Vanderbilt men's basketball great Terry Compton dies at 67 after battling COVID-19

Vanderbilt men's basketball great Terry Compton, whose sharp long-range shooting earned him the nickname "The Long Rifle," died Sunday night after battling COVID-19. He was 67.

Compton was a two-time All-SEC first-team performer who led the Commodores to a 59-19 record in his three seasons (1972-74) and a berth in the NCAA Tournament as a senior.

He scored 1,326 career points, playing in an era when freshmen were not eligible and there was no 3-point shot. In 1974, he became the 12th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.

In his last two seasons Compton was often joined in the starting lineup by Vanderbilt's famed F-Troop – Jeff Fosnes, Joe Ford and Butch Feher.

He was the Commodores' leading scorer for three consecutive seasons, and his 16.6 career scoring average is sixth in program history. 

The native of Horse Cave, Kentucky, was one of the most highly-recruited prospects late Commodores coach Roy Skinner ever signed.

Compton played on his high school team as an eighth-grader. He led every team in scoring that he played on from eighth grade until he graduated from Vanderbilt. 

Compton also had scholarship offers from Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Alabama and Western Kentucky.

"I grew up a Kentucky fan. I had a dream of playing for Kentucky, but when it got to the point of signing me, it came down between me and another player," Compton told vucommodores.com in 2008.

“Adolph Rupp offered me the scholarship contingent on what another player did. Well that eliminated Kentucky. I wanted to go to an engineering school. I wanted to play in the SEC. So going through the process of elimination, it came down to Vanderbilt. Ron Bargatze (assistant coach) was recruiting me for Vanderbilt and they wanted me. It was close to home and a good fit.”

Compton quickly fit in. In his first season with the varsity (1971-72), he scored 455 points, the second most all-time for a Vanderbilt first-year player.

He averaged 17.5 points that year, led Vanderbilt to a 16-10 record and made the All-SEC third team.

As a junior, Compton averaged 17.6 points, led Vanderbilt to a 20-6 record and made the All-SEC first team.

Then as a senior he made the All-SEC first team again, averaging 14.8 points, and led the Commodores to a 23-5 record and their second berth in what was then a 16-team NCAA Tournament. They lost in the first round to Marquette (69-61).

Compton also led Vanderbilt in free-throw percentage that year at 87.3% (89-of-102).

Compton was selected in the fourth round of the NBA Draft by Kansas City-Omaha (now the Sacramento Kings). He suffered a hand injury working a summer job before training camp and could not participate.

Kansas City-Omaha invited Compton back the following year, but he chose instead to put his engineering degree to work by joining an engineering consulting firm in Nashville.

In the mid-1980s Compton served as coach of two of the area's top women's softball teams – Jim Fisher Electric and the Nashville Classics. 

Compton and several other players from the 1974 Sweet 16 team were honored in January at the Commodores' SEC home opener against Texas A&M. 

Funeral arrangements have not yet been made.