Jeff Wallace Nordgaard (born February 23, 1973) is an American-born naturalized Polish former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player.

Early life

Nordgaard's father, John Nordgaard, was a biology teacher and guidance counselor at Dawson-Boyd High School and at one time its head basketball coach. When playing basketball at Dawson-Boyd High School in 1990, as a junior, Jeff scored 41 points in an 86–78 win over Canby, to set a new team record. In 1991 he became the first player in Minnesota state history to achieve a

quadruple double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: point (basketball), points, rebound (basketball), rebounds, assist (basketball), assists ...

.Minnesota State High School League http://www.mshsl.org/mshsl/records.asp?actnum=402

Basketball career

He played college basketball for the

Green Bay Phoenix The Green Bay Phoenix, previously known as the UW–Green Bay Phoenix and UWGB Phoenix, are the athletic teams of the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. A total of 15 Phoenix athletic teams compete in the Horizon League of NCAA Division I. The s ...

at the

University of Wisconsin–Green Bay The University of Wisconsin–Green Bay (UW-Green Bay, UWGB, or Green Bay) is a public university in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with regional campuses in Marinette, Wisconsin, Marinette, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Manitowoc, and Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Shebo ...

. He finished his college hoops career in March 1996 and in May was named "Basketball Man of the Year" in Wisconsin. Nordgaard was drafted by the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

in the second round of the

1996 NBA draft The 1996 NBA draft was the 50th draft in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held on June 26, 1996 at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting college basketball play ...

. He began his professional career in Europe, spending the 1996–97 season with two clubs,

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

(

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) and Patronato Bilbao ( Spain 2nd). The following season he briefly played for the Bucks before finishing the season with the CBA's

Fort Wayne Fury The Fort Wayne Fury was a professional basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1991 through the cessation of the CBA on February 8, 2001. History The team played at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne ...

. Nordgaard then returned to Europe, first going to

Viola Reggio Calabria Viola Reggio Calabria was an Italian professional basketball club based in Reggio Calabria, Calabria. At its heyday the club was renowned for discovering talented players who would go on to play at the highest level, for example five former pla ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

for the 1998–99 season, where he was a teammate of future NBA star

Manu Ginóbili Emanuel David Ginóbili Maccari (, , ; born 28 July 1977) is an Argentine former professional basketball player. Over a 23-year professional career, he became one of only two players (along with Bill Bradley) to have won a EuroLeague title, an ...

. The next season he returned to France with Besançon BCD. Nordgaard briefly returned to America in 2000 with the

Indiana Legends Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th st ...

in the ABA before signing a contract that brought him back to France with

Chalon Chalon may refer to: Culture * Chalon people, a Native American tribe of California * Chalon language, an Ohlone language spoken by the Chalon people Places * Chalon, Isère, formerly Châlons, in France's Isère ''département'' * Le Chalon, in ...

. In 2001 Nordgaard went to Poland, joining

Anwil Włocławek Anwil is a municipality in the district of Sissach in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. History Anwil is first mentioned in 1276. Geography Anwil has an area, , of . Of this area, or 63.6% is used for agricultural purposes, whil ...

. He then moved to

Polonia Warsaw Polonia Warsaw ( pl, Polonia Warszawa, ), founded on 19 November 1911, is the oldest existing Varsovian sports club, best known for its football and basketball teams. It also has track and field, swimming, chess, mountain biking, and contract ...

in 2003. Nordgaard was especially well-traveled in the 2004–05 season, first returning to Italy to play for Roseto, transferring to

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

power

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

, and ending the season back at Polonia. The following year he signed with another Polish club,

Prokom Trefl Sopot Arka Gdynia is a Polish professional basketball team, based in Gdynia. The team plays in the Polish PLK. The club's sponsorship name comes from the company Asseco. Historically the team is one of the most successful in Poland, mainly because of ...

, and stayed there through the 2006–07 season. Nordgaard moved to

AZS Koszalin AZS Koszalin is a Polish basketball team, based in Koszalin. AZS currently plays in the I Liga, the second tier Polish basketball league. History The AZS Koszalin sports club was founded on 8 October 1968. The founding fathers participating in th ...

for the 2007–08 season and decided to stay for the 2008–09 season.

Personal life

During his time in Poland, Nordgaard took out Polish citizenship, and played for the Polish national team. On February 15, 2003, a son, Dawson John Nordgaard, was born to Jeff and Alexis Nordgaard.

References

External links

Career statistics

Koszalin profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nordgaard, Jeff 1973 births Living people American emigrants to Poland American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Poland American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Asseco Gdynia players AZS Koszalin players Basketball players from Minnesota Besançon BCD players Fort Wayne Fury players Green Bay Phoenix men's basketball players JDA Dijon Basket players KK Włocławek players Milwaukee Bucks draft picks Milwaukee Bucks players Naturalized citizens of Poland Olympiacos B.C. players People from Dawson, Minnesota Polish men's basketball players Polonia Warszawa (basketball) players Roseto Sharks players Small forwards Viola Reggio Calabria players Naturalised sports competitors Polish expatriate basketball people in Italy Polish expatriate basketball people in Greece