Personal information | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | Panama City, Panama | July 3, 1958||||||||||||||
Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | ||||||||||||||
Listed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school | Escuela Profesional Isabel Herrera de Obalda | ||||||||||||||
College | Briar Cliff (1977–1981) | ||||||||||||||
NBA draft | 1981: 4th round, 83rd overall pick | ||||||||||||||
Selected by the Indiana Pacers | |||||||||||||||
Playing career | 1980–2001 | ||||||||||||||
Position | Center / power forward | ||||||||||||||
Number | 10, 11, 13 | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
1980–1982 | Polluelos de Aibonito | ||||||||||||||
1982–1984 | Obras Sanitarias | ||||||||||||||
1984–1985 | Polluelos de Aibonito | ||||||||||||||
1985–1987 | TDK Manresa | ||||||||||||||
1987–1988 | Polluelos de Aibonito | ||||||||||||||
1988–1989 | TDK Manresa | ||||||||||||||
1989–1995 | Polluelos de Aibonito | ||||||||||||||
1996–1997 | Capitanes de Arecibo | ||||||||||||||
1997–2001 | Avancinos de Villalba / Maratonistas de Coamo | ||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Career BSN statistics | |||||||||||||||
Points | 12,096 (20.1 ppg) | ||||||||||||||
Rebounds | 6,153 (10.2 rpg) | ||||||||||||||
Assists | 943 (1.6 apg) | ||||||||||||||
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||||||||||||||
Medals
|
Rolando Frazer Thorne (born July 3, 1958 in Panama City, Panama) is a Panamanian former professional basketball player. [1] At a height of 6'7" (2.01 m) tall, he played at the power forward and center positions. He was an inaugural inductee of the Briar Cliff Athletic Hall of Fame, in 1991. [2]
Frazer, originally a native of Panama City, Panama, was recruited by head coach Ray Nacke to play college basketball at Briar Cliff College, in Sioux City, Iowa. He was cited as an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American as a freshman, when he averaged 15.6 points per game, as a sixth man. He led the nation (all divisions) in scoring his junior year, when he averaged 36.4 points per game. He averaged 30.1 points per game as a senior, when the Chargers finished with a 27–3 record, and were the number one rated team in the final NAIA top twenty poll.
Overall, in 118 games played, Frazer averaged 26.2 points, 9.4 rebounds per game, and 1.7 assists per game, and shot 60.5 percent from the floor, [3] during his college career. He owns 14 of Briar Cliff's top twenty-five individual scoring performances, including his career best 56-point outburst against Northwestern, on February 13, 1980. Frazer also continues to hold the Chargers' career rebounding record, with 1,110 total rebounds. In 1981, Frazer shared the George Clarkson Award with Drake's Lewis Lloyd. The Clarkson Award is presented annually to Iowa's best collegiate basketball player.
At Briar Cliff, he was a three-time NAIA First Team All-American, and he concluded his college career as the state of Iowa's all-time scoring leader, with 3,078 total points scored (he is currently 2nd all-time). [4] [5] He was the first player in the history of Iowan college basketball, to score at least 3,000 total career points, and he is the only Briar Cliff athlete to have been recognized as a three-time First Team NAIA All-American. During Frazer's illustrious college career, Briar Cliff posted an overall record of 101–17. Frazer was cited in numerous national publications throughout his career. The February 2, 1981, issue of Sports Illustrated, featured Frazer in a college basketball article entitled, "Pride of the Panama Pipeline." [6]
Frazer was selected in the 4th round (number 83 overall), in the 1981 NBA draft, by the Indiana Pacers. [7] However, he never played in the NBA. Frazer won the 1983 FIBA Intercontinental Cup championship, while he was a member of the Argentine Club Championship team Obras Sanitarias.
Frazer played most of his career in the Puerto Rican League, [8] where he won the Puerto Rican League championship in 1986, and was a two-time MVP of the league (1981, 1987). He also spent three years in the Spanish League, with TDK Manresa, where he averaged 25.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, in 95 games played. [9] [10]
Frazer first gained a spot on the Panama men's national basketball team as a 15-year-old, in his second season of playing organized basketball. In 1979, Frazer was named the team captain of an NAIA all-star squad that toured Argentina and Brazil. Frazer took game high scoring honors (19 points) in Panama's 93–88 loss against Bobby Knight's Team USA, at the 1979 Pan American Games. Scoring 26 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, he helped the National team win the gold medal at the 1981 CentroBasket.
Frazer led Panama to an all-time best ninth place finish at the 1982 FIBA World Championship. He was the tournament's top scorer, with a scoring average of 24.4 points per game. [11] He also played at the 1986 FIBA World Championship, where he averaged 19.8 points per game. [12]
Along with Mario Butler, he led Panama to become a competitive national team in the 1980s. In 1987, Frazer returned to the United States, to represent Panama at the 1987 Pan American Games, at Indianapolis.
After he retired from playing professional basketball, Frazer became a basketball referee. [13]
The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation.
José Rafael "Piculín" Ortiz Rijos is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player. He played in the NCAA, NBA, various European teams, and in Puerto Rico's Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN).
