Terry Rand obit

Terry Rand, Marquette All-American, dies

 He was not on the list.

Green Bay native Terry Rand, an All-American center for Marquette University in the mid-1950s, died Thursday in Naples, Fla. He was 79.

Rand's son, Kevin, said his father died of cardiac arrest at Naples Community Hospital as a result of complications from surgery he underwent last week.

Terry Rand was part of Rand Financial Advisors Inc. and resided in Naples.

Rand, who was listed in college at 6 feet 9 inches and 220 pounds, led Marquette in scoring and rebounding for three straight seasons starting in 1953-'54.

In his final season at Marquette in 1955-'56, he averaged 20.3 points and 13.1 rebounds and was selected for All-Catholic All-American honors. He was also a National Association of Basketball Coaches third-team All-American that season.

In 1955, in MU's first visit to the NCAA Tournament, Rand scored 37 points in a game against Miami (Ohio). That still stands as a school tournament record. The 1954-'55 team had a record of 24-3, which included a 22-game winning streak, and was ranked eighth in the country by The Associated Press.

In a 1956 game against Duquesne, he scored 43 points, which set a Chicago Stadium scoring record.

Rand scored 1,309 points and had 978 rebounds in his three MU seasons. He ranks second in school history behind Don Kojis in rebounds per game and is eighth in scoring average.

In 1956, he was named as an alternate to the 12-member U.S. Olympic basketball team.

In 1958, Rand was part of a U.S. team that played a six-game exhibition series in Russia as part of a cultural exchange. Rand played against 7-4, 370-pound Soviet center Janich Krumins. Rand told a reporter he was surprised by the Russian players' knowledge of American sports.

"They asked us about Bill Russell and K.C. Jones and why they hadn't come along," Rand said.

On Dec. 16, 1955, Marquette played Russell's powerful University of San Francisco team at the DePaul Invitational at Chicago Stadium. The Dons won, 65-58. Russell had high praise for Rand.

"Rand is far and away the best center I've faced in three years of college ball," Russell told The Associated Press in San Francisco. "He's the best jumper and the best all-round player, and that includes Tom Heinsohn of Holy Cross."

Rand played for Green Bay East High School and scored 570 points in his senior year. He was a two-time all-Fox River Valley selection.

His given name was Lynwood Terry Rand in honor of Lynwood "Schoolboy" Rowe, who was pitching for the Detroit Tigers in the 1934 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals when Rand was born.

Rand was drafted in the second round by the Minneapolis Lakers in 1956, but the franchise was broke and he decided instead to play for an amateur team, the Denver-Chicago Truckers of the National Industrial Basketball League, for $12,000 a year and a law school scholarship. Johnny Dee, who went on to coach Notre Dame, coached the Truckers at the time.

Rand, according to his company biography, had a bachelor of science degree in business finance from the University of Denver and completed three years of law school there.

Rand played basketball in Denver for six years and became a stock broker in 1958.

Rand was named Lynwood Terry Rand after Detroit Tigers pitcher Lynwood "Schoolboy" Rowe, who was pitching in the 1934 World Series when Rand was born

 He grew up as a swimmer in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and did not play basketball until his freshman year of high school, when he stood 6–2. He did not make Green Bay East's varsity squad until his junior season and played only 13 games due to an illness. Nonetheless, he averaged 28.7 points per game and was named to the all-Fox River Valley Conference team. He repeated as an all-Fox River Valley selection as a senior, where he scored a total of 570 points, which is the school's single-season scoring record. He scored in excess of 30 points on seven occasions, and twice scored 40 points.

In the 1956 NBA draft, the Minneapolis Lakers selected Rand in the second round with the 10th overall pick. The Lakers offered him a starting salary of $15,000, but Rand declined because the team's finances were a wreck. Instead, he signed with the Denver Truckers of the semi-professional National Industrial Basketball League. The Truckers paid him $12,000 a year in addition to tuition to attend the law school at the University of Denver. Despite not being an amateur, Rand was one of four alternates on the 1956 U.S. Olympic team. He was not considered fully professional because NIBL players were employees of the parent company.

He played six seasons in the NIBL for the Truckers, where he was coached by John Dee. Rand led the NIBL in scoring and rebounding as a rookie. He averaged 20.3 points per game that year en route to being named an All-Star, rookie of the year, and most valuable player. In 1958, he played on the U.S. All-Star team which toured Russia

He was inducted into Marquette's Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996. Rand is survived by his wife, Beth, and children Greg, Kevin and Jennifer.