Ben Poquette

Benedict Jay Poquette (born May 7, 1955) is an American former basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he graduated from East Lansing High School and Central Michigan University. He was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the second round (36th pick overall) of the 1977 NBA draft, and played for them from 1978–79. He also played for the Utah Jazz in 1980–83, the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1984–87, and the Chicago Bulls in 1987 (his last season in the NBA).

Ben Poquette

Personal information
Born	(1955-05-07) May 7, 1955 (age 70) Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight	235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school	East Lansing (East Lansing, Michigan)
College	Central Michigan (1973–1977)
NBA draft	1977: 2nd round, 36th overall pick
Drafted by	Detroit Pistons
Playing career	1977–1990
Position	Power forward
Number	50
Career history
1977–1979	Detroit Pistons
1979–1983	Utah Jazz
1983–1987	Cleveland Cavaliers
1987	Chicago Bulls
1987–1989	Irge Desio
1989–1990	S. Bennedetto Gorizia
Career highlights
First-team All-MAC (1977) No. 50 retired by Central Michigan Chippewas
Career NBA statistics
Points	4,899 (6.8 ppg)
Rebounds	3,371 (5.2 rpg)
Blocks	794 (1.1 bpg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

His best seasons in the league occurred while playing for the Utah Jazz. The Jazz franchise had just arrived in Salt Lake City in 1979 after five mostly unsuccessful seasons in New Orleans. The team was thin up front, having traded away top big men Rich Kelley, Spencer Haywood, Joe C. Meriweather, and Truck Robinson in the previous two seasons. Despite being relatively undersized at 6'9" and 235 pounds, Poquette was tasked with replacing the 7'0" Kelley at center. Poquette posted modest averages of 9.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in his four seasons with Jazz, but excelled at shot-blocking, setting franchise records for most blocks in a career (517 in 321 games) and single season (174 in 1980–81). Notably, Poquette also had the somewhat dubious distinction of leading the NBA in personal fouls during that 1980–81 season, with 342 total fouls committed.

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

NBA

Source^[1]

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1977–78	Detroit	52		12.0	.422		.700	2.8	.4	.2	.4	4.5
1978–79	Detroit	76		17.6	.427		.782	4.4	.8	.5	1.3	6.7
1979–80	Utah	82		28.6	.523	.000	.832	6.8	1.6	.5	2.0	8.9
1980–81	Utah	82	82	34.2	.528	.500	.778	7.7	2.0	.8	2.1	9.5
1981–82	Utah	82	56	20.7	.514	.300	.808	5.0	1.1	.6	.8	6.6
1982–83	Utah	75	50	31.1	.472	.200	.751	6.9	2.2	.9	1.5	11.0
1983–84	Cleveland	51	4	16.8	.439	.200	.791	3.6	1.0	.4	.6	3.6
1984–85	Cleveland	79	6	21.0	.460	.176	.796	6.0	1.0	.6	.7	6.7
1985–86	Cleveland	81	3	18.5	.477	.200	.720	4.6	1.0	.4	.4	5.0
1986–87	Cleveland	37	1	11.8	.500	.000	.795	2.1	.8	.2	.6	3.1
	Chicago	21	1	8.0	.525	.000	.818	1.1	.3	.1	.6	2.4
Career		718	203	22.0	.483	.220	.779	5.2	1.2	.5	1.1	6.8

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1985	Cleveland	4	0	22.8	.619	.000	.800	3.5	.3	.5	1.5	7.5