David Gene “Dave” Schellhase Jr. (born October 14, 1944) is an American former basketball player and college coach from Evansville, Indiana. A star at North High School, Schellhase went on to become one of the greatest scorers in Purdue University history, a consensus All-American, the nation’s leading scorer and the first NBA Draft selection in the history of the Chicago Bulls.
He later built a long coaching career that included head-coaching positions at Moorhead State and Indiana State University.
North High School
Schellhase grew up in Evansville and attended North High School, graduating in 1962.
He developed into one of the top high school basketball players in Indiana. As a senior, Schellhase averaged a state-leading 30.5 points per game and finished his North career with 1,325 points, then an Evansville city scoring record.
Schellhase was selected to the 1962 Indiana All-Star team following his senior season.
His accomplishments at North established him as one of the premier players produced by Evansville during one of the city’s great eras of high school basketball.
Purdue University
Schellhase continued his career at Purdue University, where he became one of the most prolific scorers in Boilermaker history.
He was Purdue’s team MVP in each of his three varsity seasons and earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors three times.
As a junior, Schellhase was a Second-Team All-American. He became a consensus First-Team All-American as a senior in 1966.
That season, Schellhase averaged 32.5 points per game to lead the nation in scoring.
On February 19, 1966, he scored 57 points against Michigan, establishing what was then a Purdue single-game scoring record.
Schellhase finished his Purdue career with 2,074 points, becoming the first player in school history to surpass 2,000 career points. He averaged an extraordinary 28.8 points per game during his collegiate career.
He was also an outstanding student and became Purdue’s first Academic All-American, earning Academic All-America recognition as both a junior and senior.
Chicago Bulls
Following his senior season, Schellhase was selected by the newly created Chicago Bulls with the 10th overall pick of the 1966 NBA Draft.
That selection made Schellhase the first NBA Draft pick in Chicago Bulls franchise history.
He played two seasons with Chicago from 1966 to 1968, appearing in 73 regular-season games.
After his professional playing career ended, Schellhase turned his attention to coaching.
Coaching Career
Schellhase returned to Purdue as an assistant coach before becoming a college head coach.
In 1975, he became head coach at Moorhead State University in Minnesota.
During his first seven seasons at Moorhead State, Schellhase compiled a 137-64 record, won two Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championships and led the Dragons to six NAIA Tournament appearances. He was named NSIC Coach of the Year in 1981 and 1982.
In 1982, Schellhase returned to Indiana to become head men’s basketball coach at Indiana State University, leading the Sycamores for three seasons.
He later returned to Moorhead State for another lengthy coaching tenure.
Across his two stints, Schellhase accumulated 298 victories at Moorhead State, making him the winningest head coach in the history of the program.
Honors and Later Life
Schellhase was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996.
He has remained involved with the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame for many years, including service in leadership positions with the organization.
Schellhase has also openly discussed the personal struggles that followed his playing and coaching success, including his battle with alcoholism and his eventual recovery.
His life and career are chronicled in the book The Schellhase Story: Rise, Fall, Redemption, written with Tom Speaker.
Evansville Legacy
Dave Schellhase remains one of the most accomplished basketball players produced by Evansville.
From setting city scoring records at North High School, he went on to become a national scoring champion and consensus All-American at Purdue before becoming the first draft pick in Chicago Bulls history.
His 1,325 points at North, 30.5-point senior scoring average, Indiana All-Star selection, 2,074 points at Purdue and 32.5-point national scoring championship season place Schellhase among the great basketball players to emerge from Evansville’s rich basketball tradition.