Bob Harstad

Last updated
Bob Harstad
Personal information
Born (1969-02-07) February 7, 1969 (age 55)
Loveland, Colorado, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school Thompson Valley
(Loveland, Colorado)
College Creighton (1987–1991)
NBA draft 1991: undrafted
Playing career1991–2001
Position Power forward
Career history
1991–1993 Gijón Baloncesto
1993–1994 Estudiantes Caja Postal
1994–1995 Club Baloncesto Albacete
1995–1999 Cantabria Baloncesto
1999–2000 Club Ourense Baloncesto
2000–2001 F.C. Porto
Career highlights and awards

Robert Joseph Harstad (born February 7, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. In a career spanning between 1991 and 2001, Harstad played for six different teams at the highest leagues in Spain and Portugal. In his post-basketball career he has been working for Ackerman McQueen, an ad agency, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. [1]

Contents

College

Born in Loveland, Colorado, [2] Harstad led Thompson Valley High School to a conference championship during his junior year and state champion runner-up his senior year. [3] In a decidedly Big 12 Conference region of the country, Harstad instead signed to play for Tony Barone at Creighton University, a Missouri Valley Conference school in Nebraska. [3] When he enrolled a year later in the fall of 1987 he made an immediate impact for the Bluejays. He averaged 9.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game; his rebounding average was the fourth best in NCAA Division I for freshmen. [3] He started every single game—something he would do for his entire four-year career—as Creighton finished with a 16–16 overall record. [4]

Over the next three seasons, Harstad guided the Bluejays to a very successful stretch in its program's history, meanwhile earning personal accolades and setting still-standing records. In his sophomore and senior years, Creighton won both the regular season and conference tournament championships en route to berths into the 1989 and 1991 NCAA Tournaments, respectively. [4] The Bluejays managed to upset #6  New Mexico State before losing in the round of 32 during the 1991 tournament. [3] And, although the school failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in his junior year, they did get selected to play in the 1990 National Invitation Tournament. That season, Harstad averaged a career-high 22.2 points and a second-best 8.8 rebounds per game. [3] He was chosen as the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, becoming the first player from Creighton to ever win the award. During his final three seasons he was named to the All-MVC First Team as well. [5] Harstad finished his collegiate career with 2,110 points and 1,126 rebounds, which as of 2011–12 are both the second most in school history. [3] He is still one of just four players in conference history to finish with 2,000+ points and 1,000+ rebounds; Oscar Robertson, Xavier McDaniel, and Larry Bird also achieved this, and all three of them are in the Basketball Hall of Fame. [5] While not a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame himself, Harstad is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and Creighton University Halls of Fame. [5] His number 30 jersey was also retired by the school. [6]

Professional

Harstad did not get selected in the 1991 NBA draft but did sign as a free agent with the Utah Jazz. He was released after summer league, so he went overseas to play professionally. He spent 10 seasons in Europe, the first nine of which were in Spain playing for five different teams. [7] In 1996–97, while playing for Cantabria Baloncesto, he was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Liga Española de Baloncesto (LEB). [7] He was an all-star selection both that season and the next. [7] Before the 2001–02 season, Harstad was cut from F.C. Porto, a Portuguese club. [7] Due to bad knees and a deteriorating body he decided to retire and move back to the United States. [3]

Personal

Although he attended Creighton for four years, it was not until the summer of 1993 when he finished his final 13 credit hours, thus his official graduation year is actually 1993, not 1991. [4] Since February 2008, Harstad has been working at Ackerman McQueen, a marketing and media services company, in Oklahoma City. [1] He is married to Lori Harstad and has two sons, Jack and Luke and two stepchildren, Gavin and Phoebe. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creighton Bluejays</span> Intercollegiate athletics teams of Creighton University

The Creighton Bluejays, or Jays, are the athletic teams that represent Creighton University, a Jesuit/Catholic University in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. They compete in NCAA Division I in the Big East Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg McDermott</span> American basketball player-coach

Greg McDermott is an American basketball coach who has been the head coach of the Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team since 2010. Previously, McDermott served as the head coach at Wayne State College, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, and Iowa State. He is the father of NBA player Doug McDermott.

Nathan Funk is a 6'3" (192 cm) American basketball player who had a standout collegiate basketball career at Creighton University and played professionally in the top leagues in Germany and Turkey.

The Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team represents Creighton University of the NCAA Division I college basketball. It competes in the Big East Conference, which it joined following the Big East conference realignment in 2013. The Bluejays play their home games at CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. Creighton finished sixth nationally in home attendance, averaging 17,048 fans per home game in 2014–15.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin McKenna (basketball)</span> American basketball player and coach (born 1959)

Kevin Robert McKenna is a retired American basketball player. He is currently an assistant basketball coach at the University of Oregon. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, McKenna played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1981 to 1988. He played college basketball for the Creighton Bluejays.

The Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team is the NCAA Division I college basketball program representing Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas.

Bob King was an American college basketball coach and administrator. He was head coach at the University of New Mexico from 1962 to 1972 and at Indiana State University from 1975 to 1978. He also served as Assistant Athletics Director at New Mexico (1972–73) and Athletics Director at Indiana State (1974–80).

