John Gabriel Pinone Jr. (born February 19, 1961) is a retired American 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.

High school

Pinone played competitively at South Catholic High School in Hartford, leading the team to the Class L state championship in 1977 and 1979. Early in the 1978–79 season, Pinone and South Catholic defeated Middletown, ending their 80-game winning streak, longest in state history.

College career

Pinone played collegiate basketball for Villanova's

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

from 1979 to 1983. He was named a third-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n as a senior. Pinone earned first-team All-

Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...

honors three times, and was a first-team All-

Philadelphia Big 5 The Big 5 is an informal association of college athletic programs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is not a conference, but rather a group of NCAA Division I basketball schools who compete for the city’s collegiate championship. The Big 5 c ...

selection four times. Pinone was the only freshman in Villanova history to lead the team in scoring, and Villanova retired his number 45 in 1995.

Playing career

Clubs

A third-round draftee in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, Pinone played seven games in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) for the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

in the 1983–84 season. After spending the rest of the season in the

Ohio Mixers The Cincinnati Slammers, originally the Ohio Mixers, were a professional basketball team based in Lima, Ohio from 1982 to 1984 and Cincinnati, Ohio from 1984 to 1987. They were members of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). The team was ...

, of the CBA, and earning a place in the 1984 CBA All-Star Game; he joined Estudiantes of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

in the 1984–85 season, and played there through the 1992–93 season. He won the

Spanish Cup The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

in the 1991–92 season, and contributed to Estudiantes reaching the

1992 EuroLeague Final Four The 1992 FIBA European League Final Four, or 1992 FIBA EuroLeague Final Four, was the 1991–92 season's FIBA European League Final Four tournament, organized by FIBA Europe. Partizan won its first title, after defeating Montigalà Joventut i ...

. In his Liga ACB tenure with Estudiantes, Pinone played 12,306 minutes, played in 332 games, scored 6,175 points, secured 2,193 rebounds, and averaged 18.6 points per game. He was selected for the

ACB All-Star Game The ACB contests are the 3-point shootout and slam dunk contests held by the Liga ACB, the top-tier level professional club basketball league in the country of Spain. History From 1986 through 2003, these contests were celebrated during the AC ...

in 1989 and 1991. During the nine seasons he played with Estudiantes, Pinone left a memorable mark in the history of the club, because of his solid team basketball playing style, and his competitive character.

National team

Pinone played for the US national team in the

1982 FIBA World Championship The 1982 FIBA World Championship was the 9th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. The tournament was hosted by Colombia from 15 to 28 August 1982. Qualification Venues Competing nation ...

, where he won the silver medal.

Coaching career

Pinone later became the

Cromwell High School Cromwell High School is the town high school of Cromwell, Connecticut. History In 1811, Cromwell High School occupied the building now used as Belden Library, which is adjacent to the town hall. There were 278 students total in this year. In 1 ...

boys' basketball team

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

, and coached them to a class S state championship in the 2009 and 2018 seasons.

Personal life

Pinone pleaded guilty, in October 2010, to a misdemeanor of filing a false tax return, and in December 2010, he was sentenced to six months of home confinement, six months probation, and a $10,000 fine. Cromwell Coach John Pinone Sentenced In Federal Tax Case
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References

External links

*
Spanish League Archive Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinone, John 1961 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks draft picks Atlanta Hawks players Basketball coaches from Connecticut Basketball players from Hartford, Connecticut CB Estudiantes players High school basketball coaches in Connecticut Liga ACB players Ohio Mixers players Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Hartford, Connecticut United States men's national basketball team players Villanova Wildcats men's basketball players 1982 FIBA World Championship players