View source for Bob Rule

{{Short description|American basketball player (1944–2019)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name         = Bob Rule
| image        = Bob Rule.jpeg
| width        = 150
| caption      = Rule with the Seattle SuperSonics during his rookie season
| birth_date   = {{birth date|1944|06|29}}
| birth_place  = [[Riverside, California]], U.S.
| death_date   = {{death date and age|2019|09|05|1944|06|29}}
| death_place  = Riverside, California, U.S.
| height_ft    = 6
| height_in    = 9
| weight_lb    = 220
| high_school  = [[Riverside Polytechnic High School|Riverside Polytechnic]]<br />(Riverside, California)
| college      = 
*[[Riverside City College|Riverside CC]] (1963–1965)
*[[Colorado State Rams men's basketball|Colorado State]] (1965–1967)
| draft_year   = 1967
| draft_round  = 2
| draft_pick   = 19
| draft_team   = [[Seattle SuperSonics]]
| career_start = 1967
| career_end   = 1974
| career_position = [[Power forward]] / [[Center (basketball)|center]]
| career_number = 45, 21
| years1          = {{nbay|1967|start}}–{{nbay|1971|start}}
| team1           = [[Seattle SuperSonics]]
| years2          = {{nbay|1971|start}}–{{nbay|1972|start}}
| team2           = [[Philadelphia 76ers]]
| years3          = {{nbay|1972|start}}–{{nbay|1973|start}}
| team3           = [[Cleveland Cavaliers]]
| years4          = {{nbay|1974|start}}
| team4           = [[Milwaukee Bucks]]
| highlights      =
* [[NBA All-Star]] ({{nasg|1970}})
* [[NBA All-Rookie First Team]] ([[1967–68 NBA season|1968]])
| stats_league    = NBA
| stat1label      = [[Point (basketball)|Points]]
| stat1value      = 7,007 (17.4 ppg)
| stat2label      = [[Rebound (basketball)|Rebounds]]
| stat2value      = 3,333 (8.3 rpg)
| stat3label      = [[Assist (basketball)|Assists]]
| stat3value      = 594 (1.5 apg)
}}
'''Bobby Frank Rule''' (June 29, 1944 – September 5, 2019) was an American professional [[basketball]] player. He played at [[center (basketball)|center]] in the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA) for the [[Seattle SuperSonics]], [[Philadelphia 76ers]], [[Cleveland Cavaliers]], and the [[Milwaukee Bucks]].

==Early years==
Rule played high school basketball at [[Riverside Polytechnic High School]].<ref name=riversidehof>{{Cite web |title = Riverside Sports Hall of Fame: Bob Rule | url = https://www.riversidesporthalloffame.com/bob-rule/| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110311153613/http://www.riversidesporthalloffame.com/bob-rule/| url-status = usurped| archive-date = March 11, 2011|access-date=2019-09-14}}</ref>

Early in his college career, Rule played under the legendary [[Jerry Tarkanian]], then head coach at [[Riverside City College|Riverside Community College]].  It was under Tarkanian that Rule honed his defensive and footwork skills.<ref name=rcc>{{Cite news | title = With RCC honor, Rule revisits memory lane | newspaper = [[Press-Enterprise]] | date = October 19, 2011 | url = https://www.pe.com/2011/10/19/column-with-rcc-honor-rule-revisits-memory-lane/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201021075404/https://www.pe.com/2011/10/19/column-with-rcc-honor-rule-revisits-memory-lane/ | url-status = dead | archive-date = October 21, 2020 }}</ref>  In 1964, Rule was named the Most Valuable Player of the California Junior College State Championships after leading the Riverside City College Tigers to a 35–0 record and the school's first state championship team.<ref name=riversidehof/> Looking back years later, in retirement, Tarkanian commented that Rule "might be the best player I ever coached" and that Rule was "the most dominant player in the history of California junior college basketball."<ref name=tarkanian>{{Cite book| last1 = Tarkanian| first1 = Jerry|last2=Wetzel|first2= Dan| title = Runnin' Rebel: Shark Tales of "Extra Benefits," Frank Sinatra, and Winning | publisher = Sports Publishing | year = 2013 | pages =21 | isbn = 9781613212141}}</ref>

