John Rudometkin
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 6, 1940 Santa Maria, California, U.S. |
| Died | August 4, 2015 (aged 75) Newcastle, California, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Santa Maria (Santa Maria, California) |
| College |
|
San Francisco Warriors | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
John Rudometkin (June 6, 1940 – August 4, 2015) was an American professional basketball player for the
College
Before attending the University of Southern California, Rudometkin spent one year playing basketball at Allan Hancock College, a junior college located in his hometown of Santa Maria, California.[3] He averaged 18.2 points per game (ppg) in 30 games during the 1958–59 season.[3]
Rudometkin then enrolled at USC in the fall of 1959 to play for the Trojans. As a 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) center, he went on to have a highly successful career in college. In his three varsity seasons at the NCAA Division I institution, Rudometkin held career averages of 18.8 points and 10.5 rebounds in 79 games played.[3] He scored 1,434 points, which stood as the school record for 23 years, and his 18.8 average is still the best career average at USC.[4] In 1961, he led the Trojans to an outright conference title, which through 2009–10 remains their most recent outright conference championship.[4] In all three seasons Rudometkin led the team in scoring and was named the team MVP,[4] and as a senior in 1961–62 he was named a consensus second-team All-American.
Professional
After his college career ended, Rudometkin was selected in the second round as the 11th overall pick by the
Personal
After only three seasons, Rudometkin was forced to prematurely retire from basketball. His stamina weakened noticeably and doctors could not initially determine the cause.
After his ordeal, Rudometkin married, had three sons, wrote a book about his experiences and traveled the country as a motivational speaker.[2] He also spent time as a real estate investor and minister.[4] Towards the end of his life, he resided in Newcastle, California, with his wife of roughly 50 years, and required an oxygen tank to help him breathe.[2] Rudometkin died on August 4, 2015, from chronic lung disease.[6]
Career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
NBA
Source[1]
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962–63 | New York | 56 | 10.2 | .352 | .768 | 2.7 | .5 | 5.2 |
| 1963–64 | New York | 52 | 13.4 | .472 | .750 | 3.2 | .5 | 7.6 |
| 1964–65 | New York | 1 | 22.0 | .375 | – | 7.0 | .0 | 6.0 |
| 1964–65 | San Francisco | 22 | 16.1 | .336 | .680 | 4.2 | .7 | 6.0 |
| Career | 131 | 12.5 | .399 | .743 | 3.1 | .5 | 6.3 | |
References
- ^ Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
- ^ The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
- ^ a b c "John Rudometkin". TheDraftReview. 2010. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
- ^ a b c d "2001 Inductees For USC Athletic Hall of Fame Announced" (Press release). usctrojans.com. CBS Interactive. October 28, 2000. Retrieved September 11, 2010.
- ^ "non-Hodgkin lymphomas" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
- ^ "John Rudometkin, USC basketball All-American, succumbs to lung disease at 75". Los Angeles Times. August 5, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.