Ed Palubinskas
Edward Sebastian "Ed" Palubinskas (born September 17, 1950) is an Australian former professional basketball player and coach.
Playing career
College
Palubinskas started his collegiate career at Ricks Junior College in Rexburg, Idaho in 1970, where he led the U.S. in free throw percentage with 92.4%. He holds the record for the most consecutive free throws in a game (14) and 43 consecutive for the season. He was also selected as an All-American that year while breaking most records at Ricks College which is now BYU-Idaho. Palubinskas then transferred to Louisiana State University, after playing in the Munich Olympics where he was second leading scorer missing the Olympic scoring title by one point. At LSU, Palubinskas averaged 18.6 ppg and was selected to the All-SEC Coaches Team.
Professional
Palubinskas was selected in the 1975 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks in the 3rd round. He was then traded to the New Orleans Jazz and drafted in the 8th round of the ABA draft by the Utah Stars. Palubinskas never played in the NBA.[1]
Olympics
After being the 2nd leading scorer in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Palubinskas was the top overall scorer in 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. He set three Olympic scoring records in Montreal, including the record for most points scored in a single Olympics (269), which was broken by Brazilian Oscar Schmidt during the 1988 Summer Olympics.
The most points he scored in one game was 48 against Mexico in overtime.[2]
He is a member of the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame.[3]
Coaching career
Palubinskas took a position as shooting coach to Shaquille O'Neal with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2000-01 NBA season. Palubinskas also worked with Brandon Bass and Dwight Howard.[4]
Career highlights
- "Mr. Basketball Australia" - 1970
- 1972 and 1976 All-World Olympic Team.
- Most points scored in Olympic history (269) - 1976
- Guinness book world record- most free throws (8) made in 2 minutes blindfolded in Phoenix AZ. at NBA ALL-Star weekend [5]
Personal life
Palubinskas was born to a Lithuanian father and Russian mother.[6][7]
References
- ↑ Levinson, Mason. "Bring It on LeBron, Says Free-Throw Specialist in Casino Contest". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
- ↑ "Ed Palubinskas, Australia's first basketball great". Australian Olympic Committee. Jan 1, 2000. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
- ↑ "Basketball Australia Hall of Fame". Basketball Australia. Archived from the original on 2008-08-02. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
- ↑ "Mystery at the charity stripe: What has happened to the free throw?". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
- ↑ Guinness World Records 2010: Thousands of New Records in The Book of the Decade!, Craig Glenday, p. 456.
- ↑ "Anti-Hack-A-Shaq Coach Palubinskas". Pro Bball Report. July 25, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
- ↑ "LEGENDS ISSUE: Perfection, at the line and in life, is the goal Ed Palubinskas, the world's greatest free throw shooter, aims for". Tiger Rag Magazine. July 13, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
External links
- Historical Vignette: Ed Palubinskas, Australia's first basketball great - Australian Olympic Committee
- Eddie Palubinskas profile at sports-reference.com