A native of the greater Peoria, Illinois metropolitan area, Unruh attended Toulon High School prior to matriculating at Bradley.

When Unruh's career ended, he had won 112 of the 135 games he played in during his tenure and is considered one of the pioneers of the modern jump shot.

Unruh was selected as the ninth pick in the second round (20th overall) of the 1950 NBA draft by the Indianapolis Olympians, but never ended up playing in the league.

Two years after graduating from Bradley, Unruh earned a spot on the United States Olympic basketball team's roster.

He was drafted into the army, however, and missed out on an opportunity to win a gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.