Frank Selvy

Franklin Delano Selvy (November 9, 1932 – August 13, 2024) was an American National Basketball Association (NBA) player who was best known for holding the record for the most points (100) in a Division I college basketball game. Born in Corbin, Kentucky, Selvy was an All-State basketball player at Corbin High School and was a teammate of College Football Hall of Fame inductee Roy Kidd. Selvy was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1954 NBA draft and was a two-time NBA All-Star, playing nine seasons.

Selvy was born on November 9, 1932, in Corbin, Kentucky to John Robert Selvy, a coal miner from ages 12–54, and Iva Selvy. He was named after Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who had been elected President of the United States the day before Selvy was born. He was one of ten children living in a two-bedroom home. At only 12 years old, Selvy was a summer migrant worker in Indiana, picking tomatoes. Selvy attended Corbin High School where he starred in basketball, even though his playing time was limited because he had to work. He played basketball for coach Harry Taylor, as did older brother Curt and younger brother Edd. He was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in a number of high school all-star games.

After a storied career at Corbin High School, Selvy attended Furman University, where he was two-time Southern Conference Player of the Year, and a two-time All American. Selvy, chose Furman after Kentucky's Adolph Rupp and Western Kentucky's E.A. Diddle refused him scholarships, due to his then-six-foot (1.83 m) height and small frame.

After Selvy grew three inches and was named MVP in the Kentucky East-West All-Star Game, Kentucky offered a scholarship, but Selvy had committed to play at Furman. "I liked Coach [Lyles] Alley," Selvy said. "He came up and talked to my mother. Plus there were two or three guys from Corbin High who came along with me."

In 1951–52, Selvy averaged 24.6 points per game as Furman finished 18–6 under Coach Lyles Alley. In 1952–53, Selvy averaged 29.5 points as Furman finished 21–6.

As a senior in 1953–54, Selvy led the NCAA in scoring for the second season in a row, scoring 1,209 points (averaging 41.7 points per game), as Furman finished 20–9. His 41.7 points per game remained a record until Pete Maravich averaged 43.8 points per game at Louisiana State University in the 1967–68 season. Maravich would go on to break his own scoring records in the following two seasons (44.2 and 44.5 points per game), and remains the only person to average more than Selvy in a season in men's Division I basketball.

Overall, in 78 career games, Selvy averaged 32.5 points at Furman.

Selvy is best remembered for scoring 100 points in a college game for Furman University against Newberry College on February 13, 1954, the only NCAA Division I player ever to do so. (Jack Taylor of Division III Grinnell College holds the NCAA all-time record for points scored at 138.) Selvy's 100-point game was played towards the end of his final collegiate season on a night that Furman coach Lyles Alley had designated the game "Frank Selvy Night." The special night was planned to garner recognition for Selvy, who was already certain to finish the season leading the nation in scoring and earn first-team All-American honors, two accomplishments he had attained the year before.