Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Glasgow, Scotland | 28 October 1956
Nationality | Scottish / American |
Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
Career information | |
High school | San Diego (San Diego, California) |
College |
|
NBA draft | 1977: undrafted |
Position | Forward / center |
Number | 15 |
Career history | |
As player: | |
1977–1978 | USC Freiburg |
1978–1979 | ÍR |
1979–1980 | Team Fiat |
1981–1982 | Ovaltine |
As coach: | |
1978–1979 | ÍR |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
Paul Stewart (born 28 October 1956) is a Scottish-American former professional basketball player and a former member of the Scottish national basketball team.
Stewart was born in Glasgow to Scottish parents [1] but moved to Canada shortly later. When he was 7 years old, his family moved again, this time to San Diego in California. [2] He played college basketball for Santa Ana College [3] before transferring to Cal State LA in 1975. [4] [5] In 1977 he made the CCAA All-First team. [6]
After graduating, Stewart had a tryout with the Portland Trail Blazers. After failing to get a contract with the Blazers, he signed with USC Freiburg in West Germany. [2]
In August 1978, he signed with ÍR of the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild karla as a player-coach. [7] In his first game for ÍR, Stewart scored 46 points in a 100-88 victory against ÍS in the pre-season Reykjavík Basketball Tournament. [8] He finished as the third highest scorer in the tournament with 166 points in 5 games. [9] On 13 October, Stewart got into an altercation with Njarðvík's Stefán Bjarkason in a game played at the Naval Air Station Keflavik which ended with both Military Police and Icelandic Police being called to the scene. After the fight, Stefán was transported to the base hospital where he received 6 stitches to his face. [10] [11] Although the game was part of an unofficial tournament, the Icelandic Basketball Federation disciplinary court suspended Stewart for three weeks [12] [13] which meant that he would miss two games in the Úrvalsdeild, including a game against Njarðvík. The verdict was highly controversial as it was only based on police statements from Stefán and Narðvík's assistant coach, Ingi Gunnarsson. [14] [15] Without Stewart, ÍR defeated Njarðvík, 95-89, with Stefán being booed loudly by the ÍR fans whenever he touched the ball. [16] [17] As ÍR's game against KR was postponed until December, allowing Stewart to play in it as his suspension was up. [18]
Although he was hampered by a knee injury for much of the season, [19] Stewart averaged 26.8 points per game, good for fourth best in the league. [20] In the Icelandic Cup, ÍR advanced to the finals after beating Njarðvík, 96-95, in the semi-finals behind Stewart's and Jón Jörundsson's play. [21] In the finals, ÍR met KR in the Laugardalshöll. The game, which had heavy police presence due to violence by supporters in the stands at recent games, [22] ended with a convincing 87-72 KR victory despite Stewart's 26 points. [23]
The following seasons he played for Team Fiat [24] and Ovaltine in England. [25]
In 1979, Stewart was selected to the Scottish national basketball team. [1] [26] On 30 April 1982, Stewart had 26 points and 18 rebounds in a 77-64 victory against Iceland in the EuroBasket 1983 qualification. [27]
Stewart served as a player-coach for ÍR during the 1978-1979 season. He was a candidate for the head coach position of the Icelandic men's national team for its 1979 games but the job ultimately went to Tim Dwyer. [19]
Pétur Karl Guðmundsson is an Icelandic former professional basketball player and coach. Standing 2.18 m (7'2"), weighing 118 kg (260 lb) and playing the center position, Pétur was the first Icelander and one of the first European players ever to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Often described as the greatest Icelandic basketball player of all time, he was named the Icelandic Basketball Player of the 20th century by the Icelandic Basketball Association in 2001, and in 2015, he was inducted in to the National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland Hall of Fame. Pétur was also a member of the Icelandic national basketball team from 1978 to 1992 but missed several years of competition due to FIBA rules banning professional players from playing for national teams.
Úrvalsdeild karla, also known as Bónus deild karla for sponsorship reasons, is the highest men's professional basketball competition among clubs in Iceland, where play determines the national champion. It is organized by the Icelandic Basketball Federation . The season consists of a home-and-away schedule of 22 games, followed by an eight-team playoff round. Quarterfinals, semifinals and finals series are best-of-five. The bottom clubs are relegated, and replaced by the top team from the regular-season phase and the four-team playoff round winner of the second-level First Division.
