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Former Captain and National Champion Joe Roberts Passes at 86

Chase Brown's picture
by Chase Brown
October 12, 2022 at 5:09pm
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Former Ohio State men's basketball captain and 1960 national champion Joe Roberts passed this week after a battle with cancer. He was 86 years old.

Roberts was a three-year letterwinner for head coach Fred Taylor and averaged 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds for the Buckeyes from 1958-60. He started for the Ohio State national championship team in 1960 and was a co-captain with Dick Furry. That year, he scored 19 points in the regional final and 10 points in the win over Cal in the national title game.

The Columbus native and East High School graduate was drafted in the third round of the 1960 NBA draft by the Syracuse Nationals, who are now known as the Philadelphia 76ers. He played four seasons as a professional before returning to school to obtain two master's degrees from Western Michigan and Cal State-East Bay. Roberts also helped coach the 1975 Golden State Warriors team that won an NBA title.

Roberts and his wife, Celia, were married for 65 years. They were together when he passed. He is also survived by three daughters – Lori Casey, Kimberly Roberts and Jodi Jones – a grandson and a great-granddaughter.

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