Earl Belcher

Belcher's collegiate career began in 1977–78. A forward, he averaged 7.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game during his freshman season.^[3] St. Bonaventure earned a berth into the 1978 NCAA Tournament but lost in the round of 32 to Penn. They finished their season with a 21–8 overall record.^[4] The following year, Belcher increased his averages to 21.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while leading the team in points for the first of three consecutive seasons.^[5] Behind a 19–8 record, the Bonnies earned their way into the 1979 National Invitation Tournament.^[4] They lost in the first round to Alabama, however, thus ending their season with a 19–9 record.^[5]

In 1979–80, his junior year, Belcher led the Eastern Athletic Association, popularly known as the Eastern 8, in scoring with a 26.9 points per game average.^[1][3] He also recorded 7.3 rebounds per game, and even though St. Bonaventure finished in sixth place in the conference with a 16–11 record, Belcher was chosen as the conference player of the year.^[6] He was also selected to the Eastern 8 All-Conference First Team.^[7] In Belcher's final season he repeated as both a First Team and conference player of the year honoree.^[6][7] His scoring and rebounding decreased slightly, however, to averages of 24.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.^[3] St. Bonaventure finished with a 14–13 overall record and in sixth place once again.^[4] During Belcher's four-year career, his teams compiled a record of 70 wins and 34 losses.^[3][8] He scored 2,077 points, which is second all-time in school history behind Greg Sanders' 2,238 but still ahead of Hall of Famer Bob Lanier, who sits third on the list.^[1]

After college, the San Antonio Spurs selected him in the fourth round (87th overall) in the 1981 NBA draft.^[9] He was supposed to be the back-up to future Hall of Famer George Gervin in 1981–82 but he never appeared in a regular season game.^[2][9] When he broke all of the bones in his right ankle during a preseason exhibition game, his basketball career officially ended,^[2][10] with the exception of a two-game attempted comeback with the Continental Basketball Association's Wyoming Wildcatters.^[11] He then went home to Syracuse, New York to work for his old high school basketball coach at Niagara Mohawk Gas and Electric Company.^[2] He concurrently pursued a master's degree in business (MBA) at the State University of New York at Oswego, and in 1999 he received his degree.^[2]

Belcher is an actor and musician as well and plays the saxophone.^[2] After Niagara Mohawk Gas and Electric Company downsized and he lost his job, Belcher became a professional jazz musician.^[2] He is also a proficient on piano, trumpet, drums, upright bass and guitar player and utilizes his musical ability in Albany and Schenectady, New York.^[10] Aside from performing in a jazz trio alongside his wife, Sarah, Belcher also holds a regular day job.^[10]