Rick Apodaca

Summary

Rick Apodaca (born July 1, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player. Apodaca has played in the NCAA, USBL, NBDL, and the National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico (BSN) with the Arecibo Captains, Bayamón Cowboys, San German Athletics and Leones de Ponce.[1] He also played professional basketball in Poland, Italy and Turkey. Apodaca was a member of the senior Puerto Rican National Basketball Team that defeated the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.

Rick Apodaca
Personal information
Born (1980-07-01) July 1, 1980 (age 43)
North Bergen, New Jersey
NationalityPuerto Rican
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolNorth Bergen
(North Bergen, New Jersey)
CollegeHofstra (1999–2003)
NBA draft2003: undrafted
Playing career2000–2015
PositionShooting guard / small forward
Career history
2000Bayamón Cowboys
2002Arecibo Captains
2003Westchester Wildfire
2003Arecibo Captains
2003–2004Huntsville Flight
2004Arecibo Captains
2005San German Athletics
2005–2006Polpak Swiecie
2006San German Athletics
2006–2007Scafati Basket
2007–2008Beşiktaş Cola Turka
2008Santurce Crabbers
2008Yunnan
2008Basket Club Ferrara
2013Leones de Ponce
2014Caciques de Humacao
2014Indios de Mayagüez
2015Mets de Guaynabo
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men’s basketball
Representing  Puerto Rico
FIBA AmeriCup
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Puerto Rico
Bronze medal – third place 2007 United States
Centrobasket
Gold medal – first place 2003 Mexico
Silver medal – second place 2004 Dominican Republic
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Panama

High school edit

Apodaca, is a native of North Bergen, New Jersey,[2] where he attended North Bergen High School.[3][4] Apodaca was the all-time leader in points scored in Hudson County high school basketball history, surpassing a thirty-five plus year record held by current Fox college basketball analyst Bill Raftery, in 1999. He was also inducted into the Hudson County Sports Hall of Fame.

College career edit

Apodaca debuted in the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a member of Hofstra's basketball team in 1999, and he was an All-America East Rookie selection. He led the team in scoring during his junior year with an average of 17.7 points per game, and was an All Colonial Athletic Association second team selection. During his senior season, Apodaca was selected to the All Colonial Athletic Association first team during the tournament's preseason, but was unable to play during the first fourteen games of the 2005 season.

Professional career edit

In the 2005 off-season, the Arecibo Captains traded Apodaca to the San Germán Athletics for Larry Ayuso. He also played with the Huntsville Flight in the NBDL. Apodaca was a part of Polpak Swiecie, in the 2005–06 season of the Polish League. During the 2006–07 season, Apodaca played with Scafati Basket, in the LBA, in Italy. During that time, he was selected to play in the league's All-Star Game, and he finished fourth in the league in scoring, with an average of 19.7 points per game.[5]

Apodaca also played with the Turkish club Beşiktaş Cola Turka, in that country's national league championship, and in the EuroCup. He played with the Santurce Crabbers, in the semifinals of the 2008 National Superior Basketball season.

National team career edit

Apodaca was a member of the senior Puerto Rican National Basketball Team starting in 2002. He played at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, in Indianapolis in, and at the 2003 Pan American Games, in which Puerto Rico won the bronze medal. He also played at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and in a game where Puerto Rico defeated the United States. During that game, he suffered an injury that left him unable to compete in the rest of the tournament. Apodaca also competed with Puerto Rico at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, in Japan.

In June 2008, the national team's management announced that Apodaca did not have a guaranteed spot on the roster. After that, Apodaca notified them on June 15, 2008, that he needed time to attend to some personal issues, and to take time off to ponder about his national team future.[6]

Career highlights edit

Pro clubs edit

Puerto Rican senior national team edit

Career stats edit

Apodaca's NBA Development League stats, in 25 games played, were: 7 games started, 267 points scored (10.7 points per game), 42 assists (1.7 assists per game), 37 rebounds (1.5 rebounds per game), 19 steals (0.7 steals per game), 5 blocks (0.1 blocks per game), a .412% field goal percentage, a .390% three-point percentage, and an .849% free-throw percentage.

References edit

  1. ^ Temporada Regular 2013. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 24 July 2013. p. 13. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  2. ^ " Apodaca comes clean with troubled year — Suspension for marijuana use won't stop North Bergen native's dream of playing pro basketball". The Hudson Reporter. March 28, 2003.
  3. ^ Monaco, Lou (January 8, 2012). "Bob Hurley, Sr. & Rick Apodaca to be honored at Dan Finn Classic Saturday". NJ.com.
  4. ^ "Rick Apodaca" Archived 2013-10-21 at the Wayback Machine. NBA Development League. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  5. ^ Raúl Álzaga Sánchez-Bretón (2007-05-18). "Con la mira en la NBA". Primera Hora. Archived from the original on 2007-06-18. Retrieved 2007-07-04.
  6. ^ Noel Piñeiro Planas (2008-06-16). "Deportes". Apodaca pide tiempo. Puerto Rico: El Nuevo Día.

External links edit

  • Statistics in BSN
  • HoopsHype.com Biography
  • NBA-DL Biography
  • Basketball Reference Player Page
  • Eurobasket.com Profile