Former Bulldog Tim Bassett passes away

Tim Bassett, an All-SEC center for Georgia’s basketball team and one of the program’s first African-American players, died Sunday at age 67.

Bassett played for the Bulldogs from 1971 to 1973, then played seven years in the NBA and ABA. His career spanned three American teams and one in Europe: The San Diego Conquistadors, New York (and later New Jersey) Nets, San Antonio Spurs and Turisanda (now named Pallacanestro) Varese, an Italian professional basketball club.

A native of Washington, D.C., Bassett was a junior college transfer from the College of Southern Idaho. He was named an All-SEC first teamer in 1973. He led the Bulldogs in scoring (17 points per game) and led the Southeastern Conference in rebounding (14.2 per game) as a senior.

Bassett’s single-game career highs – 36 points against Kentucky on Feb. 19, 1973, and 22 rebounds versus South Alabama on Dec. 6, 1971 – both rank No. 14 all-time in Georgia Basketball history.

Bassett’s season rebounding totals from 1972-1973 (368) and 1971-1972 (337) rank No. 3 and No. 6, respectively, in UGA’s record books.

After retiring from basketball, Bassett worked with Athletes Helping Athletes, an organization devoted to bettering the lives of special needs athletes, as a member of their training team for over 30 years. He also worked with Heroes & Cool Kids, a nonprofit group co-founded by former New York Jets star Bruce Harper that offers a variety of youth mentoring programs.

Bassett was Georgia’s SEC Legend for the 2013 SEC Basketball Tournament.