Correct Answer: Jerry Lucas

Jerry Ray Lucas is a former basketball player. He was a nationally awarded high school player, national college star at Ohio State, and 1960 gold medal Olympian and international player before later starring as a professional player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a collegian, Lucas led the Ohio State Buckeyes to the 1960 college national championship and three straight NCAA finals. He remains today the only three-time Big Ten Player of the Year, and was also twice named NCAA Player of the Year. As a professional, Lucas was named All-NBA First Team three times, an NBA All-Star seven times, was 1964 NBA Rookie of the Year, and was named Most Valuable Player of the 1965 NBA All-Star Game among other honors and awards. He was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980. The Royals had reportedly been considering Lucas since before their arrival to the city of Cincinnati in 1957. They had secured rights to him in 1958 and drafted him in 1962. In August 1963, Lucas finally signed with Warren Hensel, who was then in process of briefly becoming the team's owner Cincinnati Royals. The locally well-known Middletown and Ohio State star quickly surged ticket sales for the team.