Ex-NBA star DeBusschere, one-time Pistons player, dies

<br>NEW YORK (AP) _ NBA Hall of Famer Dave DeBusschere, who won two championships with the New York Knicks before becoming the youngest coach in league history, is dead at 62, the Knicks said Wednesday.

Wednesday, May 14th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ NBA Hall of Famer Dave DeBusschere, who won two championships with the New York Knicks before becoming the youngest coach in league history, is dead at 62, the Knicks said Wednesday.

The team did not immediately announce a cause or time of death.

DeBusschere's exploits included a stint as commissioner of the ABA and parts of two seasons as a major league pitcher with the Chicago White Sox in 1962-63.

But it was in basketball that DeBusschere excelled. He gave up baseball after two seasons and a 3-4 record in 36 games to concentrate on his NBA career.

By 1964, he was player-coach of the Detroit Pistons, becoming at age 24 the youngest to guide a team. He played six full seasons for the Pistons before being traded in 1968 to the Knicks.

In New York, the 6-foot-6 forward teamed with fellow Hall of Famers Walt Frazier, Willis Reed and Bill Bradley to win championships in 1970 and 1973.

DeBusschere was elected to the Hall in 1983 after playing 11 seasons in the NBA. In 1997, he was picked as one of the 50 greatest players in league history.