On March 2, 1961, Undefeated Landon and DeMatha Catholic High School (ranked 1–2 in the city) faced off in Cole Field House before a crowd of 6400.

Hetzel played collegiately at Davidson College of the Southern Conference, recruited by Hall of Fame Coach Lefty Driesell.

[5] Hetzel was a consensus All-American in 1965, along with Bill Bradley of Princeton, Cazzie Russell of Michigan, Gail Goodrich of UCLA and Rick Barry of Miami (FL).

[2] Before Hetzel embarked on his NBA career, he played for Team USA along with Bill Bradley in the 1965 Fifth World University Games in Budapest, Hungary.

[7][8] A 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m) forward-center from Davidson, Hetzel was selected by the San Francisco Warriors with the first overall pick of the 1965 NBA draft on May 6, 1965.

8 points and 5.2 rebounds for Coach Alex Hannum and the Warriors, with Hall of Famers Rick Barry, Guy Rodgers and Nate Thurmond.

[10][9] In 1966–1967, the Warriors improved to 44–37 under Coach Bill Sharman and advanced to the 1967 NBA Finals, where they lost to Wilt Chamberlain and the Philadelphia 76ers 4–2.

The team finished 49–39, and defeated the St. Louis Hawks in the playoffs, before being swept by the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Division Finals.

[9] Just before the start of the 1969–1970 season, on October 4, 1969, Hetzel was traded by the Cincinnati Royals to the Philadelphia 76ers for Craig Raymond and a future draft pick.

He averaged 4.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in 59 games, playing a reserve role on a team with Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Gail Goodrich and Pat Riley.

[8] *Starting in 1980 he owned and operated Fred Hetzel & Associates a Real Estate and Development Company in Leesburg, Virginia.