Former Chicago Bulls 7-foot center Tom Boerwinkle, known for his crisp passes, determined rebounding and ability to facilitate the offense, has died at the age of 67.
Boerwinkle was the first-round pick of the Bulls (4th overall) out of the University of Tennessee in 1968. He played his entire NBA career for the Bulls, averaging 7.2 points, 9 rebounds and 3.2 assists from 1968-78 while setting hard picks to create scoring opportunities for the likes of Chet Walker, Bob Love, Jerry Sloan and Norm Van Lier.
The University of Tennessee announced that Boerwinkle passed away following a lengthy illness.
“Tom was a once-in-a-lifetime guy,” former Tennessee teammate Bill Justus said in a statement released by the university. “When you meet a guy like him and have him as a teammate, he becomes a brother to you, and there’s no replacing someone like that.
— Reported by Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune
