A four-year starter at the University of Oregon, Greg Ballard (January 29, 1955 – November 9, 2016) twice won All-Pac-8 honors and was an All-American forward in 1977 when he averaged 26.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Ballard was also selected by the Montreal Expos in the 1973 Amateur Draft before heading to Eugene.
He led the Pac-8 Conference in scoring twice and helped the Ducks to a 74-41 record and three NIT appearances from 1974-77 as one of Dick Harter’s “Kamakazi Kids”. Ballard played in 115 career games, becoming Oregon’s career leader in rebounds (1,114). He also scored 1,829 points including a school-record 43 in one game vs Oral Roberts in the 1977 NIT.
The exploits of these teams remain legendary in Eugene. There was no tougher arena to play in than Mac Court.
Ballard was the 4th selection of the 1977 NBA draft by the Washington Bullets. He was immediately a contributor to a team that would defeat Seattle for the NBA championship and erase bad memories of coming up short in two finals during the ‘70s. Greg appeared in 76 games and averaged 12 minutes per outing in a supporting role. Over eight seasons with the Bullets, Ballard played all 82 regular season games five times. His best season was 1982, 18.8 points and 8 rebounds per game.
After two seasons with the Warriors and a brief comeback in Seattle, Greg retired from the game. He finished his NBA career with 9,953 points (12.4 average per game) and 4,892 rebounds (6.1 average) in 10 seasons.
Ballard went on to work as a scout and assistant coach in the league for 21 more seasons. He was always considered to be down-to-earth and focused on his work. Greg Ballard was inducted into the University of Oregon Hall of Fame and the Pac-12 Hall of Honor.
