Mark Christensen (born November 23, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He led the Úrvalsdeild karla in scoring during the 1978–1979 season.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 23, 1952 |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 198 cm (6 ft 6 in) |
| Career information | |
| College |
|
| Position | Center |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1977–1979 | Þór Akureyri |
| 1979 | → KR |
| 1979–1980 | ÍR |
| As coach: | |
| 1977–1979 | Þór Akureyri |
| 1980 | Iceland (assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
| |
Early life
editCollege career
editChristensen attendted Kearney State College from 1971 to 1975 where he scored 1,070 points over four seasons.[2] He spent the 1975–1976 season with Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario where he was selected to OUAA Men's Basketball First Team All-Star.[3]
Professional career
editIn 1977, Christensen was hired as a player-coach with Þór Akureyri.[4] During his first season with Þór, he was the third leading scorer in the league with 363 points, averaging 25.9 points in 14 games.[5] After finishing with a 4–10 record, Þór had to face Snæfell in two games for which team would play in the Úrvalsdeild karla the following season.[6] Þór won both games with Christensen scoring 31[7] and 28 points in the outings.[8]
In January 1979, Christensen was loaned to KR[9] to participate international tournament in England, where it faced Cincinnati Oaks from the United States, Scottish champions Boroughmuir, and Team Ziebart, which went on to win the English National Basketball League that season. KR finished third in the tournament with Christensen averaging 25.3 points per game.[10]
During his second season, he led the league in scoring with 600 points in 20 games.[11] Despite his scoring prowess, Þór was relegated at the end of the season. Shortly later, Christensen signed with Úrvalsdeild club ÍR.[12] In 20 games for ÍR, Christensen averaged 26.4 points per game.
Úrvalsdeild statistics
edit| Season | Team | Games | Points | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977–78 | Þór Akureyri | 14 | 363 | 25.9 |
| 1978–79 | Þór Akureyri | 20 | 600 | 30.0 |
| 1979–80 | ÍR | 20 | 528 | 26.4 |
| Samtals | 54 | 1491 | 27.6 | |
Coaching career
editChristensen coached Þór Akureyri from 1977 to 1979, accumulating a 7–27 record. He served as an assistant coach to the Icelandic men's national basketball team during the 1980 Polar Cup championships.[13][14]
References
edit- ^ Halldor M. Rafnsson (4 October 1977). "Æfingar daglega". Íslendingur (in Icelandic). pp. 2, 7. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- ^ "MBB Records – Individual Carerer (PDF)" (PDF). lopers.com. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
- ^ "Ontario University Athletics Historic Men's Basketball All-Stars" (PDF). oua.ca. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
- ^ "Hlakka mikið til að fást við þjálfun". Vísir (in Icelandic). 5 October 1977. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- ^ "Dirk Dunbar stigahæstur". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 21 March 1978. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- ^ Gylfi Kristjánsson (8 April 1978). "Ég er alltaf bjartsýnn". Vísir (in Icelandic). p. 21. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- ^ "Heldur Þór sæti sínu". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 11 April 1978. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- ^ "Þór vann Snæfell". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 18 April 1978. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- ^ Gylfi Kristjánsson (4 January 1979). "Körfuknattleiksmenn KR fyrstir af stað". Vísir (in Icelandic). p. 12. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- ^ "KR-ingarnir í þriðja sætinu". Vísir (in Icelandic). 15 January 1979. pp. 14–15. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- ^ ""Það gleymdist að segja mér frá verðbólgunni!" — segir Mark Christensen". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 22 November 1979. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- ^ "Mark til ÍR". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 15 May 1979. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- ^ "Mark veiktist og hélt heim". Vísir (in Icelandic). 10 April 1980. p. 7. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- ^ "Mark kom tll Noregs". Vísir (in Icelandic). 11 April 1980. p. 7. Retrieved 11 June 2019.