Phil Tollestrup

Last updated
Phil Tollestrup
Personal information
Born (1949-10-21) October 21, 1949 (age 74)
Raymond, Alberta, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school Raymond High School
(Raymond, Alberta)
College BYU (1968–72)
University of Lethbridge (1972–73)
NBA draft 1973: 20th round, 211th overall pick
Selected by the Buffalo Braves
Position Forward
Career history
As player:
1973-74 Saski Baskonia (Spain)
As coach:
1978-80 McMaster University
2004-07 Lethbridge College
Career highlights and awards
  • Fourth overall scorer in 1976 Summer Olympics
  • FIBA World Championship North / South American All-Star (1974)
  • First Team CIAU All-Canadian (1973)
  • University of Lethbridge Male Athlete of the Year (1973)
  • Canada West First Team All-Star (1973)
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at Basketball-Reference.com

Phil Tollestrup (born October 12, 1949) is a former Canadian basketball player and Olympian. Among his accomplishments, he was the fourth overall scorer in the 1976 Summer Olympics (21.3 ppg) [1] , where Canada competed for the bronze medal [2] [3] [4] ; was drafted in the NBA by the Buffalo Braves in 1973 [5] [6] [7] ; was a First Team CIAU All-Canadian (1973) [8] [9] [10] ; was the University of Lethbridge's Male Athlete of the Year (1973) [9] [11] [12] ; and was a First Team Canada West All-Star [13] .

Contents

International career

Tollestrup played for the Canadian men's national basketball team from 1971-79. [10] [11] This included representing Canada in the 1976 Olympics. [14] [15] Tollestrup played well in these Olympics, being the tournament's fourth overall leading scorer with 21.3 ppg [1] [9] [15] . The '76 Olympics were also noteworthy in that Canada competed for the bronze medal and finished fourth overall, [2] [3] [4] one of only three times in the past 80 years in which Canada has competed for an Olympic medal in basketball. [4]

Tollestrup also represented Canada in three Pan American Games (1971, 1975, 1979), [14] [15] [12] the 1972 Pre-Olympic Tournament, [16] the 1973 World Student Games [5] [9] [12] and the 1974 FIBA World Championships. [5] [14] [17] Tollestrup played well in these tournaments as well: in the 1974 World Championships, he was selected as a North / South American All-Star [15] and was Canada's third-leading scorer with 13.3 ppg. [17] In the 1972 Pre-Olympic tournament, he was Canada's second-leading scorer with 19.3 ppg. [16]

Professional

Tollestrup was drafted by the Buffalo Braves in the 20th round as the 211th overall pick in the 1973 NBA draft. [6] [7] [18] In the 1973-74 season, Tollestrup played professionally in the Spanish first division for Saski Baskonia. [9] [11] [13]

University

In high school, Tollestrup led Raymond High School to win two provincial championships (1967, 1968). [9] [11] [15] He was also named provincial MVP. [5]

He played at BYU the following four years (1968-72). [5] [9] [12] At BYU, he played on the conference championship team. [15]

Tollestrup played his final year (1972-73) at the University of Lethbridge. [9] [10] [12] This was the University of Lethbridge's inaugural year in basketball. [11] In this year, he established intercollegiate scoring records [15] when he averaged 26.4 ppg [13] . He was named a First Team All-Canadian [8] [10] [11] , a Canada West First Team All-Star [13] and as the University of Lethbridge's Male Athlete of the Year. [9] [11] [12] In this year, he also led the Pronghorns to the Canada West championship game. [9] [12] [13]

Coaching career

Tollestrup coached McMaster University from 1978-80. [10] [14] [15] He then coached at the high school level in Milk River, Stirling and Magrath in Alberta, Canada. [9] [12] He then coached the Lethbridge College Kodiaks from 2004-07. [9] [12] [15]

Post-career Awards

Tollestrup has been inducted into the Canada Basketball Hall of Fame (1991), [14] the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame (1984), [15] the City of Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame (2011), [9] the University of Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame [11] and the City of Raymond Sports Hall of Fame, [10] [12] [15] . Additionally, the 1976 Canadian men's national team of which Tollestrup was a member [1] was inducted into the Canada Basketball Hall of Fame. [19]

Personal life

Tollestrup was born on October 12, 1949. [3] [6] [14] He is a native of Raymond, Alberta, Canada. [5] [6] [11]

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References

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