Björn Kristjánsson is an Icelandic former basketball player. Over his career, he has won the Icelandic championship with KR four times and the Icelandic Basketball Cup once.
Gunnar Sverrisson is an Icelandic professional basketball coach and former player.
Logi Gunnarsson is an Icelandic former basketball player who played most of his career for Njarðvík in the Icelandic top-tier Úrvalsdeild karla. He was a member of the Icelandic national basketball team, where he participated at the EuroBasket 2015 and EuroBasket 2017. During his career he has won the Icelandic championship three times, in 1998, 2001 and 2002, and the Icelandic Cup twice, in 2002 and 2021. In 2001, he was named the Icelandic Male Basketball Player of the Year.
The Njarðvík men's basketball team, commonly known as Njarðvík or UMFN, is the men's basketball department of Ungmennafélag Njarðvíkur, based in the town of Reykjanesbær in Iceland. It is one of the most successful men's team in Icelandic basketball, winning 17 national championships. The team, then known as Íþróttafélag Keflavíkurflugvallar (ÍKF), was one of the founding members of the Icelandic top league in 1952 and won the first Icelandic men's championship that same year. In 1969 the team merged into Ungmennafélag Njarðvíkur and became its basketball department.
Örlygur Aron Sturluson was an Icelandic basketball player, who played for Njarðvík in the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild where he won the national championship in 1998. He started playing for the Icelandic national team in 1999 and was considered one of the most promising prospects in Icelandic basketball at the time of his death.
Daniel "Danny" Shouse is an American former professional basketball player who won two Icelandic championships with Úrvalsdeild club Njarðvík in 1981 and 1982.
Ívar DeCarsta Unsont Webster is an American and Icelandic former professional basketball player and coach. Following a college career at Miami Dade and Indiana State, he went on to play for 20 seasons in Iceland where he won the national championship in 1988. In 1984, he became the first naturalized citizen to play for Iceland national basketball team.
John Kevin Rhodes is an American basketball coach and former professional basketball player.
Jón Sigurðsson is an Icelandic former basketball player and the former captain of the Icelandic national basketball team. He was named the Icelandic Basketball Player of the Year in 1976 and 1978 and won the Icelandic championship in 1976, 1978 and 1979. In 2001, Jón was named as one of the twelve best Icelandic men's basketball players of the 20th century.
The 2018–19 Úrvalsdeild karla was the 68th season of the Úrvalsdeild karla, the top tier men's basketball league in Iceland. The season started on 4 October 2018 and ended on 4 May 2019. KR won its sixth title in a row by defeating ÍR 3–2 in the Finals.
Dirk Dunbar is an American former basketball player and coach. He was one of the first foreign players to play in Iceland where he led the Úrvalsdeild karla in scoring and won the Icelandic Cup in 1978.
Trent R. Smock is an American former basketball player and coach. He played basketball and football for Indiana University in the 70's and later starred in basketball in Iceland where he led the top-tier Úrvalsdeild karla in scoring in 1980.
Jónatan James Bow is an American-Icelandic former basketball player and a former member of the Icelandic national basketball team. He won the Icelandic championship three times with Keflavík and KR.
John Hudson is a retired American professional basketball player. After being drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1976, Hudson went on to gain considerable fame in Iceland as one of the first foreign born professional players in the country.
The 1978–79 Úrvalsdeild karla was the 28th season of the Úrvalsdeild karla, the top tier men's basketball league on Iceland. The season started on 14 October 1978 and ended on 29 March 1979. KR won its 7th title by posting the best record in the league. It secured the title by beating Valur, 77–75, in the last game of the season.
Tim Dwyer is an American former basketball player and coach. During his career, he starred in Iceland where he was a three-time Úrvalsdeild Foreign Player of the Year and led Valur to both the national championship and the Icelandic Cup in 1980 and 1983.
Jonathan M. Johnson is an American former basketball player and coach. He was part of the first influx of foreign basketball players in Iceland in the late 1970s. In 1979, he set the single game scoring record in the Icelandic top-tier Úrvalsdeild karla when he scored 71 points for Fram against ÍS. In 1980, he won the Icelandic championship and the Icelandic cup as an assistant coach with Valur.
Egill Jónasson is an Icelandic former basketball player and a former member of the Icelandic national basketball team. During his career he won the Icelandic championship and Icelandic Basketball Cup with Njarðvík. Variously listed as 216–218 cm, he is one of the tallest basketball players in Iceland's history.