Paul Stanley (born 1963) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

Waynesburg University Waynesburg University is a private university in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1850 and offers undergraduate and graduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. The university enrolls over 2,500 students, including ...

and had a four-year career in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL), where he was the league's scoring champion in 1987. Between 1981 and 1985, Stanley played four seasons of college basketball for the Waynesburg University Yellow Jackets. He graduated as the school's all-time leader in totals points, finishing with 1,916 points in 111 career games. He led the team in scoring as a sophomore (16.4 ppg) and senior (21.7 ppg), and during his senior season, he had a 38-point effort against

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

. In

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

, Stanley made his debut in the Australian NBL with the

Melbourne Tigers Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 as ...

. He scored 40 points or more five time, including having a 50-point game. In 25 games, he averaged 33.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. For the

1987 NBL season The 1987 NBL season was the ninth season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 14 teams contested the league. Three of the Melbourne-based clubs rebranded themselves in the off season, with the Nundawading Spectres renaming ...

, Stanley joined the

Hobart Devils The Hobart Devils are a defunct professional basketball team that competed in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL). Based in Hobart, Tasmania, the team was the only representative from the state of Tasmania for the majority of its ten ...

. In May 1987, he became the fastest player in NBL history to reach 1,000 career points. He led the league in scoring in 1987, finishing with 920 points in 26 games. He averaged 35.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.3 steals per game. His 35.4 points per game is the seventh-best mark in league history for a single year. In 1988, Stanley played for the Youngstown Pride in the

World Basketball League World Basketball League (WBL) was a minor professional basketball league in the United States and Canada that ran from 1988 to 1992. It was founded as the International Basketball Association in November 1987, before changing its name prior to the ...

. In

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

, Stanley returned to Australia and re-joined the Hobart Devils for the back-end of the season, where in 11 games, he averaged 28.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game. In August 1989, he became the fastest player in NBL history to reach 2,000 career points. He began the 1990 season with the Devils, but only played in the first seven games. In his final professional stint, he averaged 24.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Over 69 games in the NBL, Stanley averaged 32.6 points, which ranks first all time in league history for career points per game with a minimum of 60 games. He also shot 124-for-271 (45.76%) from 3-point range, which ranks second all time in league history for 3-point percentage with a minimum of 100 makes.

References

External links

Interview with Paul StanleyHighlights with the Hobart Devils
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, Paul 1963 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American men's basketball players Basketball players from Pennsylvania Forwards (basketball) Hobart Devils players Melbourne Tigers players Waynesburg Yellow Jackets men's basketball players