Frank Kendrick, a former Purdue basketball player and assistant coach, has died. The Purdue men’s basketball social media team announced the sad news on Thursday. He was 74 years old.
Kendrick played at Purdue from 1971-74, playing under coaches George King and Fred Schaus. He was a member of a 1974 Boilermaker squad that claimed an NIT championship. He was also an All-Big Ten selection that season.
“The Purdue basketball family mourns the loss of Frank Kendrick,” Purdue’s social media statement read. “A Boilermaker standout in the mid-70s, an NBA world champion and former assistant coach at Purdue, Frank was a Boilermaker through and through. Our condolences to his family.”
Kendrick was a native of Indianapolis, Ind. and played high school basketball at Indianapolis Arsenal Tech. He was an All-State player as a junior and All-American as a senior.
After his career at Purdue, Kendrick was selected in the third round of the 1974 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. He played for the franchise for one season, winning an NBA title in 1975.
Kendrick returned to Purdue as an assistant coach on Gene Keady’s staff from 1989-99. He helped the Boilermakers recruit National Player of the Year Glenn Robinson and was a member of a staff that won three consecutive Big Ten titles from 1994-96.
In 2002, Kendrick was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
Kendrick’s name has been synonymous with Purdue basketball for decades and his legacy will live on in West Lafayette.
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