1968–69 Minnesota Pipers season

August 2023 Minnesota Pipers ABA 1969 36 42 Eastern 4th Jim Harding (20–13)Vern Mikkelsen (6–6)Gus Young (10–23) Met Center Lost in the Eastern Division Semifinals WTCN 11 KSTP Pittsburgh Pipers Pittsburgh Pipers The 1968–69 Minnesota Pipers season was the only season of the Pipers franchise up in the state of Minnesota and second overall season in the American Basketball Association. The previous season, the Pipers had won the ABA Finals, but moved the team from Pittsburgh to Minnesota (which had just lost the Muskies) after the season ended. However, the Pipers would have a rollercoaster of a season in Minnesota before deciding to relocate back to Pittsburgh for 1969. The team went through three coaches: Jim Harding, was fired after attacking Pipers Chairman Gabe Rubin at an All-Star Game banquet. Mikkelsen (the general manager) took over for a while before Gus Young took the job permanently. At the All-Star break, the Pipers were 26-19. However, the team went into a dry spell, losing twelve of their last fifteen games to end the regular season, with Hawkins, Williams, Vaughn, and Heyman each being nagged by injuries due to long practices. The Pipers lost in the Division Semifinals to the Miami Floridians. While the state of Minnesota would try a third time to get a new ABA team in the state with the owner of the Memphis Tams later having a desire to sell the team and potentially move the franchise up to St. Paul instead of within the Minneapolis area, they would not have a professional basketball team again until 1989 with the Minnesota Timberwolves out in the NBA. Roster Minnesota Pipers 1968–69 #0047AB #FFFFFF #F87217 #FFFFFF 25 Dan Anderson basketball, born 1943 C 6 10 230 February 15, 1943 Augsburg College 35 Frank Card SF 6 7 195 December 28, 1944 South Carolina State 30 Steve Chubin SG 6 2 200 February 8, 1944 Rhode Island 42 Connie Hawkins C 6 8 210 July 17, 1942 Iowa 12 Art Heyman SF 6 5 205 June 24, 1941 Duke 41 Tom Hoover basketball C 6 9 230 January 23, 1941 Villanova 45 Tony Jackson basketball, born 1942 F 6 4 200 November 7, 1942 St. John's 20 Jim Jarvis PG 6 1 175 March 3, 1943 Oregon State 14 Arvesta Kelly G 6 2 175 November 20, 1945 Lincoln University (Missouri) 13 Jim Kissane F 6 7 210 August 17, 1946 Boston College 23, 41 Tom Kondla C 6 8 225 November 30, 1946 Minnesota 24 Mike Lewis basketball C 6 8 225 March 18, 1946 Duke 30 Willie Porter basketball PF 6 7 205 July 3, 1941 Tennessee State 15 George Sutor C 6 8 235 September 14, 1943 La Salle 22 Steve Vacendak PG 6 1 185 August 15, 1944 Duke 10 Chico Vaughn SG 6 2 190 February 19, 1940 Southern Illinois 32 Trooper Washington PF 6 7 215 April 21, 1944 Cheyney (PA) 12 Ken Wilburn SF 6 6 195 June 8, 1944 Central State University 44 Charlie Williams basketball PG 6 0 165 September 5, 1943 Seattle University 24 Leroy Wright PF 6 9 215 May 6, 1938 University of the Pacific Jim Harding Vern MikkelsenVerl Young https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/MNP/1969.html<noinclude> Final standings Eastern Division + Team W L PCT. GB Indiana Pacers 4434.564 - Miami Floridians 4335.551 1 Kentucky Colonels 4236.5382 Minnesota Pipers 3642.462 8 New York Nets 1761.218 27 ABA Playoffs ABA Eastern Division Semifinals vs. Miami Floridianshttp://www.remembertheaba.com/PlayoffPages/1969Playoffs.html 1968-69 ABA Regular Season Standings Remembertheaba.com 2016-07-11 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20071017202704/http://remembertheaba.com/PlayoffPages/1969Playoffs.html 2007-10-17 Game Date Location Score Record Attendance 1 April 7 Miami 110–119 0–1 4,103 2 April 9 Miami 106–99 1–1 1,688 3 April 10 Minnesota 109–93 2–1 1,520 4 April 12 Minnesota 109–116 2–2 2,532 5 April 13 Miami 107–122 2–3 4,206 6 April 15 Minnesota 105–100 3–3 1,345 7 April 19 Miami 128–137 3–4 5,702 Pipers lose series, 4–3 Awards and honors 1969 ABA All-Star Game selections (game played on January 28, 1969) Trooper Washington Charlie Williams Connie Hawkins had been selected, but he was injured. Jim Harding was originally selected to coach the team, but Gene Rhodes of the Kentucky Colonels replaced him after his firing. References 2 Pipers on Basketball Reference External links RememberTheABA.com 1968–69 regular season and playoff results Pipers page Category:Pittsburgh Condors seasons Minnesota Minnesota Pipers, 1968-69 Minnesota Pipers, 1968-69