He played collegiately for the Indiana State Sycamores and scored 1,119 career points. He led the team in scoring during the 1951-52 and 1952-53 seasons. He was a 3-time All-Indiana Collegiate Conference guard and was selected as an All-American for the 1953 season; leading the Sycamores to a 3rd-place finish in the National NAIA Tournament. He started every game during his 3-yr varsity career (85 games). He has a career high 32 points vs Arkansas Tech, in the 2nd round of the 1952-53 NAIA Tournament\n', '

During his sophomore season, (1950–51), Atha was a member of the US National Men\'s Basketball team; he averaged 4.3 ppg in helping the U.S. to a 6-0 record and the first gold medal in Pan Am Games history.\n', '

He was selected by the New York Knicks in the 1953 NBA Draft; however, he served two years in the United States Army before beginning his professional career; he played for the Knicks (1955–56) and Fort Wayne Pistons (now the Detroit Pistons) (1957–58) in the NBA for 43 games before an injury ended his playing career.\n', '

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