Rule then transferred to and starred at [[Colorado State Rams men's basketball|Colorado State]] for two seasons.<ref name=rcc/>  In 1966, Rule and Colorado State made the [[1966 NCAA University Division basketball tournament|NCAA tournament]] but lost to a [[Houston Cougars men's basketball|Houston]] team that featured future Hall of Famer [[Elvin Hayes]].<ref name=alexander>{{Cite news| last=Alexander| first=Jim| title=Bob Rule helped make Riverside a basketball town| newspaper=[[Press-Enterprise]]| date=September 19, 2019| url=https://www.pe.com/2019/09/19/alexander-bob-rule-helped-make-riverside-a-basketball-town/| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921000541/https://www.pe.com/2019/09/19/alexander-bob-rule-helped-make-riverside-a-basketball-town/| url-status=dead| archive-date=September 21, 2019}}</ref>

Rule played in the [[Amateur Athletic Union]] for the Denver Capitol Federal during the 1966–67 season and was named an [[AAU Men's Basketball All-Americans|All-American]].<ref name=APBR>{{Cite web |last=Bradley |first=Robert| title = Amateur Athletic Union Basketball | year =2011|publisher = The Association for Professional Basketball Research |work =APBR.org | url = http://www.apbr.org/aau.html}}</ref>

==NBA==
A second round pick in the [[1967 NBA draft]], Rule quickly became one of the stars of Seattle's expansion franchise.<ref name=andrieson>{{Cite news | last = Andrieson | first = David | title = Sonics ushered Seattle into the big time 40 years ago Saturday | newspaper=[[The Seattle Post-Intelligencer]] |date = October 13, 2007 | url=http://www.seattlepi.com/basketball/335376_originals13.html }}</ref><ref name="sshist">{{cite web | last = www.nba.com | title = Seattle Supersonics History | website = [[NBA.com]] | url= http://www.nba.com/sonics/history/history_recap.html | access-date = July 20, 2007}}</ref>  Named to the 1967–68 [[NBA All-Rookie Team]], Rule's 18.1 points per game average stood as the SuperSonics rookie record for forty seasons, until broken by [[Kevin Durant]] in 2008.  His rebounding average of 9.5 is the second best ever by a SuperSonics rookie, behind only [[Pete Cross]]'s 12.0 in the 1970–71 season.  Also during his rookie season, Rule scored 47 points in a game against the [[Los Angeles Lakers]] &mdash; still a SuperSonics rookie record.

Rule's game grew stronger during the next two seasons.  In the [[1968–69 NBA season|1968–69]] season, he averaged 24.0 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per game.  In the [[1969–70 NBA season|1969–70]] season, he averaged 24.6 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game, scored 40 or more points on five separate occasions (including a then-SuperSonics record of 49 points in a game against the Philadelphia 76ers),<ref name=guide>{{cite book |last=Winick |first=Matt |title=National Basketball Association Official Guide |year=1979 |publisher=The Sporting News |location=St. Louis |isbn=0-89204-049-1}}</ref> and played in the [[1970 NBA All-Star Game]].<ref name="sshist"/>

In the [[1970–71 NBA season|1970–71]] season, Rule began the season averaging 32.7 points per game and 13.7 rebounds per game over the first three games.<ref name=bref>{{cite web| title=1970-71 Seattle SuperSonics Schedule and Results| url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/SEA/1971_games.html| access-date=2019-10-15| publisher=Basketball-Reference.com}}</ref>  In the fourth game, after scoring 21 points and pulling down five rebounds in the first half, Rule had a season-ending torn [[achilles tendon]],<ref name=headlines>{{Cite book|  title = History in Headlines of the Sonics | publisher = Celebrity Services | year = 1979 | page = 11}}</ref> ending his season at 29.8 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per game.<ref name="sshist"/> Rule never regained his All-Star form and saw limited playing time thereafter.  By 1974 his career was over.<ref name="brstats">{{cite web | last = basketball-reference.com | title = Bob Rule stats | url= https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/rulebo01.html | access-date = July 20, 2007}}</ref>

