John Rudometkin obit

Former USC star John Rudometkin dies at 75

 

He was not on the list.

American Basketball Player. Rudometkin played basketball for the New York Knicks from 1962 to 1964 and the 1965 San Francisco Warriors before non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cut his career short. He had a very successful college career, playing basketball at the University of Southern California and being named consensus second-team All American in his senior year. Rudometkin was drafted by the New York Knicks in the 2nd Round of the 1962 NBA Draft and would play there until being signed as a free agent by the San Francisco Warriors in 1965. Even though he played center in college, he was moved to forward with the Knicks. In 1965 Rudometkin's career was cut short when he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. After treatment, his lymphoma went into remission and he became a motivational speaker and also spent time in the real estate and ministerial areas.

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. He averaged 18.2 points per game (ppg) in 30 games during the 1958–59 season.

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. 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. In 1961, he led the Trojans to an outright conference title, which through 2009–10 remains their most recent outright conference championship. In all three seasons Rudometkin led the team in scoring and was named the team MVP, and as a senior in 1961–62 he was named a consensus second-team All-American.

 

Career history

1962–1964      New York Knicks

1964    San Francisco Warriors

Career highlights

Consensus second-team All-American (1962)

Second-team All-American – UPI (1961)

Third-team All-American – AP, NABC, NEA (1961)

2× First-team All-AAWU (1961, 1962)

No. 44 retired by USC Trojans

Fourth-team Parade All-American (1958)

Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata

Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame