Mar 13, 2022 6 min read

One look at Delmore Beshore in his basketball playing days at California University would not evoke thoughts of him being an NBA player.

“But once you saw him with a basketball in his hand, you knew he was a special basketball player,” said Alan Natali, a former standout Vulcans football player yea and a long-time Cal U. professor. “The ball seemed attached to his hand. It was like he had a string on it. He could do anything with it.”

It was almost magical.

Beshore, who played for the Vulcans from 1974 through 1978, scored 1,869 points, including 679 points during his senior year. Both were school records at the time.

“I remember we struggled as a team that first year,” Beshore said. “We weren’t a good team and we had a lot of younger players. Four of us stayed four years and Coach Miles Witchey developed us. It became a brotherhood.”

Two of the other key players were Dick Hartung, who came in from Butler, and Scott Mountz.

Beshore (5-11, 165 pounds) also recorded 272 single-season assists. He was a four-time All-PSAC selection and won three conference scoring titles.

He was a three-time All-American, set eight school records and received the 1978 Cal U. Presidents Athletic Award.

Beshore was not finished.

After his days at Cal, Beshore enjoyed a professional basketball career in the NBA, Continental Basketball Association, World Basketball League and overseas.

His longest NBA stint was with the Chicago Bulls in 1979-80, when he played in 70 of the team’s 82 games. He also spent several stints with the Milwaukee Bucks where coach Don Nelson took a liking to Beshore – valuing his enthusiasm, professionalism and game savvy.

In 1984, Beshore was a CBA All-League selection and helped the Wyoming Wildcatters reach the CBA finals.

Beshore credits his early morning runs and shooting drills for helping him reach the top in the PSAC and sticking in the NBA and other professional leagues.

“I made a commitment and had a strong work ethic,” said Beshore. “We had competition within the team at Cal. Coach Witchey was the most important figure. He guided us and mentored us. I had great teammates who became great friends. It was a great experience.”

Another Vulcans great, Casper Voithofer, helped bring Beshore to the university. He recommended Beshore to Witchy. Voithofer, a Cal U Hall of Famer, was coaching at Middletown High School when Beshore played for Red Land, a small school in the central part of the state.

“Casper made the recommendation,” Beshore said. “He encouraged me to visit Cal. Coach Witchey made an impression and I thought it would be a good opportunity.”

Beshore credited Witchey for helping him get seen by professional scouts and promoting him to coaches he had relationships with at pro level.

Natali said Beshore’s numerous abilities and knowledge of the game separated him from others.

“He was a tremendous slasher to the basket and a great pull-up jump shooter,” Natali said. “He was energetic on defense and played the full-court the whole game. Delmore had court sense. He knew where everybody was on the floor all the time. He was such a great passer.

“If he were 6-4 or 6-5, he would have played 15 years in the NBA. He had tremendous instincts. He put in a tremendous amount of hard work. He was always in the gym, always shooting the ball, always handling the ball. It was a pleasure to watch him play.

“He was an exciting basketball player. You’d look at him and see this little blonde kid. When you watched him play, you knew how good he was. He was tough and relentless. Delmore didn’t care how big or strong the guys around the basket were, he took it right to them.”

Mountz, who became Beshore’s teammate and roommate at Cal, recalls playing against him in high school.

“Delmore is just a real solid guy, good friend and a great leader,” Mountz said.

“Delmore was the key to our team. His game and basketball smarts were tremendous, a real student of the game. He understood how to use his personal abilities to help our team. He was a fierce competitor and did not back down from anyone.”

Beshore, who was from New Cumberland, was inducted into the Cal’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995.

Beshore did not get picked in the NBA draft but managed to hang around in the Milwaukee Bucks’ camp and spent time on and off the roster.

He spent 1978-79 with the Bucks, appearing in one minute of one game. His final NBA season, 1979-80, was with the Bulls under coach Jerry Sloan. He averaged 3.6 points per game.

Beshore was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1980 NBA expansion draft but did not play for them. Beshore went overseas to continue his professional career, playing in Italy with Sacramora Basket Rimini. He moved on to the Fresno Stars of the Western Basketball Association, and in 1984 served as a player-coach with the Wyoming Wildcatters of the CBA. He also was an assistant at Fresno Pacific University for eight years.

“I played pretty well in the camps after coming out of Cal,” Beshore said. “I thank Coach Nelson for picking me as someone he wanted to keep around. He liked my game and my knowledge of it. I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.”

Beshore played with and against several recognizable names in the NBA, including Quinn Buckner, Mike Dunlevy, Reggie Theus, Rickey Sobers and Mike D’Antoni.

He said Dallas wasn’t a good fit because their coach, Dick Motta, was a big-guard guy. Beshore caught on with the Los Angeles Lakers and battled with Magic Johnson, Duquesne University’s Norm Nixon and Michael Cooper.

“I was the last guy cut out of camp,” Beshore said.

Beshore was a long-time computer teacher and technology coordinator at Sanger High School in California, where he was the boys basketball coach for more than a decade. Beshore and his wife, Debbie, reside in Clovis, Calif. The couple have two children, Jordan and Julian.

Mountz is not surprised of Beshore’s lifetime of success.

“Delmore is just a special person,” Mountz said. “His intelligence and understanding of the game attracted coaches to him. His relentless work ethic also attracted them. He was reliable.

“He was a great fit for a team because he understood his role and played to what the coach wanted. Delmore understood where and how he could fit in. He found his place in professional basketball.”