Teófilo Cruz
 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | January 8, 1942 Santurce, Puerto Rico | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | August 30, 2005 (aged 63) Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Puerto Rican | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Seattle University (1964–1965) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 1965: 6th round, 55th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1957–1982 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Center | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1957–1967, 1969–1976 | Cangrejeros de Santurce | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1967–1968 | Picadero Damm | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1970 | Racing Club Mechelen | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1977–1978 | Indios de Canóvanas | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979 | Mets de Guaynabo | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980 | Cardenales de Río Piedras | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1981–1982 | Taínos de Mayagüez | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||||||||||||||||||||
| FIBA Hall of Fame as player | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Teófilo "Teó" Cruz Downs (January 8, 1942 – August 30, 2005) 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, Mets de Guaynabo, Indios de Canóvanas, Cardenales de Río Piedras, and Taínos de Mayagüez. Cruz also played in Spain with Picadero Damm, and in Belgium with Racing Club Mechelen.
Cruz was also a member of the senior Puerto Rican national basketball team, and he represented Puerto Rico in five Summer Olympic Games, from 1960 to 1976, making him the first athlete to do so. On March 1, 2007, he was inducted into the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Hall of Fame.
College career
Cruz played college basketball in the United States. He played with Seattle University's Seattle Redhawks, in the 1964–65 season.[1] Following that season, he was selected in the 6th round of the 1965 NBA Draft, by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Club career
Cruz played for 25 seasons in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) of Puerto Rico. He was the league's Most Valuable Player 4 times. He was also selected the league's Defensive Player of the Year a record five times. He played with the Santurce Crabbers, Mets de Guaynabo, Indios de Canóvanas, Cardenales de Río Piedras, and Taínos de Mayagüez.
He also led the league in points per game twice, and was the first player ever to reach 9,000 total points scored in the BSN. In total, he scored 9,535 points, for an average of 16.3 points per game. He also grabbed 4,672 total rebounds, for an average of 8.0 rebounds per game. He also had 605 assists, during his twenty-five-year career.[2]
National team career
Cruz was the starting center of the senior Puerto Rican national basketball team, at the times when Puerto Rico and Brazil were the two dominant teams in the FIBA Americas region, excluding the United States. Cruz was the first basketball player to compete at five different Summer Olympics. That feat was matched twenty years later by Brazilian player Oscar Schmidt, at the 1996 Summer Olympics, and later by American player Teresa Edwards and Australian player Andrew Gaze, at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and by Spanish player Juan Carlos Navarro, at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Cruz also played at the 1974 FIBA World Championship, in Puerto Rico, and at numerous Pan American Games and CentroBasket tournaments.
Awards and accomplishments
- 2× Puerto Rican BSN League scoring champion: (1960, 1962)
- 2× Puerto Rican BSN League champion: (1962, 1968)
- 4× Puerto Rican BSN League MVP: (1962, 1967, 1970, 1971)
- 6× Puerto Rican BSN League Defensive Player of the Year: (1964, 1966, 1969–1972)
- Cruz played at 5 Summer Olympic Games. He played at the Rome 1960 Olympics, at the Tokyo 1964 Olympics, at the Mexico 1968 Olympics, at Munich 1972 Olympics, and at the Montreal 1976 Olympics.
- Cruz was named one FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991.
- His number 13 jersey was retired by Cangrejeros de Santurce.
- On March 1, 2007, Cruz was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame. Along with Bill Russell and Nikos Galis, he was one of the first three male American players to be inducted into the international Hall of Fame, as he was a part of the first induction class in history.
Death
Cruz died on August 30, 2005, of a brain hemorrhage. After his death on August 31, 2005, they decided to name the sports complex in San Juan in his honor. And before a Puerto Rico game against Venezuela, a moment of silence was held in his memory.
See also
References
External links
- 1942 births
- 2005 deaths
- Baloncesto Superior Nacional players
- Basketball players at the 1959 Pan American Games
- Basketball players at the 1960 Summer Olympics
- Basketball players at the 1964 Summer Olympics
- Basketball players at the 1967 Pan American Games
- Basketball players at the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Basketball players at the 1971 Pan American Games
- Basketball players at the 1972 Summer Olympics
- Basketball players at the 1975 Pan American Games
- Basketball players at the 1976 Summer Olympics
- Centers (basketball)
- FIBA Hall of Fame inductees
- Olympic basketball players of Puerto Rico
- Pan American Games medalists in basketball
- Pan American Games silver medalists for Puerto Rico
- Puerto Rican men's basketball players
- Puerto Rico men's national basketball team players
- Recipients of the Olympic Order
- Seattle Redhawks men's basketball players
- Sportspeople from San Juan, Puerto Rico