Mike Stewart (born 1950) is a retired American professional basketball player. He best known for his college career at

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...

, where he was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year in 1972. He is the father of former

NBA 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 St ...

player Michael "Yogi" Stewart.

College career

Stewart, a 6'10" tall center, played college basketball at the University of Santa Clara, from 1970 to 1973. After redshirting in what would have been his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

year, he was a three-year starter for the Broncos, and he led the team in scoring all three years. As a junior in the 1971–72 season, Stewart averaged 21.2

points Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

and 9.7

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game. He also shot a 64.7% in field goal percentage. He was named the WCC Player of the Year, and he was also named an All-American, by the

Helms Athletic Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership ...

.2009-10 Santa Clara men's basketball media guide
accessed October 22, 2011 His strong college season led to him being one of 28 players that was given an invitation to Team USA's training camp trials for the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. However, he did not make the USA's 12 man 1972 Summer Olympics team. Since Stewart had redshirted in college, he was eligible to be drafted professionally. He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls, in the 6th round of the 1972 NBA Draft, with the 95th overall pick. He was also drafted by The Floridians of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

(ABA). However, he chose to return to Santa Clara for his final season of college eligibility. In his final college season, Stewart averaged 18.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. He was again named to the All-

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

First team. He was inducted into Santa Clara's Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987.

Professional career

In the

1973 NBA Draft The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...

, Stewart was selected in the 7th round, by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

, with the 120th overall pick of the draft. However, he never played in the

. He instead played briefly in the Western Basketball League, with the Martinez Muirs. Stewart then headed to France, where he played for seven years, with AS Merck and AS Monaco. He was a standout for those teams, and he was later named to AS Monaco Basket's club Hall of Fame.Monaco Basket historie (French)
, accessed October 23, 2011

Personal life

Mike Stewart is the father of Michael "Yogi" Stewart, who played several years in the

References

External links

Sports-Reference.com NCAA College StatsSanta Clara Hall of Fame Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Mike 1950 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in France American men's basketball players AS Monaco Basket players Basketball players from California Berck Basket Club players Boston Celtics draft picks Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls draft picks Miami Floridians draft picks Santa Clara Broncos men's basketball players