Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1988
- Class:
- 1968
Bob Redd’s college basketball career was delayed by a stint of service in the U.S. Marine Corps, but after he honed his skills as MVP of the Camp Lejeune Marines, Marshall Coach Ellis Johnson inherited a grown man when Redd finally arrived in Huntington. The 6-foot-3 forward from Louisville, Ky., was known as a tenacious defender who usually drew the assignment against the opponent’s best scorer, and Redd did plenty of scoring himself as well as one of the top players in the Mid-American Conference in all three seasons he played for the Thundering Herd.
In the era when freshmen were ineligible to play for the varsity, Redd immediately took second team All-MAC honors as he averaged 18.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore, helping the 1966-67 team to a 20-8 record and second place finish in the MAC at 10-2, then to a final four berth in the NIT at Madison Square Garden with wins over Villanova and Nebraska. When Marquette finally beat Marshall in the semifinals, it was despite 23 points and 10 rebounds from Redd.
Redd received first team All-MAC accolades in both his junior and senior seasons, and by the time his career was complete he had scored 1,295 points and pulled down 698 rebounds – at the time placing him in 10th and sixth place, respectively, on the all-time Marshall charts. After completing his Marshall career, Redd was selected by the New York Knicks in the 11th round of the NBA Draft and the Pittsburgh Pipers in the 14th round of the ABA Draft. Redd was inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988.
