Hall of Fame
David Ancrum stormed through Utica College in the late 1970’s and in just two seasons with the Pioneers he was able to cement himself as one of the school’s all-time greats. He posted two of the most prolific seasons in school history and to this day he holds the College’s career (23.1 ppg) and single-season (24.0 ppg) scoring average records. He ranks seventh on the College’s career scoring list with 1,084 points. He is the only player in school history to join the 1,000 point club in less than four years. Only 11 other players in school-history have scored 1,000 or more points and he did it in just 47 games.
He burst on the scene in 1978 to help fill the void left by the College’s all-time leading scorer – Gordon Taylor. Ancrum made an instant impact by leading the Pioneers in scoring in his first season under the direction of Head Coach Jim Spartano. In his second season he broke Taylor’s single season scoring mark by netting 601 points. To this day he remains the only player in school-history to score over 600 points in a single season.
After graduating from Utica College in 1980 David played professional basketball – internationally - for 12 years. He is without question one of the most highly decorated professional athletes to ever come out of UC.
Ancrum began his pro career in the CBA from 1984-87 and he blossomed in the early 1990’s after becoming Europe’s top scorer en route to being named the best American player (1991-92). He played from 1987 to 1992 for Iraklis BC and became the first scorer in team history with 3,500 points. After Iraklis BC he played for Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Afula. He went on to become Israel’s leading scorer (1993-96) and his jersey was eventually retired in Greece (1996).
After his playing career ended he became the head basketball coach at Sacramento Country Day High School in Sacramento, California. He is now in his tenth season as head coach and he recently guided the Cavaliers to a 17-8 overall record in 2009-10. David currently resides in Sacramento, California.
