Jack Marin
Jack Marin is the most successful professional athlete ever from Mercer County. Ironically, he almost passed up that professional career.
When Jack completed a phenomenal basketball career at Duke University, he was a first-round draft choice of the Baltimore Bullets of the NBA. However, he was leaning toward passing up the NBA for a medical career. Reconsidering, he signed with the Bullets and the rest is basketball history.
That history began at Farrell High School, where Marin didn't really mature into a top player until his senior season. That year, 1961-62, he scored 529 points and was named first-team All-State.
He was valedictorian of his class. He moved on to Duke University where he became an All-American. He led Duke to the NCAA Final Four in 1964 and 1966. In '66 he a scored 52 points in the two games and was named to the Final Four Ali-Tournament Team. That year the team reached the No. 1 ranking in the country.
He was accepted into Duke Medical School, but opted to sign with the Baltimore Bullets in 1966. He was the number two pick in the country behind Michigan's Cazzie Russell.
He played for the Bullets for six years, before being traded to the Houston Rockets for Elvin Hayes. He later played for the Buffalo Braves and Chicago Bulls, retiring in 1977 after turning down a lucrative offer from the Bulls.
During his NBA career, he played in 901 games, including a string of 452 straight. He scored 13,301 points, ranking 38th all-time as of 1977 . He averaged 15 points per game, with his biggest scoring night (44) coming against Atlanta.
He was one of the best foul-shooters in NBA history, with a career 84 percent at the line. He won the foul-average title in 1972 with 90 percent. shooting. He was an NBA All-Star in 1972 and 1973. Jack played in 52 NBA playoff games, scoring 760 points (20.6 ppg average). In 1971, he played in the championship game against the Milwaukee Bucks and was second high scorer to Earl Monroe.
He was named to the All-Rookie team in 1967. He was inducted into the Duke Sports Hall of Fame and the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
A lawyer in Durham, N.C., Jack plays golf on the Celebrity Tour with other former pro athletes. Prior, as an amateur golfer, he qualified for the match play rounds of the prestigious United States Golf Association Mid- Amateur Championship in 1981.