Raiken, Sherwin

Sherwin H. Raiken

Raiken played basketball at Villanova University in the late 1940s before joining the NBA. As a member of the New York Knicks, Raiken played in the 1953 NBA Finals; they lost to the Minneapolis Lakers, 4-1.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. Oct. 29, 1928

Career Highlights:
Raiken played at Villanova for three seasons, from 1948-1950, before playing in the NBA. A terrific scorer, Sherwin helped lead the Wildcats to a 15-9 record in 1948. The following season, Villanova improved to 22-3 and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament (it was only the second postseason appearance in school history). In the East Regional Semifinals, Raiken was held to 6 points as Villanova lost to Kentucky, 85-72. He then scored 15 points in the East consolation game as the Wildcats beat Yale 78-67.
In 1950, Raiken was a member of the Villanova team that had a record of 25-4 and were ranked No. 11 in the final AP poll. Despite leading the nation in total offense (72.8 points per game), and second in scoring margin (17.1 ppg), they were not invited to either the NIT or NCAA tournament.
In 1952-53, Raiken joined the New York Knicks late in the season as they won the Eastern Division with a record of 47-23. Sherwin played in six regular season games that year (his only NBA season), and scored nine points. He also played in four playoff games and scored nine points as the Knicks made it to the NBA Finals before losing to George Mikan and the Minneapolis Lakers, 4-1.

Career Dates:
Played at Villanova University, 1947-1950. Raiken played in the NBA with the New York Knicks in 1952-53.

Physical description:
6'2", 185 pounds

Career Statistics:
In the NBA:
Games: 6
Points: 9
Points Per Game: 1.5
Field Goals Made: 3
Field Goals Attempted: 21
Field Goal Percentage: .143
Free Throws Made: 3
Free Throws Attempted: 8
Free Throw Percentage: .375
Rebounds: 8
Rebounds Per Game: 1.3
Assists: 6
Assists Per Game: 1.0
Personal Fouls: 10
Disqualifications: 0
NBA playoffs:
Games: 4
Points: 9
Points Per Game: 2.3
Field Goals Made: 4
Field Goals Attempted: 5
Field Goal Percentage: .800
Free Throws Made: 0
Free Throws Attempted: 1
Free Throw Percentage: 0.000
Rebounds: 1
Rebounds Per Game: 0.3
Assists: 2
Assists Per Game: 0.5
Personal Fouls: 3
Disqualifications: 0

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References:
encyclopedia of JEWS in sports, by Bernard Postal, Jesse Silver, and Roy Silver (New York: Bloch Publishing Co., 1965)
The Official NBA Encyclopedia: Third Edition, edited by Jan Hubbard (New York: Doubleday, 2000)
Ronald Encyclopedia of Basketball, edited by William G. Mokray (Ronald Press: 1962)
The Encyclopedia of the NCAA Basketball Tournament: The Complete Independent Guide to College Basketball's Championship Event, by Jim Savage (New York: Dell Publishing Group, 1990)
Inside Sports Magazine: College Basketball, by Mike Douchant with Jim Nantz (Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1998)