==Later years==
Rule was inducted into the Riverside City College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011.<ref name=rcc/>

Rule died on September 5, 2019, in [[Riverside, California]].<ref name=seattletimesobit>{{citation |last1=Lund|first1=Rick|last2=Allen|first2=Percy |title=Bob Rule, star center for expansion Sonics team, dies at 75 | newspaper=[[The Seattle Times]] |date=September 13, 2019 |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/nba/bob-rule-forward-for-original-sonics-team-dies-at-75/}}</ref>

== NBA career statistics ==
{{NBA player statistics legend}}

=== Regular season ===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
!Year
!Team
!GP
!MPG
!FG%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!STL
!BLK
!PPG
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1967–68 NBA season|1967–68]]
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1967–68 Seattle SuperSonics season|Seattle]]
|'''82'''
|29.6
|'''.489'''
|.658
|9.5
|1.2
|–
|–
|18.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1968–69 NBA season|1968–69]]
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1968–69 Seattle SuperSonics season|Seattle]]
|'''82'''
|'''37.9'''
|.469
|.682
|'''11.5'''
|1.7
|–
|–
|24.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1969–70 NBA season|1969–70]]
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1969–70 Seattle SuperSonics season|Seattle]]
|80
|37.0
|.463
|.714
|10.3
|'''1.8'''
|–
|–
|24.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1970–71 NBA season|1970–71]]
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1970–71 Seattle SuperSonics season|Seattle]]
|4
|35.5
|.480
|'''.833'''
|'''11.5'''
|'''1.8'''
|–
|–
|'''29.8'''
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1971–72 NBA season|1971–72]]
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1971–72 Seattle SuperSonics season|Seattle]]
|16
|15.2
|.363
|.535
|3.4
|0.4
|–
|–
|7.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1971–72 NBA season|1971–72]]
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1971–72 Philadelphia 76ers season|Philadelphia]]
|60
|33.1
|.445
|.695
|8.0
|1.8
|–
|–
|17.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1972–73 NBA season|1972–73]]
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers season|Philadelphia]]
|3
|4.0
|.000
|–
|0.7
|0.3
|–
|–
|0.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1972–73 NBA season|1972–73]]
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1972–73 Cleveland Cavaliers season|Cleveland]]
|49
|9.0
|.382
|.645
|2.2
|0.8
|–
|–
|2.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1973–74 NBA season|1973–74]]
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1973–74 Cleveland Cavaliers season|Cleveland]]
|26
|20.8
|.396
|.739
|4.0
|'''1.8'''
|'''.5'''
|'''.4'''
|7.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1974–75 NBA season|1974–75]]
| style="text-align:left;" |[[1974–75 Milwaukee Bucks season|Milwaukee]]
|1
|11.0
|.000
|–
|0.0
|2.0
|0.0
|0.0
|0.0
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |Career
|403
|29.4
|.461
|.686
|8.3
|1.5
|0.4
|0.4
|17.4
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |All-Star
|1
|13.0
|.333
|1.000
|4.0
|0.0
|–
|–
|5.0
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{basketballstats|bbr=r/rulebo01}}
*[http://www.nba.com/sonics/history/history_recap.html Seattle SuperSonics History]

{{1967 NBA draft}}
{{1967 AAU Men's Basketball All-Americans}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rule, Bob}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Riverside, California]]
[[Category:Centers (basketball)]]
[[Category:Cleveland Cavaliers players]]
[[Category:Colorado State Rams men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Denver Rockets draft picks]]
[[Category:Milwaukee Bucks players]]
[[Category:NBA All-Stars]]
[[Category:Philadelphia 76ers players]]
[[Category:Riverside City Tigers men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Seattle SuperSonics draft picks]]
[[Category:Seattle SuperSonics players]]