The Creighton Bluejays baseball team represents the Creighton University in NCAA Division I college baseball, and competes as a member of the Big East Conference. Home games are played off campus at nearby Charles Schwab Field Omaha, which annually hosts the College World Series in June. The Bluejays played their first Big East baseball season in 2014, and are led by longtime head coach Ed Servais.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connie Yori</span> American basketball coach

Connie Sue Yori is the former head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers women's basketball team representing the University of Nebraska in NCAA Division I competition. She formerly coached Loras College from 1990 to 1992 and Creighton from 1992 to 2002. In 2009–10, Yori was named the Naismith College Coach of the Year, AP College Basketball Coach of the Year and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year after guiding Nebraska to a 32–2 record and the school's first-ever trip to the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship Sweet 16.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Beisser</span> American basketball player

Edward J. Beisser was an American standout basketball player for Creighton University in the early 1940s and was named a consensus NCAA First Team All-American as a senior in 1942–43. He was a three-time First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection and was later named one of the MVC's "50 Greatest Players" in the conference's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porter Moser</span> American basketball player-coach

Porter Andrew Moser is a college basketball coach who is the current head coach of the University of Oklahoma men's basketball team. Moser spent 10 years (2011–2021) at Loyola University Chicago, helping lead the Ramblers to the Final Four in 2018.

Darren Darnell Brooks is American professional basketball player. A 6'3" 205 pound (93 kg) point guard / shooting guard, Brooks' professional career began in 2005–06 and has taken him to numerous countries and leagues around the world. He is best known in the United States for his collegiate career at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU), here he was the back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. He now coaches high school basketball at the charter school, High Point Academy and has his own basketball academy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011–12 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2011–12 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team represented Creighton University during the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bluejays, led by second year head coach Greg McDermott, played their home games at the CenturyLink Center Omaha and are members of the Missouri Valley Conference. The conference season ended with 14–4 record, finishing in 2nd place, behind Wichita State. They finished the season 29–6, 14–4 in MVC play to finish in second place. They were champions of the Missouri Valley Basketball tournament to earn the conference's automatic bid into the 2012 NCAA tournament where they defeated Alabama in the first round before falling in the second round to North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug McDermott</span> American basketball player (born 1992)

Douglas Richard McDermott aka "Dougie McBuckets" is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). While playing college basketball for the Creighton Bluejays, McDermott led the nation in scoring in 2013–14 and was a three-time consensus first-team All-American. He was the consensus national player of the year as a senior in 2014, and finished his college career with the fifth-most points in NCAA Division I men's basketball history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012–13 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2012–13 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team represented Creighton University during the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bluejays, led by third year head coach Greg McDermott, played their home games at the CenturyLink Center Omaha and were in their final season as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 28–8, 13–5 in MVC play to be Missouri Valley regular season champions. They were also champions of the Missouri Valley tournament, defeating Wichita State in the championship game, to earn an automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA tournament. In the tournament, they defeated Cincinnati in the second round before losing in the third round to Duke.

The Creighton Bluejays men's soccer team represents Creighton University in NCAA men's Division I soccer competitions. They compete in the Big East Conference and have risen to prominence in collegiate men's soccer in the last few decades having gone to the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament in 22 of the previous 23 seasons, going back to 1992, with five appearances in the College Cup semifinals and one appearance in the National Championship Match. In conference play, the Bluejays have won 13 conference regular season championships and 13 conference tournament championships; the most recent being the 2014 Big East Conference Regular Season Championship. Creighton is the only soccer program in the nation to have at least one athlete taken in every Major League Soccer (MLS) draft from 1996 to 2014. They are currently coached by Johnny Torres.

Booker Woodfox is an American former professional basketball player. He was an All-American player at Creighton University.

Edwin Servais is an American college baseball coach and small-ball connoisseur, currently the head coach at Creighton University, a member of the Big East Conference in NCAA Division I. He has held the position since July 2003, and has led the Bluejays to four appearances in the NCAA tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cameron Krutwig</span> American basketball player

Cameron Krutwig is an American professional basketball player for Força Lleida CE of the Spanish Liga Española de Baloncesto. Nicknamed "King Krut", he played college basketball for the Loyola Ramblers. Krutwig drew national attention after helping the 2017–18 Ramblers reach the Final Four of the 2018 NCAA tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990–91 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 1990–91 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team represented Creighton University during the 1990–91 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bluejays, led by head coach Tony Barone, played their home games at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. The Jays finished with a 24–8 record, and won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament to earn an automatic bid to the 1991 NCAA tournament. As No. 11 seed in the West region, the Jays knocked off No. 6 seed New Mexico State in the opening round, then fell to Seton Hall in the second round.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bob Harstad's LinkedIn Profile". LinkedIn. 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Bob Harstad: The 'Bomber' who fell in love Cantabria" (Translated). ACB.com. September 22, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Number 30: Bob Harstad". White & Blue Review. September 20, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Flott, Anthony (2010). "From Survival to Success". University Magazine. Creighton University. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 "Former Creighton Star Bob Harstad Voted Into MVC Hall of Fame". GoCreighton.com. Creighton University. November 8, 2007. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  6. ↑ Pivovar, Steven (December 10, 2010). "Harstad treasures durability as a Jay". The World-Herald. Omaha.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Bob Harstad". ACB.com. December 10, 2010. Archived from the original on November 11, 2005. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.