ALLAN “DISCO” BRISTOW | 6’7″ Forward | 1970-73

This week we look back on the career of “Disco” Bristow, the greatest low post player in Virginia Tech history.  Past entries from the top 10 are listed at the bottom of this article.

CAREER NUMBERS:

• Points: 1804 (7^th)
• Points Per Game: 23.1 (1^st)
• Rebounds: 987 (5^th)
• Rebounds Per Game: 12.7 (3^rd)

OF NOTE*:

• Nicknamed “Disco”
• Went to Henrico High School in Richmond
• Averaged 27.3 ppg and 17.1 rebounds per game on the JV/Freshmen team his freshman year (freshmen couldn’t play varsity per NCAA rules back then)
• Bristow’s 52 points against gwu in 1973 is a VT record
• Scored in double digits in every game of his Tech career
• Led the Hokies in rebounding all three seasons he played
• Led VT in scoring his final two years
• Shot 48% from the field and 71% from the line for his VT career
• NBA Draft – 2^nd Round Pick (21st Overall) of the Philadelphia 76ers: 1973
• ABA Draft – 1^st Round Supplementary Pick of the Virginia Squires: 1973
• Played 10 years in the NBA/ABA for Philadelphia (NBA), San Antonio (both ABA and NBA – not sure if he played with Coffee Black), Utah, and Dallas
• Scored over 5,000 points, snagged over 2,500 rebounds, and dished out over 2,000 assists in his NBA/ABA career.  Also had over 500 steals.
• Averaged 7.8 ppg for his career, averaged over 11 ppg in 1977 and 1980
• #44 jersey was retired on October 17^th, 1998 during a football game against temple (To you VT historians, yes, that’s THE temple game)
• Served as the Head Coach of the Charlotte Hornets from 1991-96
• Was the New Orleans Hornets’ General Manager from 2004-05
• Named VT’s ACC Legend: 2005

*VT was an independent during this time, hence the lack of all-conference honors

WHY HE’S IN THE TOP 3:

Now we are talking about the top turkeys of all time.  In my opinion, #4 through 8 on this list are very comparable.  You could throw their names in a hat and draw them out and have a decent list [no, that’s not how I did it].  Same with #1 through 3.  The final three Hokies on this list are very close in terms of accomplishments and you could make a case for each as the Best Hokie Basketball Player of All Time, and each clearly separated themselves from that next pack at #4 through 8.  Putting Allan in the three was easy.  It was just a matter of where.

Here’s why Bristow is in the top three (and you could make a case for #1):

• #1 in Scoring Average – No one, not Bimbo Coles, or Bob “The Rifleman” Ayersman, or even Dell Curry averaged more points per game than Allan.  His 23.1 ppg are 1.5 ppg ahead of the next closest player.
• All Time Points – While Allan is just 7^th on the all time list for points, you have to consider one big detail – he couldn’t play his freshman year.  Back in 1969 the NCAA didn’t allow freshmen to compete in varsity athletics, so he had to sit.  Had he been able to play his freshman year, he likely would be in either 3^rd or 4^th on the scoring list (assuming he scored 20% less than he did his sophomore year.
• Double Digits – Allan scored at least 10 points in all 78 games he played for the Hokies.  Think about that.  Not a single bad night in terms of scoring.  Not a single game where he got in big foul trouble and didn’t play enough to get to double digits.  Death, taxes, and Bristow for 10+ points (and probably 10+ rebounds).
• 52 – Bristow scored 52 points on 22 made field goals in a single game.  Both are still the Tech record, and marks the only time a Hokie has reached the 50-point mark in regulation.
• Rebounding – Allan averaged 12.7 rebounds per game in his career, third best in Virginia Tech history.  He averaged more than 13 rebounds per game twice, over 11 all three years (so he averaged a double-double each year), and led Tech in rebounding all three seasons.   His rebounding averages are the most in the last 50 years in VT history (since #5 Chris Smith).
• Title – The 1973 NIT Championship is the biggest title, and accomplishment, in VT history (since VT came up just short of reaching the Final Four in 1967 – they lost in overtime).  More on this team, and that run, below in the Team Record section.

So why isn’t he #1, you ask?  Well, you’ll just have to wait and see what the top two did and decide if I was right.

GREATEST GAME:

If you don’t know where I’m going here, you haven’t been reading the article.  52 points on 22 made field goals against gwu in February of 1973 (VT won 117-89), in Allan’s third-to-last home game of his career.  Not only is that his greatest game, it may be THE greatest game by any player in Hokie history.   No other Hokie before or since has hit the 50-point mark in regulation, and just one other Hokie has scored 50 in any game, with a player to be named soon getting 51 in an overtime affair.  The 22 made field goals by Bristow also stands as a Tech record to this day, with Allan adding 8 points from the foul line.  Pretty good night for AB.

TEAM RECORD:  52-26 – 1973 NIT Champions (22-5)

In 1973 the NIT (aka the VT Invitational) was a big deal.  Heck, we were pretty excited when we won it in 1995, and it didn’t even compare to 1973.  In 1973, the ncaa tournament only took 25 teams (which included unranked automatic qualifiers), so you had ranked teams playing in the NIT.  In fact, Tech was ranked #24 in one poll during their run.

The NIT had just four rounds back then, with all the games played at the self-proclaimed ‘Most Famous Arena in the World,’ Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.  The Hokies were far from a favorite to finish the best of those 16 teams.  In fact, they easily could have lost in the first round, beating a ranked new mexico team by 2 points (this would be their largest margin of victory of the tournament).

The cardiac kids then rolled off two more victories, each by 1 point.  Tech took down fairfield and alabama by the slimmest of margins.  In the Championship Game (which I believe was on NBC – that shows how big the tourney was back then), the Hokies needed a putback just to send the game to overtime against mighty notre dame and Coach Digger Phelps.  Tech’s heroics were not over.  After a miss, guard Bobby Stevens hit a jumper as the horn sounded to take the Hokies from a 1-point loss to a 1-point victory, giving them the NIT Championship and setting off a wild riot of celebration on the court.  For you math majors scoring at home, that means Virginia Tech won their four NIT games by a total of FIVE POINTS.  Talk about high stress and pure ecstasy with the championship.  Even 25 years later, as I watched the grainy footage of the final in the Virginia Tech Library, I got goose bumps.  It simply was the greatest moment in Virginia Tech basketball history, and somewhat similar to their 1995 NIT title.  And Mr. Bristow was the senior star of that team, though the MVP award went to a notre dame player.

How big of an impact did Allan have on Virginia Tech basketball?  They had a losing record his freshman year (when he couldn’t play) and fell from 22-5 his senior year to 13-13 the next.  Yeah, he was kind of a big deal.

SUMMARY:

While he came up just short of being the greatest player in VT history, Allan Bristow, quite simply, is the greatest low post player in Virginia Tech history.  He ranks amongst the greatest rebounders in the history of the program, and has the highest scoring average of any player ever.  Yes, that would have been pulled down had he played as a freshman, but you get the point – Allan could score.  His all-around game was just a bit better than Chris Smith based on his greater offensive abilities, hence the title of greatest low post player in Virginia Tech history.

PHOTOS:

PAST ENTRIES:

#10 Bill Matthews

#9 Jeff Allen

#8 Zabian Dowdell (includes interview)

#7 Ace Custis (includes interview)

#6 Dale Solomon

#5 Chris Smith (includes interview)

#4 Malcolm Delaney

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