EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Former UTEP basketball star Kent Lockhart died on Jan. 28 at the age of 59.
Lockhart played for UTEP from 1981 to 1985. Those teams were coached by the legendary Don Haskins. Lockhart played in two NCAA Tournaments with UTEP. Lockhart is 10th all time at UTEP in career assists and 14th in minutes played. He had 972 career points, 349 rebounds and 279 assists.
After his college career, Lockhart was selected by the New York Knicks as the 119th overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft.
It was in the National Basketball League (NBL), the pre-eminent professional men’s basketball league in Australia and New Zealand, where Lockhart became a professional basketball star.
Lockhart played three seasons with the Eastside Spectres between 1989 and 1991, averaging 24.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He was an incredible shooter, going at 51 per cent from the field across 81 NBL appearances. Lockhart scored a career-high 47 points against the Newcastle Falcons in Round 18, 1989. He also played a starring role in the Spectres’ run to the NBL Grand Final series against Perth in 1991. Lockhart was named in the All NBL First Team in 1989 and All NBL Second Team in 1990.