Daniel Gregg Santiago is a Puerto Rican basketball coach at IMG Academy and former professional basketball player. A center, he had a collegiate career in the NCAA and NAIA. His professional career saw him play in the NBA, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional of Puerto Rico, and overseas. Santiago has played for the Puerto Rican national team since 1998 until 2014, including been part of the 2004 team that defeated the United States at the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece.
Rick Apodaca is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player. Apodaca has played in the NCAA, USBL, NBDL, and the National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico (BSN) with the Arecibo Captains, Bayamón Cowboys, San German Athletics and Leones de Ponce. He also played professional basketball in Poland, Italy and Turkey. Apodaca was a member of the senior Puerto Rican National Basketball Team that defeated the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.
Mario Alberto Butler Graham is a Panamanian retired professional basketball player.
José Juan Barea Mora is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player and current head coach for the Mets de Guaynabo of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for Northeastern University before joining the Mavericks in 2006 and becoming only the seventh Puerto Rican to play in the NBA. He went on to win an NBA championship with the Mavericks in 2011 before signing with the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he played for the next three seasons. He has also played in the NBA Development League and the Baloncesto Superior Nacional.
Guillermo Díaz is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player for the Capitanes de Arecibo of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. Díaz was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2006, becoming the fifth Puerto Rican ever drafted by the NBA and the eighth to play there. He has also played professionally in Europe and in Puerto Rico.
The Panama men's national basketball team represents Panama in men's international basketball competitions, The team represents both FIBA and FIBA Americas.
Manuel Narvaez is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player. He has played in the NBDL, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico (BSN) with Santurce Crabbers, Coamo Marathon Runners, Ponce Lions, Bayamón Cowboys, Morovis Titans, and the Isabela Gallitos. Narvaez was drafted by the Albuquerque Thunderbirds with the 1st pick of the fourth round of the 2006 NBDL draft. He was a member of the 2006 and 2007 Puerto Rican National Team.
Teófilo "Teo" Cruz Downs was a Puerto Rican professional basketball player. After playing college basketball, Cruz played in Puerto Rico's top-level league, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) with Cangrejeros de Santurce, Indios de Canóvanas, Mets de Guaynabo, Cardenales de Río Piedras, and Taínos de Mayagüez. Cruz also played in Spain with Picadero Damm, and in Belgium with Racing Club Mechelen.
Ángel Luis "Buster" Figueroa Sepúlveda is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player for the Capitanes De Arecibo of the BSN league in Puerto Rico. He was a member of the Puerto Rico National Basketball Team in 2006.
José Jaime Lloreda Ferrón is a Panamanian professional basketball player. He is a longtime member of the Panama men's national basketball team.
Noé Alonzo Chávez is a Mexican professional basketball player. He is a 6'8" Forward who currently plays for Aguacateros de Michoacán, in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional in Mexico. Born in Chihuahua, Mexico, he is a member of the Mexico national basketball team.
Ángel Daniel Vassallo Colón is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player for Cangrejeros de Santurce of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He has been a member of the Puerto Rico national basketball team since his teenage years, representing Puerto Rico in the 2003 FIBA World Championship for Junior Men and the 2005 FIBA U-21 World Championship. In 2008, Vassallo joined the senior team, playing at the 2008 Centrobasket, FIBA Americas Championship 2009 and 2010 FIBA World Championship.
Briar Cliff University is a private Franciscan university in Sioux City, Iowa.
Wilfredo "Willie" Melendez Velez is an American-Puerto Rican former professional basketball player who played in the BSN league from 1974 to 1992. He is also a school teacher, having taught at his adoptive city Cayey's Benigno Fernandez Garcia Middle School during his heyday as a professional basketball player.
David Wayne Jackson Jr. is an American professional basketball player for Franca of Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB). A 6 ft 3 in tall combo guard, he played high school basketball in Maryland and North Carolina and attended Gulf Coast Community College in Florida after he failed to academically qualify to play Division I basketball. After two years at Gulf Coast, Jackson transferred to Penn State, where he played his last two years of eligibility. After going undrafted in the 2007 NBA draft he started his professional career in Uruguay with Defensor Sporting. He has earned several accolades while playing in South America, including two MVP awards, multiple all-star selections and an LNB scoring title in 2010. Jackson won the FIBA Intercontinental Cup in 2023 and was named the tournament MVP.
Jhivvan Jameel Jackson Meléndez is a Puerto Rican-Panamanian professional basketball player for the Osos de Manatí of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for the UTSA Roadrunners.
George Conditt IV is an American-Puerto Rican professional basketball player for the Gigantes de Carolina of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones and represents the Puerto Rican national basketball team in FIBA basketball competitions.
Ángel "Cachorro" Santiago del Valle is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player who played for 24 seasons in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN), competing for various teams, including the Cangrejeros de Santurce, the Guaynabo Mets, the Cardenales de Río Piedras, the Leones de Ponce, the Polluelos de Aibonito, the Brujos de Guayama, and the Capitanes de Arecibo. He won one BSN championship, in 1986, and competed at various international tournaments with the Puerto Rico men's national basketball team, earning medals at some of those tournaments. Santiago won a silver medal at the 1979 Pan American Games, held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with the Puerto Rican men's national basketball squad. He also won a bronze medal at the Pan American Games' 1987 edition.