman, the basketball legend from Rockville Centre and Oceanside High School who led Duke to its first appearance in the NCAA Final Four and was later taken with the first pick in the NBA Draft by his hometown Knicks, died late Monday at his home in Florida. He was 71. No cause of death was given.
Heyman averaged 30 points per game and led the Sailors to the Nassau County championship in 1959.
“He was a beast, he was a tough, tough New York kid, and he was an insatiable competitor,” Bucky Waters, his freshman coach at Duke, said in a statement. “He was the kind of player that brought out the best of his teammates.’’
Heyman, who lasted just three seasons with the Knicks and went on to own several bars and restaurants in the city after his playing career ended, is largely credited with creating the Duke-North Carolina hoops rivalry as we now know it.
After signing a letter of intent to attend North Carolina on the same day and at the same Long Island restaurant where Brown also committed to the Tar Heels, Heyman changed his mind following a heated disagreement between his father and UNC coach Frank McGuire. Loathed by North Carolina fans before he set foot on Duke’s campus, Heyman was one of the main combatants in a vicious brawl during a game between the teams at Cameron Indoor Stadium during the 1960-61 season.
It started when Heyman landed a hard foul on Brown as the Carolina point guard drove to the basket. According to accounts of the game, Brown reacted by throwing the ball at Heyman and followed that up with a punch.
“I had fights with him long before that,” Brown told the Charlotte Observer’s website last night. “We’d fight on the playground.”
That night Heyman responded with a punch of his own and Donnie Walsh raced off the Tar Heels’ bench to get in a few punches too. The melee lasted more than 10 minutes and needed 10 Durham police officers to quell.
Thus, one of college basketball’s most celebrated rivalries was born.
Heyman, a three-time, All-American who was named the most outstanding player at the 1963 Final Four, finished his career with averages of 25.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. But the school waited until 1990 to retire his No. 25 jersey, a delay that irked Heyman.
“As much as any other human being, Art was responsible for Duke University becoming a national power in college basketball,” Vic Bubas, his coach at Duke, said in a statement.
The Knicks selected Heyman with the No. 1 pick in the 1963 NBA Draft. Heyman, who was named to the all-rookie team when he averaged 15.4 points per game, was waived by the team in 1965. In a 2006 interview, he said he “lost interest” after his rookie season. Heyman would win an ABA championship with the Pittsburgh Pipers in 1968.
“Art Heyman was truly one of the elite players to ever wear a Blue Devil uniform,’’ said Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski, who said he had “a great friendship’’ with Heyman for more than 30 years.