{{short description|American basketball player}} {{Infobox basketball biography | name = Jim Penix | image = | width = | caption = | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 4 | weight_lb = 190 | birth_date = | birth_place = | nationality = American | high_school = Rossford (Rossford, Ohio) | college = *Owens CC (1966–1968) *Bowling Green (1968–1970) | draft_year = 1970 | draft_round = 4 | draft_pick = 59 | draft_team = Portland Trail Blazers | career_start = | career_end = | career_number = | career_position = Small forward | years1 = | team1 = | highlights = * MAC Player of the Year (1970) * First-team All-MAC (1970) }} '''Jim Penix''' is an American retired basketball player, known for his college career at Bowling Green State University, where in 1970 he was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year.
Penix came from Rossford, Ohio, where he attended 17 different schools as his father's job as a construction foreman required the family to move frequently.<ref>{{cite news|title=Jim Penix finally at home at BG State University |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121397765/the-circleville-herald/ |newspaper=Circleville Herald|date=February 26, 1970|page=15|via =Newspapers.com|access-date = March 22, 2023}} {{Open access}}</ref> He starred at Rossford High School, leading the team to the 1966 Ohio class A state final. He averaged 23.9 points per game that season and was named first-team All-State.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/basketball_media_guides/1/ |title=1968–69 Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball media guide|author=<!--Not stated-->|page=6 |date= 1968|website= bgsu.edu|publisher=Bowling Green Falcons |access-date=March 22, 2023 |quote=}}</ref> Following his high school career, he followed his high school coach, Cot Marquette to junior college Penta Tech (now Owens Community College), where in his two-year career he averaged 28.5 points per game.
He then transferred to Bowling Green to complete his four-year career for new coach Bob Conibear. Known as an outstanding outside shooter, Penix entered the Falcons' rotation immediately as a junior, averaging 9.5 points and 4 rebounds per game for the Falcons.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dean's List |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121398919/the-daily-sentinel-tribune/ |newspaper=Daily Sentinel|date=May 24, 1968|page=10|via =Newspapers.com|access-date = March 22, 2023}} {{Open access}}</ref> In his senior season, he started slowly, breaking into the starting lineup eight games into the season. Once there, his scoring touch ranked him as one of the top players in the Mid-American Conference (MAC).<ref>{{cite news|title=Late-blooming ace finds Falcon home |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121400899/news-journal/ |newspaper=News-Journal|date=March 2, 1970|page=21|via =Newspapers.com|access-date = March 22, 2023}} {{Open access}}</ref> He averaged 19.5 points per game overall, but 22.9 in conference games to lead the MAC. He was named first-team All-MAC and the MAC Player of the Year at the close of the season.<ref>{{cite news|title=Jim Snyder, Penix gain honors in MAC |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121401136/springfield-news-sun/ |newspaper=Springfield News-Sun|date=March 6, 1970|page=16|via =Newspapers.com|access-date = March 22, 2023}} {{Open access}}</ref>
Following his college career, Penix was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1970 NBA draft and the Denver Rockets of the American Basketball Association (ABA). He signed with the Rockets but was one of their last cuts prior to the 1970–71 season.<ref>{{cite news|title=Penix cut by Denver |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121400340/the-daily-sentinel-tribune/ |newspaper=Daily Sentinel|date=October 15, 1970|page=10|via =Newspapers.com|access-date = March 22, 2023}} {{Open access}}</ref> He did not play professional basketball but continued to play in local amateur leagues. He was selected into the Owens Community College inaugural athletics hall of fame class in 2016.<ref>{{cite press release |url= https://www.owens.edu/news-releases/2016/08/15/owens-new-athletics-hall-of-fame-set-to-induct-first-members/ |title=Owens new athletics Hall of Fame set to induct first members|author=<!--Not stated-->|date= August 15, 2016|website=owens.edu|publisher=Owens Community College |access-date=March 22, 2023 |quote=}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://d2o2figo6ddd0g.cloudfront.net/u/3/pkioq8zoogsltq/Hall-Of-Fame-Jim-Penix.jpg Owens Community College HOF bio] *[https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/jim-penix-1.html College stats @ sports-reference.com]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Penix, Jim}} Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:American men's basketball players Category:Basketball players from Ohio Category:Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball players Category:Denver Rockets draft picks Category:Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Category:People from Rossford, Ohio Category:Sportspeople from Wood County, Ohio Category:Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Category:Small forwards