Albert King is regarded as one of the nation’s greatest high school players of all time after spending four years of high school basketball at Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn. He was rated as the top prep player in the nation in his senior year over the likes of Magic Johnson.

The 6’6 guard/forward went to college at the University of Maryland where, during his 1979-1980 college season, he was named the ACC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year, even appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated twice during the 1980 season. He was drafted in 1981 in the first round (10th overall pick) by the New Jersey Nets. Albert played nine seasons in the NBA for the Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs, and Washington Bullets. During the 1982-1983 season, Albert had a career high scoring average of 17.0 points per game. Albert played a couple of seasons in the Italian Basketball League and the CBA before finishing his basketball career with the Bullets in 1991. He finished his career with an average of 12.1 points per game, 4.2 rebounds per game, and 2.2 assists per game.

Albert’s college jersey #55 was retired by the University of Maryland, and in 2002, Albert was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men’s basketball team as one of the 50 greatest players in Atlantic Coast Conference history.

Since retirement, Albert has purchased three Wendys’ franchises and has been active in community relations.

For this NBA and ABA veteran, ambition, intelligence and the drive to succeed has taken him far beyond the basketball court. Tom Hoover is a scuba diver, record collector, music mogul, community ambassador and businessman… and that’s not all.

Serving as the NBRPA’s New York City Chapter President, Hoover doesn’t stop until his goal is reached, a mentality that has earned him a laundry list of accomplishments throughout the years.

Drafted by the Syracuse Nationals (now the Philadelphia 76ers) in the first round (7th pick) of the 1963 NBA Draft, his five professional basketball seasons included stops with the New York Knicks and St. Louis Hawks, as well as with ABA teams including the Denver Rockets, Houston Mavericks, Minnesota Pipers and New York Nets.

When it came time to hang up his basketball sneakers, Hoover knew it was on him to get his ducks in a row.

“We always had to work in the off-season, so when I retired, work became full-time,” said the Villanova University star. “I always had the drive and ambition to see what else I could do and how to use my creativity.”

Spending several off-seasons participating in kids basketball camps and clinics as a Knick, his interest in children and education flourished. Hoover began to run an anti-poverty program in New York City, wherein he and his partner Lane Howell (seven-year NFL veteran) helped place teenagers in summer jobs. Through his involvement in the program, he landed a position as an aid for Former New York City Mayor John Lindsay.

After a stint in the Mayor’s office, his career took a turn toward the industry in which he has always found great passion for – music. Kicking things off as a promoter, Hoover traveled from venue to venue endorsing the rock band, Sly and the Family Stone, whose music was an inspired blend of rock, soul, pop, jazz and emerging genre soon to be dubbed funk.

Paving his way in the entertainment industry, Hoover joined forces with comedy legend Richard Pryor, and worked alongside him as his road manager.

“I would go on the road with him, and I took care of all the business aspects…collect the money, make sure everything was running smoothly, make sure we got places on time.”

Following his time with Pryor, Hoover spent several years as road manager for the soul group The Spinners, as well as for Grammy winner Natalie Cole.

By the mid-70s, Hoover’s family began to grow with the birth of his son, and his priorities began to shift.

“I always loved the music business, but when my son was born, I wanted to stay more local, closer to home. I was able to travel less and work as a manager for the disco groups D Train and GQ.” v Remaining in New York City, Hoover joined forces with well-known DJ, Jerry Bledsoe, and created NATRA, which stood for the National Association of Television and Radio Artists.

“The mission of NATRA was to help get health insurance benefits for DJs, as well as to recognize the impact DJs like Frankie Cocker, Georgie Woods, Tommy Smalls and others were having on the community.”

Around the same time, Hoover dabbled in another facet of the entertainment industry, and this time it was acting. Featured in a variety of commercials for companies like General Electric, Vitalis and Budweiser, he found a more consistent job in another field he loved so much.

