John Ray Godfrey

John Ray Godfrey
Personal information
BornAspermont, Texas, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Career information
High schoolAspermont (Aspermont, Texas)
CollegeAbilene Christian (1964–1968)
NBA draft1968: 14th round, 178th overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
PositionShooting guard
Career highlights and awards

John Ray Godfrey is an American former basketball player. He played college basketball for the Abilene Christian Wildcats.

Godfrey attended Aspermont High School in his hometown of Aspermont, Texas.[1][2] He played for the Wildcats from 1964 to 1968 as a shooting guard.[3] Godfrey was selected as a member of the second-team Division II All-American team in 1967 and the third-team in 1968.[4] He was a three-time member of the All-Southland Conference team and named the Southland Player of the Year in 1968.[2] Godfrey scored 1,467 points during his Wildcats career and ranks 11th in program history.[5]

Godfrey was selected as the 178th overall pick of the 1968 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.[6] He was also selected by the Houston Mavericks in the first round of the 1968 American Basketball Association (ABA) draft.[7][8] He was invited to a tryout with the United States basketball team for the 1968 Summer Olympics.[9]

Godfrey worked as a high school coach and administrator for 35 years.[3]

Godfrey was inducted into the Abilene Christian University Sports Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011.[2][10] His number 14 was retired by the Wildcats men's basketball team in 2018 as the first jersey number retirement by the program.[5]

  1. ^ "Estelline's Great Star Is Named All-State". The Childress Index. March 6, 1963. p. 6. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Three Wildcats earn spots on Southland Conference's all-1960s men's team". Abilene Christian University Athletics. February 20, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Hadfield, Ron (May 19, 2011). "Regional sports hall of fame adds two Wildcats". ACU Today. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  4. ^ "NABC Division II All-America Teams". NABC. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "ACU retires jersey number of Wildcat All-America". Abilene Christian University Athletics. February 23, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  6. ^ "Lakers Draft History". NBA.com. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  7. ^ "Godfrey Is 1st Round Houston Pick". Abilene Reporter-News. May 6, 1968. p. 4. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  8. ^ "1968 ABA Draft". The Draft Review. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  9. ^ Boone, Grant (February 21, 2018). "Full Circle: Iconic domed home of the Wildcats turns 50". ACU Today. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  10. ^ "Two Wildcats voted into Hall". Abilene Christian University Athletics. January 13, 2011. Retrieved May 1, 2021.