Question: What professional basketball player, spent his first two years with the Spirits of St. Louis and Kentucky Colonels, and led the Spirits of St. Louis in 1974-75?
Context: The 1974-75 American Basketball Association season saw the Spirits of St. Louis, led by Marvin Barnes, Maurice Lucas, Gus Gerard and coach Bob MacKinnon, finish third in the ABA Eastern Division and defeat the New York Nets in the 1975 ABA Semifinals before losing in the Eastern Division Finals to the eventual ABA champion Kentucky Colonels. Eugene "Gene" Williams (born April 1, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player.  He played for the Kentucky Colonels in one game at the beginning of the 1969–70 ABA season.  Williams had been selected by the Kentucky Colonels in the 1969 ABA Draft and by the Phoenix Suns in the 1969 NBA Draft, although he never played in the NBA. Thomas M. Kron (February 28, 1943 – November 29, 2007) was an American former professional basketball player.  A 6ft 5in guard, Kron, nicknamed "Tommy", played his rookie season (1966–1967) with the St. Louis Hawks.  He was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1967 Expansion draft and spent two seasons there, and finished his career with the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association, becoming a fan favorite during the 1969 and 1970 seasons. On August 5, 1976, as a result of the ABA–NBA merger, the NBA hosted a dispersal draft to select players from the Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis, the two American Basketball Association (ABA) franchises that were not included in the ABA–NBA merger. The 1976–77 NBA season was the Spurs first season in the NBA.  Months earlier, the Spurs were part of the American Basketball Association (Six in Dallas and three in San Antonio).  The ABA had ended its ninth and last campaign.  Of the seven remaining ABA teams, four joined the NBA: the Denver Nuggets, New York Nets, Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs.  The Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis agreed to take a cash settlement and cease operations.  Immediately, the ABA players were dispersed across the new 22-team league.  The other ABA teams from the prior season were all folded prior to the ABA–NBA merger: the Baltimore Claws, Utah Stars, San Diego Sails and Virginia Squires. The 1973–74 Carolina Cougars season was the 5th and final season of the Cougars in the American Basketball Association.  Billy Cunningham (who had been named the MVP the previous season), Dennis Wuycik, and Mike Lewis were hobbled by injuries through the season, which meant the team struggled to gain much ground in the Division, though they finished consistently enough to qualify for a playoff spot for the 2nd straight season.  The Cougars finished 2nd in points scored, with 110.5 per game, but 6th in points allowed with 107.0 per game.  The team was 26–16 by the midpoint of the season (with a seven-game winning streak in the middle of it), while going 21–21 for the second half of the season.  The biggest losing streak by the team was 6, done near the end of the season, but by that point they had clinched the third spot in the playoffs, finishing 19 games above Virginia, who they beat in their final regular season game at home, 99–91.  Once again, the Cougars faced the Kentucky Colonels in the playoffs, but once again the Colonels prevailed, this time in a First Round sweep.  This turned out to be the final game the Cougars played.  Owner Tedd Munchak sold the team after the season ended to a group of New York businessmen, which included Harry Weltman, Donald Schupak, Ozzie Silna and Daniel Silna for $1.5 million.  The team subsequently moved to St. Louis to become the Spirits of St. Louis, playing for two seasons. The 1976 NBA draft was the 30th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA).  The draft was held on June 8, 1976, before the 1976–77 season.  In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players.  The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip.  The Atlanta Hawks won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Chicago Bulls were awarded the second pick.  The Hawks then traded the first pick to the Houston Rockets before the draft.  The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season.  The New York Knicks forfeited their first-round draft pick due to their illegal signing of George McGinnis whose rights were held by the Philadelphia 76ers.  The 76ers, the Golden State Warriors and the Buffalo Braves also forfeited their second, third and fourth-round pick respectively due to their participation in 1975 supplementary draft American Basketball Association (ABA) players who had never been drafted in the NBA.  A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection.  If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated.  Before the draft, 26 college underclassmen were declared eligible for selection under the "hardship" rule.  13 of them withdrew before the draft, leaving only 13 early entry candidates eligible for selection.  These players had applied and gave evidence of financial hardship to the league, which granted them the right to start earning their living by starting their professional careers earlier.  The draft consisted of 10 rounds comprising the selection of 173 players.  On August 8, 1976, the league also hosted a Dispersal draft for ABA players from the Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis, who were not included in the ABA–NBA merger. James Darel Carrier (born October 26, 1940) is a former professional basketball player.  Born in Warren County, Kentucky, Carrier played his high school basketball at the now defunct Bristow High School.  A 6'3" guard, Carrier played college basketball at Western Kentucky University under coach E.A. Diddle.  Carrier was selected in the 9th round of the 1964 NBA Draft by the St. Louis Hawks.  However, Carrier opted instead to sign with and play for the Kentucky Colonels of the rival American Basketball Association (ABA). Maurice Lucas (February 18, 1952 – October 31, 2010) was an American professional basketball player.  The first two years of his postcollegiate career were spent in the American Basketball Association (ABA) with the Spirits of St. Louis and Kentucky Colonels.  He then played twelve seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Portland Trail Blazers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knickerbockers, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers and Seattle SuperSonics.  The starting power forward on the Trail Blazers' 1976–77 NBA Championship team, he was nicknamed The Enforcer because of his primary role on the court which was best exemplified in Game 2 of the NBA Finals that season. Cincinnatus "Cincy" Powell (born February 25, 1942 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) is a former professional basketball player.  A 6'7" (2.01 m) forward from the University of Portland, Powell was selected by the St. Louis Hawks in the eighth round of the 1965 NBA Draft.  He did not make the Hawks' roster, but he would soon blossom while playing for the American Basketball Association's Dallas Chaparrals.  Powell averaged 18.3 points and nine rebounds in his first season with the Chaparrals, and two years later he represented Dallas in the ABA All-Star Game.  Powell also spent time with the Kentucky Colonels, Utah Stars, and Virginia Squires, and he ended his ABA career in 1975 with 9,746 total points.
Answer: Maurice Lucas