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Jimmy Woudstra

Jim Woudstra
Woudstra in 1980
Personal information
Born (1952-06-11) June 11, 1952 (age 72)
Sioux County, Iowa
NationalityAmerican / Dutch
Listed height2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)
Career information
High schoolUnity Christian HS
(Orange City, Iowa)
CollegeNorthwestern
Playing career1975–1981
PositionSmall forward
Career history
1976–1978Punch Delft
1978–1981Parker Leiden
Career highlights and awards

Jim "Jimmy" Woudstra (born June 22, 1952) is an American-Dutch former professional basketball player. He was a standout college player for the Northwestern Red Raiders, where he is the all-time scoring leader. Woudstra played six seasons of professional basketball in the Dutch Eredivisie, for Punch Delft and Parker Leiden. He also represented the Netherlands national team.

Early life

Woudstra grew up in Orange City, Iowa. He attended Unity Christian High School, where he was named an Iowa All-State player in 1970.[1] He also was active in athletics

College career

Woudstra played for the Northwestern Red Raiders of the Northwestern College. He scored 2,368 points over his college career, and so Woudstra is the Red Raiders' all-time leader in points scored. He was named MVP in 1973 and 1974 and was named to the all-conference team four times. He was inducted into the Northwestern Hall of Fame in 1983.[2]

Professional career

In 1974, Woudstra received a letter from Theo Kinsbergen, who attended him on his Dutch heritage and invited him to play professionally in the Netherlands. He refused the offer and started working for the Christian High School in Denver. There, he met Dan Cramer who had already been playing in the Netherlands. The following year, he joined Punch Delft as he was recruited by coach Bill Sheridan.[3] Woudstra averaged 18.3 points in his rookie season (1975–76).[4]

In 1978, Woudstra moved to Parker Leiden after three years with Punch.

National team career

After debuting in 1975, Woudstra played for the Netherlands national team and played with the team at EuroBasket 1977 and 1979. He averaged 16.7 points (1977) and 17.7 points (1979) per game.[5]

Woudstra played 73 total games for the Netherlands.[6]

Personal

Woudstra lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[3] He has a nephew, Brandon Woudstra, who also played professional basketball in the Netherlands.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Unity Christian Boy's Basketball - Iowa High School Sports". sites.google.com. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  2. ^ "Jim Woudstra (1983) - Hall of Fame". Northwestern College Athletics. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Roggen, Fred (September 21, 2020). "Jim Woudstra, nog altijd de vriendelijkheid zelve". Fred Roggen's basketball en wielerverhalen (in Dutch). Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  4. ^ "Jim Woudstra Basketbal statistieken Spelers Dossier - NBB Database, basketball statistieken". db.basketball.nl. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  5. ^ "archive.fiba.com: Players". archive.fiba.com. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  6. ^ "Oranje Internationals". Oranje Basketball (in Dutch). Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  7. ^ Kramp, Van onze medewerker Rob (December 12, 2005). "Gezocht: een 'galbak' met veel klasse". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved September 10, 2022.