Steve Puidokas

Steve Puidokas
Personal information
Born	April 12, 1955; Chicago, Illinois
Died	August 12, 1994 (aged 39); Sardinia, Italy
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	265 lb (120 kg)
Career information
High school	St. Laurence (Burbank, Illinois)
College	Washington State (1973–1977)
NBA draft	1977: 3rd round, 57th overall pick
	Selected by the Washington Bullets
Position	Center
Career highlights and awards
	4× Second-team All-Pac-8 (1974–1977); No. 55 retired by Washington State Cougars; Third-team Parade All-American (1973);
	Stats at Basketball Reference

Steven John Puidokas (April 12, 1955 – August 12, 1994) was an American professional basketball player in Europe.^[1] He played college basketball for the Washington State Cougars from 1973 to 1977.^[2]^[3] He left Washington State as both their all-time leading scorer with 1,894 points and all-time leading rebounder with 992 rebounds. He was inducted posthumously into the Pac-12 Conference Men's Basketball Hall of Honor in 2012.^[2]

Puidokas was the first Washington State men's basketball player to have his number (55) retired, and remained the only one until the school retired Klay Thompson's in 2020.^[4]

As a high school player, Puidokas was named a third-team All-American by Parade Magazine in 1973.^[5]

Personal life

In 1955, Steve Puidokas was born in a Lithuanian American family of John Julian Puidokas and Genovaitė Giedraitis in Chicago.^[6] Puidokas was married to an Italian woman and had five children. He died at the age of 39 because of problems with his heart while living in Sardinia, Italy.^[6]

References

^ Newnham, Blaine (February 14, 1997). "Puidokas' Impact Great Even Without WSU Scoring Record". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015.
^ ^a ^b Degerman, Eric (March 5, 2012). "Pac-12 to honor WSU great Puidokas during tournament". Tri-City Herald. Archived from the original on May 5, 2012.
^ Weaver, Dan (September 12, 2006). "The life and times of Steve Puidokas". Scout.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2012.
^ "WSU Athletics to Retire Klay Thompson's Jersey" (Press release). Washington State Cougars. September 30, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
^ "Prep All-America". Pomona Progress-Bulletin. March 30, 1973. p. 24. Retrieved August 7, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "Pamiršta žvaigždė: laiką aplenkęs Čikagos lietuvis, kuriam prilygsta tik Klay Thompsonas". DELFI (in Lithuanian). Retrieved March 6, 2021.

This biographical article relating to a United States basketball player, coach, or other figure born in the 1950s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Newnham, Blaine (February 14, 1997). "Puidokas' Impact Great Even Without WSU Scoring Record". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015.

[degerman-2] Degerman, Eric (March 5, 2012). "Pac-12 to honor WSU great Puidokas during tournament". Tri-City Herald. Archived from the original on May 5, 2012.

[3] Weaver, Dan (September 12, 2006). "The life and times of Steve Puidokas". Scout.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2012.

[4] "WSU Athletics to Retire Klay Thompson's Jersey" (Press release). Washington State Cougars. September 30, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2019.

[5] "Prep All-America". Pomona Progress-Bulletin. March 30, 1973. p. 24. Retrieved August 7, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.

[delfi-6] "Pamiršta žvaigždė: laiką aplenkęs Čikagos lietuvis, kuriam prilygsta tik Klay Thompsonas". DELFI (in Lithuanian). Retrieved March 6, 2021.

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