Richard Floyd Triptow Jr. (November 3, 1922 – February 20, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach. At 6'0" and 170 pounds, he played as a guard and a forward. Triptow attended Lane Tech High School and DePaul University, both in Chicago, Illinois. From 1944 to 1949, he played professional basketball in the National Basketball League and National Basketball Association as a member of the Chicago American Gears, the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, and the Baltimore Bullets. Playing alongside George Mikan, Triptow won an NBL championship with the Gears in 1947. Triptow coached the Lake Forest College men's basketball team from 1959 to 1973. In 1997, Triptow wrote a book about his experiences with the Chicago American Gears, called The Dynasty That Never Was (). BAA/NBA career statistics Regular season External links Association for Professional Basketball Research's NBL statistics - downloadable database References 1922 births 2015 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Chicago Chicago American Gears players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball players Fort Wayne Pistons players Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons players Lake Forest Foresters men's basketball coaches Professional Basketball League of America players Shooting guards Small forwards Tri-Cities Blackhawks players