Togo Palazzi

Togo Anthony Palazzi (August 8, 1932 – August 12, 2022) was an American basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Boston Celtics and Syracuse Nationals.

Togo Palazzi

Palazzi in 2013
Personal information
Born	(1932-08-08)August 8, 1932 Union City, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	August 12, 2022(2022-08-12) (aged 90)
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight	205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school	Union Hill (Union City, New Jersey)
College	Holy Cross (1951–1954)
NBA draft	1954: 1st round, 5th overall pick
Drafted by	Boston Celtics
Playing career	1954–1962
Position	Small forward / shooting guard
Number	12, 6, 17
Career history
As a player:
1954–1956	Boston Celtics
1956–1960	Syracuse Nationals
1960–1962	Scranton Miners
As a coach:
1960–1961	Scranton Miners
Career highlights
All-EPBL Second Team (1961) Second-team All-American – Collier's (1954) Third-team All-American – AP, UPI, Look (1954) NIT champion (1954) NIT MVP (1954) No. 22 retired by Holy Cross Crusaders
Career NBA statistics
Points	2,382 (7.4 ppg)
Rebounds	1,113 (3.4 rpg)
Assists	233 (0.7 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Playing and coaching career

A 6'4" forward/guard born and raised in Union City, New Jersey, Palazzi played at Union Hill High School, where he was recognized as one of the top prep basketball players nationwide.^[1] He played at the College of the Holy Cross in the 1950s and was captain of the Crusaders team that won the 1954 NIT Championship and was named MVP of the tournament.^[2]

Palazzi was selected by the Boston Celtics with the fifth pick of the 1954 NBA draft. He played six seasons in the NBA as a member of the Celtics and Syracuse Nationals and averaged 7.4 points per game in his career.^[2]

Palazzi played for the Scranton Miners in the Eastern Professional Basketball League (EPBL) from 1960 to 1962.^[3] He was selected to the All-EPBL Second Team in 1961.^[3] Palazzi served as head coach of the Miners during the 1960–61 season and accumulated an 11–7 record.^[4]

Palazzi coached the Holy Cross women's team from 1980 to 1985, going 103–28 as coach; he coached them to an NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament appearance in his final year, the first ever appearance by the women's team.^[5]

Later life and death

Palazzi later gave speeches at basketball camps for young adults interested in the sport. He was a prominent fixture at camps such as the Scatlet Hawks Basketball Camp run by Steve Manguso in Milford, MA. Along with conducting area speeches he was the camp director of the Togo Palazzi/Sterling Recreation Basketball Camp in Sterling, Massachusetts.^{[citation needed]}

Palazzi died on August 12, 2022, at the age of 90.^[6]

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^[7]

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1954–55	Boston	53	9.5	.399	.750	2.8	.6	4.7
1955–56	Boston	63	11.2	.389	.685	2.9	.7	6.0
1956–57	Boston	21	11.1	.347	.719	3.6	.4	5.0
1956–57	Syracuse	42	18.6	.373	.790	4.5	1.0	10.7
1957–58	Syracuse	67	14.9	.394	.719	3.6	.6	8.6
1958–59	Syracuse	71	14.8	.392	.728	3.7	.9	8.4
1959–60	Syracuse	7	10.0	.317	.500	2.0	.4	4.3
Career		324	13.4	.386	.730	3.4	.7	7.4

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1955	Boston	5	6.0	.500	.500	2.8	.2	5.8
1956	Boston	2	3.5	.200	–	1.0	.0	1.0
1957	Syracuse	5	17.4	.388	.778	3.6	1.0	9.0
1958	Syracuse	3	8.3	.214	.500	1.3	.0	3.0
1959	Syracuse	8	8.4	.295	.714	2.6	.8	4.5
Career		23	9.4	.353	.641	2.6	.5	5.3