Bio

In his first-year Riverside City College head men’s basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian was considered the navigator of the Tigers’ hoop heroics in the 1960s, then Bob Rule was one of the pilots during the 1962-63 & 1963-64 campaigns.

A 6-7, 210-pound, freshman center in 1962-63, Bob propelled the Tigers to the first of four consecutive Eastern Conference crowns, and RCC’s first conference championship since 1949. For his efforts, he was named to the all-conference third team as the Tigers went 18-0 in conference action. After a 79-78 loss (which snapped a 24-game win streak) to Fresno City in the opening round of the state tournament (in Sacramento), RCC bounced back with wins over L.A. Pierce (69-61) and Allan Hancock (87-69) to win the consolation title (fifth place) and post a 32-3 final overall record his freshman season. The 1963-64 campaign saw the Tigers take care of business from start to finish as they again posted an 18-0 mark in conference play and then won three state tournament games (at Mt. San Antonio) to go 35-0 and win the first of three state championships. Bob was an integral part of the squad, at least in the minds of the other conference coaches, who unanimously named him conference Player of the Year. Bob scored 410 points (25.7 ppg), despite missing the final two conference contests while recuperating from a head injury sustained in an automobile accident.

That six-day time out at Riverside Community Hospital proved crucial come state tournament time.

After a narrow 42-40 opening-round win over CC San Francisco (in which the Rams employed a seven-minute, first half stall that enabled Bob to play virtually the entire game), RCC defeated a pair of familiar foes: L.A. Pierce (87-72) with Bob scoring a game-high 24 points, and Allan Hancock (78-71) where he again played the entire game, finishing with a game-high 27 points. L.A. Times reporter Shavenau “Shav” Glick referred to Bob as “a 6-8 junior edition of Bill Russell (of the NBA’s Boston Celtics), right down to the perpetual scowl, flat southpaw shots, and defensive instincts”.

In his two seasons at RCC, the Tigers went 67-3, including wins in 60 of the last 61 games.

Quick Facts about Bob Rule

• Was 19th player selected in the 1967 NBA Draft

• Drafted by Seattle out of Colorado State

• Played eight NBA seasons

• Scored 7,007 points in the NBA (17.4 average)

• Played in 403 NBA games

• Named to the NBA All-Rookie Team

• Played for Seattle, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Cleveland