Rudometkin's No. 44 Jersey To Be Retired Sunday
December 02, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2010
USC's seventh-leading scorer and fourth-leading rebounder all-time John Rudometkin will have his No. 44 jersey retired as part of a ceremony to honor the 1961 Trojan league championship team at halftime of the game vs. Texas on Dec. 5 which starts at 7:30 p.m.
In his three-year career spanning the 1960-62 seasons, Rudometkin averaged 18.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Rudometkin earned All-America honors in 1961 and 1962 and was named the team MVP all three seasons he played varsity for USC. Two times in his 79-game career at USC Rudometkin posted 20-point, 20-rebound games, registering 21 points and 21 rebounds vs. Denver on Sept. 28, 1961 and recording 23 points and 21 rebounds at Wyoming on Dec. 22, 1961. He was the 11th pick in the 1962 NBA Draft, but lasted only three seasons in the NBA with the New York Knicks and San Francisco Warriors as his career was cut short due to non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
The 1960-61 USC men's basketball team went 21-8 and won the AAWU championship with a 9-3 record, the Trojans' last regular season outright conference championship. Members of the 1960-61 team expected to be on hand for the ceremony include Chris Appel, Verne Ashby, Bob Benedetti, Will Carleton, Neil Carleton, Pete Hillman, Bill Ledger, Gordon Martin, Bill Parsons and Wells Sloniger. Tony Psaltis, who was an assistant coach on that team and passed away on Oct. 30 this year, will be represented by his sons.
