Skins, with whom he was a player-coach for about a month. He scored 138 points in 16 games and coached the Red Skins to a 4–5 record. Doxie Moore regained the coaching reins after McDermott left to join the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, where he coached and played for the next season and a half, compiling a 20-18 record. On the Blackhawks, McDermott continued to be renowned for his physical play, and was tied for the team lead in scoring at 12.1 points per game with Whitey Von Nieda. That postseason, McDermott led the Blackhawks past the Indianapolis Kautskys in the opening round, before losing to the eventual champion Minneapolis Lakers in the semifinals. The following season, he was replaced as coach by Roger Potter halfway through the year. McDermott would next play for the Hammond Calumet Buccaneers, during their only year of existence, and then the Wilkes-Barre Barons, both of whom would make the playoffs of their leagues before being eliminated in the first round. His final season playing professionally, during which he was again a player-coach, came with the Grand Rapids Hornets in 1950. McDermott was fired midseason after a profanity-filled coaching performance in Casper, Wyoming during which the Hornets lost, and the franchise folded only a month later. McDermott died in 1963, due to injuries he suffered in a car accident on September 23. He had been employed at Yonkers Raceway at the time of his death. Accolades McDermott was the World Professional Basketball Tournament MVP in 1944 and was named the NBL MVP in four consecutive seasons during the 1940s. In 1946 the NBL named McDermott the greatest player in league history. Collier's magazine chose him to an "All-World" team in 1950. McDermott was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988. Further reading References External links Basketball Hall of Fame biography Basketball-Reference.com: Bobby McDermott 1914 births 1963 deaths American Basketball League (1925–1955) coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York City Chicago American Gears coaches Chicago American Gears players Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons coaches Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons players Guards (basketball) Hammond Calumet Buccaneers players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Original Celtics players Player-coaches Professional Basketball League of America players Sheboygan Red Skins coaches Sheboygan Red Skins players Sportspeople from Queens, New York Sportspeople from Yonkers, New York Tri-Cities Blackhawks head coaches Tri-Cities Blackhawks