Keith Swagerty

Who is Keith Swagerty?

Keith M. Swagerty is a retired American basketball player and coach. A forward out of the University of the Pacific, he played two seasons in the American Basketball Association.

Swagerty, a 6'7 power forward out of Camden High School in San Jose, California, played for Pacific from 1964 to 1967. He was one of the most highly-decorated players in Tiger history, as he was named West Coast Conference player of the year twice and was a first team Academic All-American and an honorable mention All-American as a senior. Swagerty averaged 20.1 points and 18.4 rebounds per game for his career and led the Tigers to their first NCAA tournament in 1966 and their first NCAA tournament win in 1967, beating defending national champion Texas Western. He graduated as Pacific's all-time leading rebounder.

Following his college career, Swagerty was drafted in both the 1967 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks and in the 1967 ABA Draft by the Houston Mavericks. Instead, he opted to play in Italy for Candy Bologna. He joined the ABA's Mavericks the following year, averaging 12.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game in 77 appearances. The next year he played for the Kentucky Colonels, averaging 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in three games.