“I have been a boxing fan for years and years. I always went to Madison Square Garden to watch the fights live. Through a relationship I had with MSG Announcer John Condon, I was fortunate enough to secure employment as an inspector for the NY State Athletic Commission, where I was in charge of all television contracts regarding boxing and wrestling, as well as boxer management contracts.”

Working his way up from inspector to chief and then deputy commissioner. He founded the Adopt-A-School program along with Joe Spinelli for Governor Mario Cuomo, which taught kids about the importance of education, as well as helped launch a national seatbelt safety campaign, featuring the likes of MC Hammer, Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole, the Gatling Brothers and others.

Recognizing the importance of the Adopt-A-School Program, the Brooklyn District Attorney brought Hoover in to further expand the program in the borough of Brooklyn.

“The Program is still running in Brooklyn. Back then we had tons of celebrities coming in to speak to the kids…guys like Earl Monroe, George Foreman, Hulk Hogan, Randy (Macho Man) Savage, Teddy Atlas and so many more.”

Working hard for many years, it was finally time for Hoover to come up for air.

Currently, the Washington DC native is the president of the National Basketball Retired Players Association New York Chapter a certified scuba diver who looks forward to diving trips throughout the Caribbean and around the world. He is also proud of his record collection, which exceeds 500, and enjoys photography. Keeping his hand in the business world, Hoover still maintains his business mindset, as he is senior director of community and governmental affairs with Fairway Markets, an up-scale New York grocery store.

While nobody, not even Hoover himself, knows where his next venture will take him, one thing’s for sure…he is not going anywhere anytime soon.

“Like they say about New York City, ‘If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere’…I’ve always had success in New York, and there’s no sense in going anywhere else…it’s the greatest city in the world, that’s why they named it twice – New York, New York.”

Nate Archibald is a Hall of Famer, considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He spent 14 years in the NBA as a guard with the Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City Kings, Boston Celtics, and Milwaukee Bucks. At 6’1, “Tiny” was one of the most difficult players to guard. His speed enabled him to drive past defenders and score consistently. He is the only player to lead the league in scoring and assists in the same season (1972 – 1973). During that season, his 34.0 points per game average broke the NBA record for a guard and his 910 assists (11.4 per game) was also an NBA record at the time.

Nate was a high school start at DeWitt Clinton in the Bronx. He was an All-City selection in 1966. He spent three standout seasons at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) under legendary coach Don Haskins before being selected in the second round of the 1970 draft by the Cincinnati Royals.

From 1970 – 1984, Nate made his mark in the NBA. He was a six-time NBA All Star, winning the All Star Game MVP award in 1981. He made the All-NBA First Team three times and the All-NBA Second Team two times. He won an NBA Championship in 1981 with the Boston Celtics. Nate was selected to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All Time Team. He was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 1991, and his jersey (#1) was retired by the Sacramento Kings. He finished his career averaging 18.8 points per game, 7.4 assists per game, and 2.3 rebounds per game.

After retiring from the NBA, Nate received a Master’s Degree from Fordham University and taught in the NYC school system. He spent a few years as an assistant college basketball coach with the University of Georgia and UTEP. He also coached the New Jersey Jammers in the United States Basketball League (USBL), in a Boston recreational league, and in the National Basketball Developmental League before taking a position with the NBA’s community relations department.

In addition, Nate has devoted much of his time to working with the community in the five boroughs on mentoring and self-esteem programs. He also hosts the annual Tiny Archibald Basketball Tournament in Riverbank State Park in NYC.

Nate Archibald (NBA)
Albert King (NBA)
Tony Campbell (NBA)
Fred Crawford (NBA)
Tom Hoover (NBA)
Steve Burtt (NBA)
Johnny Green (NBA)
Calvin Ramsey (NBA)
John Warren (NBA)
Carl Green (GLOBETROTTERS)
Johnny Mathis (ABA)
Hank Whitney (ABA)
Hawthorne Wingo (NBA)
Kenny Charles (NBA)
Charlie Hoxie (GLOBETROTTERS)
Connie Hawkins (NBA)