Leo Rautins
| Personal information | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
March 20, 1960 Toronto, Ontario | |||||||||
| Nationality | Canadian | |||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | |||||||||
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) | |||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||
| High school |
St. Michael's (Toronto, Ontario) | |||||||||
| College | ||||||||||
| NBA draft | 1983 / Round: 1 / Pick: 17th overall | |||||||||
| Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers | ||||||||||
| Playing career | 1983–1993 | |||||||||
| Position | Small forward | |||||||||
| Number | 11, 7 | |||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||
| As player: | ||||||||||
| 1983–1984 | Philadelphia 76ers | |||||||||
| 1984 | Atlanta Hawks | |||||||||
| 1985–1986 | Virtus Banco di Roma (Italy) | |||||||||
| 1986–1987 | Citrosil Verona (Italy) | |||||||||
| 1988–1989 | La Crosse Bobcats (CBA) | |||||||||
| 1989–1990 | Pau-Orthez (France) | |||||||||
| 1990–1991 | Sioux Falls Skyforce (CBA) | |||||||||
| 1991 | Mayoral Málaga (Spain) | |||||||||
| 1992 | Coren Ourense (Spain) | |||||||||
| 1992–1993 | Lyon (France) | |||||||||
| As coach: | ||||||||||
| 2005–2011 | Canada men's national basketball team | |||||||||
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | ||||||||||
|
Medals
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Leo Rytis Rautins (born March 20, 1960) is a Canadian broadcaster, former professional basketball player and the former head coach of the Canadian men's national basketball team. Rautins played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was the first Canadian to be drafted in the first round of the NBA draft, by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1983. Rautins' NBA career was waylaid by injury. After a brief retirement, Rautins returned to basketball and played in European professional league from 1985 until 1992. Rautins has been a broadcaster for the Toronto Raptors since the team's inception in 1995.
Playing career
Rautins was a star in high school for Toronto's St. Michael's College School. In 1977, at age 16, he was named to the Canadian senior national team, the youngest player in the team's history to that time.[1] He would be a member of the team until 1992. Rautins completed his national team playing career as Canada was eliminated in the 1992 Tournament of the Americas, the basketball qualifying tournament for the Barcelona Olympics.
Rautins attended the University of Minnesota for his freshman year of college, and Syracuse University for three seasons. At Minnesota, Rautins was named first-team All-Big Ten rookie, averaging 8.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists a game. He left Minnesota for multiple reasons: at Minnesota, he was not required to attend classes, and at Syracuse he would have the opportunity to be the top player.[2] As a member of the Syracuse Orangemen, he averaged 12.1 points, 5.0 assists, and 6.2 rebounds. He is the first player ever to record a triple-double in Big East play, accomplishing the feat twice in the span of a month during his senior year. He was named All-Big East third team and Honorable Mention All-American that year.
In 1983, Rautins became the first Canadian ever drafted in the first round of the NBA draft, but played in only 32 games in the NBA and is considered a "draft bust."[3] The 6 ft 8 in, 215 lb Rautins was selected 17th overall to the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1983 Draft, considered an excellent passer.[3] Unknown to Rautins, he reported to training camp with torn ligaments in his foot[3] which was not treated properly and deteriorated during the season.[2] Hampered by injuries, he played in 28 games as a rookie with the 76ers, averaging just seven minutes a game, 1.5 points, 1 assist, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.7 turnovers. In September 1984, he was traded to the Indiana Pacers for a third-round pick to make room for Charles Barkley under the salary cap[2] but eventually signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Hawks. He played only four games for the Hawks, averaging a mere three minutes a contest and was waived in November 1984.[4] Rautins tried out for other NBA teams and the Continental Basketball Association but was unable to find a spot with another team.[3]
Rautins then left the NBA, returned to Syracuse and did radio and television work.[3] He was a commentator for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) at the 1984 Olympics. In 1985, Rautins returned to playing basketball, moving to Europe. Rautins played in Italy for Serie A1 team Banco Roma (1985–1986) and Serie A2 team Citrosil Verona (1986–1987), in France with Pau Orthez (1989–90 and 1992), and in Spain (1991–92). Rautins then retired from playing. By this time, he had undergone a total of 14 knee operations.
In February 2005, Rautins was named head coach of the Canadian National Team. The team did not qualify for the 2008 Olympics, but did qualify for the 2010 World Championship.[5] He resigned from that position in September 2011, after Canada lost to Panama in the FIBA Americas Tournament.[6]
After retiring from playing, Rautins became a basketball commentator, most notably with the Toronto Raptors television network. He also conducts basketball camps in the summer.[7]
In 2014, Rautins became involved in plans to launch a new Canadian Basketball League. He was named as one of the principals in a proposed Ottawa professional team after the failure of the Ottawa SkyHawks minor professional team.[8] Rautins had been in consideration for the Commissioner position of the National Basketball League of Canada.[9]
Personal life
Rautins was born in Toronto, Ontario. He is of Lithuanian descent from his mother's side of the family.[3] As a youth, he played for Toronto Ausra, a local sports club for children of Lithuanian descent.[10] Rautins and his first wife Maria had four sons: Michael, Andrew (Andy), Jay and Sammy.[11] Andy followed in his father's footsteps, playing for Syracuse and being drafted by the New York Knicks in 2010. Rautins married Jamie Lawson in 2005.[11]
Awards
- 1978 - All-Big Ten Rookie Team[12]
- All-Star - Italian, French and Spanish professional leagues[12]
- 1997 - Canada's Basketball Hall of Fame[13]
- 2000 - Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame[12]
- 2000 - Syracuse University All-Century team[14]
References
- ↑ Winn, Luke (April 20, 2010). "Canada suddenly flush with highly coveted PG prospects". Sports Illustrated. p. 2. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
- 1 2 3 Silva, Edison J. (March 6, 2005). "Leo Rautins: The Originator". BasketBallBuzz.ca. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jasner, Phil (June 30, 1992). "Rautins Has No Regrets". philly.com. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- ↑ "Leo Rautins statistics". basketball-reference.com.
- ↑ Smith, Doug (September 9, 2011). "Leo Rautins resigns as head coach of Canada's men's basketball team". Toronto Star. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- ↑ "Rautins resigns, Canada looks to future". TorontoObserver.ca.
- ↑ Grange, Michael. "Father and son forge a bond on the court". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- ↑ Holder, Gord (December 15, 2014). "Courting Ottawa: Proposed basketball league eyes capital". The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- ↑ Dalla Costa, Morris (February 18, 2014). "Leo Rautins says NBL has lots of room for improvement". London Free Press. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
- ↑ "Leo Rautins open letter to Ausra" (PDF). Ausra Sports Club.
- 1 2 Tenenbaum, Judith (April 2005). "Jamie Lawson and Leo Rautins". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- 1 2 3 "Leo Rautins biography" (PDF). Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- ↑ "Hall of Fame - Canada Basketball". Canada Basketball. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- ↑ Poliquin, Bud (January 13, 2010). "If you missed it, here's a story about the Rautinses -- Andy (the son) and Leo (the dad)". syracuse.com. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
External links
- Orangehoops.org with a Rautins's profile
- FIBA.com with news of Rautins being hired as Canadian Head Coach
- Profile on Rautins and the other 17 Canadians to play in the NBA