Darrall Imhoff

Did You Know?

• Imhoff's daughter Nancy was inducted into the Idaho State University Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
• His grandson Damon Jones played in MLB for the Philadelphia Phillies.
• Imhoff grew up in San Gabriel, California and attended Alhambra High School.

College career

Imhoff made the University of California, Berkeley team as a walk-on and became a two-time All-American. He was the top rebounder on the 1959 NCAA championship team, hitting the winning basket in the title game against West Virginia. In the 1959 Final Four semifinal against Cincinnati, he had 22 points and 16 rebounds. The 1958-59 Cal team led the NCAA in defense, allowing 51 points per game. Imhoff was the leading scorer and rebounder on the 1960 NCAA runner-up team. He anchored the nation's top-rated defense from center, with coach Pete Newell calling him the 'main spring' of Cal's defense. Cal limited opponents to 48.2 points per game in the 1959-60 regular season. Imhoff led Cal back to the championship game, where they lost to Ohio State. He was named to the NCAA tournament's first team and received second-team All-American honors as a junior.

1960 Olympics

Imhoff was a senior awaiting NBA entry when he tried out for the 1960 U.S. Olympic team. The tryouts involved play among an NCAA college all-star team coached by Pete Newell, AAU teams, and Armed Forces all-stars. The team was called a 'dream team' and won all eight Olympic games by an average of over 40 points. They defeated the Soviet team 81-57 and won the gold medal game against Brazil 90-63. Imhoff averaged 4.5 points in the eight games. The entire 1960 U.S. Olympic team and coaching staff was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2011.

NBA career

Imhoff was the third overall pick in the 1960 NBA draft by the New York Knicks, after Robertson and West. He was expected to provide rebounding and defense against Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. As a rookie, he averaged 4.8 rebounds and 4.7 points per game as a backup center. In his second season, he averaged 5.9 points and 6.2 rebounds. He was the starter in the March 1962 game when Chamberlain scored 100 points, but Imhoff played only 20 minutes due to foul trouble, and most of Chamberlain's points came with Imhoff on the bench. Chamberlain said singling out Imhoff was unfair. After the season, Imhoff was traded to the Detroit Pistons for Gene Shue. He later played for the Los Angeles Lakers. With the Pistons in 1962-63, he averaged 2.7 points and 3.4 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game. The following season he averaged 4.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in 15 minutes per game.

Personal life

After retiring, Imhoff lived in San Jose, where he was a vice president and director of marketing for Tred 2. He also lived in Hillsboro and Eugene, Oregon, and was vice president of sales and marketing at the United States Basketball Academy. He was active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Providence Child Center, and Rotary International. He was married to Susan and had three daughters and two sons.