Rudy LaRusso

Rudolph A. LaRusso (November 11, 1937 – July 9, 2004)<ref name="Crowe">Template:Cite news</ref> was an American professional basketball player who was a five-time All-Star in the National Basketball Association (NBA).<ref name="google">Template:Cite book</ref> He was nicknamed "Roughhouse Rudy."<ref name="google2">Template:Cite book</ref>

Early life

LaRusso was Jewish, and was born in Brooklyn, New York.<ref name="Crowe"/><ref name="jewsinsports">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="google3">Template:Cite book</ref> He attended James Madison High School in Brooklyn.<ref name=autogenerated1>The Los Angeles Lakers Encyclopedia – Richard J. Shmelter – Google Books</ref> LaRusso, whose mother was Jewish and father was Italian, won All-City honors and was later inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> He attended and graduated from Dartmouth College.<ref name="google2"/><ref name="google4">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1959, playing for Dartmouth, he grabbed 32 rebounds in a game against Columbia, tying an Ivy League record.<ref name="google4"/> He also set Dartmouth records for rebounds in a season (503) and career (1,239), and was twice named All-Ivy League.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

Professional career

Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers (1960–1967)

He was taken by the Minneapolis Lakers in the second round of the 1959 NBA draft out of Dartmouth College, and played eight years with them and two for the San Francisco Warriors. On November 26, 1959, he scored 15 points and 20 rebounds in a 95–114 loss to the Cincinnati Royals.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He became the second Lakers rookie to have grabbed at least 20 rebounds in a single game, joining teammate Elgin Baylor. On February 24, 1960, he scored a season-high 27 points in a 110–131 loss to the Boston Celtics.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In his second year, LaRusso slightly improved his statistics from his rookie season. In his second game of the season, LaRusso recorded a career-high 28 points in a 96–112 loss to the St. Louis Hawks.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1962, he scored 50 points, at that point the most ever by a Jewish NBA basketball player, in a game for the Lakers against the St. Louis Hawks.<ref name="google4"/> In 1967–68, he finished seventh in the league with a career-best average of 21.8 ppg.

San Francisco Warriors (1967–1969)

Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke made a push to get rid of LaRusso from the team in the midst of a miserable 1966-67 season, reportedly calling him a "brute" around the basket. On January 16, 1967, he was sent to the Detroit Pistons alongside a first-round draft pick while Mel Counts would go to the Lakers and the Pistons would give Ray Scott to the Baltimore Bullets. However, LaRusso refused to play for the Pistons, stating that he did not want to uproot his wife (seven months pregnant) and was already on the verge of retiring to focus more on stockbroking. The Bullets did not want to budge on the trade despite the Pistons and Lakers having second thoughts about the matter, and when the trade was ruled to be valid, the Pistons suspended LaRusso, who promptly retired. A few months later in August, his rights were sold to the San Francisco Warriors.<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/1967/01/17/archives/pistons-get-larusso-from-lakers-and-send-scott-to-bullets-in-3club.html</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

He played two seasons with the team, playing over 75 games and averaging over 20 points in each season while being named an All-Star twice. He retired after the 1968-69 season to become an investment banker and sports agent.<ref>https://1959.dartmouth.org/s/1353/images/gid179/editor_documents/obits/larusso.pdf?gid=179&pgid=61&sessionid=f9376b98-ed02-4a26-96b7-2552d017ad78&cc=1</ref>

Player profile

He was a five-time All-Star and was known for his rebounding, tight defense, toughness, and presence.<ref name="google"/><ref name="google2"/>

Personal life

LaRusso had a small cameo role in the Gilligan's Island third-season episode "Bang! Bang! Bang!" as 'Agent Michaels'.

He died of Parkinson's disease in 2004. He has a son, Corey LaRusso, and a daughter from another marriage, Christine Larusso, a Los Angeles-based poet.

Career statistics

NBA

Source<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
Template:Nbay	Minneapolis	71	29.5	.389	.742	9.6	1.2	13.7
Template:Nbay	L.A. Lakers	79*	32.8	.419	.790	9.9	1.7	14.6
Template:Nbay	L.A. Lakers	80*	34.4	.466	.763	10.4	2.2	17.2
Template:Nbay	L.A. Lakers	75	33.4	.422	.718	10.0	2.5	12.3
Template:Nbay	L.A. Lakers	79	34.8	.434	.751	10.1	2.4	12.3
Template:Nbay	L.A. Lakers	77	33.6	.461	.773	9.4	2.6	14.1
Template:Nbay	L.A. Lakers	76	30.5	.457	.787	8.7	2.2	15.4
Template:Nbay	L.A. Lakers	45	28.7	.415	.696	7.8	1.7	12.8
Template:Nbay	San Francisco	79	35.7	.433	.790	9.4	2.3	21.8
Template:Nbay	San Francisco	75	37.1	.410	.794	8.3	2.1	20.7
Career		736	33.3	.431	.767	9.4	2.1	15.6
All-Star		4	17.5	.481	.333	4.3	1.5	7.3 Playoffs Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG 1960 Minneapolis 9 35.7 .424 .771 7.8 2.4 15.4 1961 L.A. Lakers 12* 30.0 .396 .667 8.0 2.0 12.2 1962 L.A. Lakers 13 35.5 .365 .758 9.1 1.7 14.1 1963 L.A. Lakers 13* 35.8 .422 .760 9.8 2.2 14.4 1964 L.A. Lakers 5 37.8 .394 .864 6.0 2.2 9.0 1965 L.A. Lakers 11 35.9 .409 .716 8.1 2.6 15.0 1966 L.A. Lakers 14 28.4 .460 .791 7.1 1.9 11.9 1968 San Francisco 10 38.5 .396 .728 9.9 1.7 20.3 1969 San Francisco 6 35.8 .378 .774 8.5 2.5 18.2 Career 93 34.3 .405 .751 8.4 2.1 14.5 See also List of select Jewish basketball players References External links