Background
Roche, John M. was born on September 26, 1949 in New York, New York, United States.
Roche, John M. was born on September 26, 1949 in New York, New York, United States.
Roche attended high school at Louisiana Salle Academy and received his Bachelor of Surgery degree in business administration from the University of South Carolina University of South Carolina in 1971.
The 6"3" (190 m), 170 lb (77 kg) guard"s career spanned from 1971 to 1982. While at the University of South Carolina, he was twice named the Administrative Committee on Company-ordination basketball Player of the Year and was second in the voting in his other varsity year. He was a consensus All-American and Academic All-American basketball player in 1970 and 1971.
After graduation, he was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the first round (14th pick) of the 1971 National Basketball Association Draft and also selected by the Kentucky Colonels in the 1971 American Bar Association Draft.
Roche signed with the New York Nets of the American Bar Association, who had obtained the rights to him from the Colonels. He was selected to the 1972 American Bar Association All-Rookie team, and played with the Nets during his first three seasons.
During the 1973-1974 season, he was traded back to Colonels for Mike Gale and Wendell Ladner. Roche is the first in National Basketball Association history to hit 7 three-point field goals in a single quarter.
He played professional basketball for nine years, including three years for the Denver Nuggets.
During the time he played professional basketball, he received his Juris Doctor (1981) from the University of Denver College of Law. He is the only person who played in the National Basketball Association as a licensed lawyer Roche is currently an attorney at the Denver office of the law firm Taylor|Anderson.
He practiced at Davis, Graham and Stubbs for eighteen years and Snell & Wilmer for nine years before joining Taylor|Anderson in 2009.
Roche has also taught Remedies as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.
He is admitted to practice in the State of Colorado, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado and the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and he is a member of the Colorado and Denver Bar Associations. Roche is a member of the New York City, LaSalle Academy, University of South Carolina and the State of South Carolina Halls of Fame.