American basketball player, small forward
Paul L. Stovall
(August 16, 1948 – January 9, 1978) was an American
basketball
small forward
in the
National Basketball Association
(NBA) for the
Phoenix Suns
. He also was a member of the
San Diego Conquistadors
in the
American Basketball Association
(ABA).He was recruited and played basketball for Pratt Community Junior College straight out of prison. He played
college basketball
at
Arizona State University
.
Early years
[
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Stovall experience a troubled youth, being in jail at the Kansas State Industrial Reformatory in Hutchinson after being convicted for a series of crimes, before even attending high school. It was while serving time, that he developed physically and as a basketball player. He was a part of the prison basketball team that toured small towns throughout Kansas between 1966 and 1967. On one occasion, the team competed against
Pratt Community College
, where head coach Jim Douglas had a chance to scout him.
[1]
He attended
Wichita North High School
briefly because of his problems with the law, forcing him to earn his diploma through correspondence while in prison.
College career
[
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Stovall enrolled at
Pratt Community College
. He appeared in 58 games, averaging 30.3 points for a total of 1,758 points and also registered 22.2 rebounds per game for a total of 1,288 rebounds, while finishing as the eighth-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder in junior-college basketball history.
[1]
He transferred to
Arizona State University
at the end of his sophomore season. As a senior, he averaged 21.8 points (seventh in school history). He scored a career high against the
University of New Mexico
. He posted a career high 21 rebounds against the
University of Utah
.
[2]
Stovall averaged 19 points and 12.4 rebounds in two seasons. He led his teams in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage during both seasons. He graduated ranked first all-time among two-year players in school history in scoring average (19 points), rebounding average (12.4) and total rebounds (647).
[3]
In 2006, he was inducted into the Arizona State University Sports Hall of Fame. In 2013, he was inducted into the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame.
Professional career
[
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]
Phoenix Suns
[
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]
Stovall was selected by the
Los Angeles Lakers
in the 2nd round (22nd overall) of the
1972 NBA draft
. On September 19, 1972, he was traded to the
Phoenix Suns
, in exchange for a 1974 2nd round draft pick (#22-
Truck Robinson
) and a future draft choice.
Stovall appeared in 25 games. On September 14, 1973, he was waived by the
Phoenix Suns
.
San Diego Conquistadors
[
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]
In 1973, he signed with the
San Diego Conquistadors
in the
American Basketball Association
. He appeared in 13 games.
He averaged 4.6
points per game
in his career, competing for the
Phoenix Suns
and
San Diego Conquistadors
.
[4]
Personal life
[
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]
In January 1978, he died in a
motorcycle
accident at the age of 29, while driving in a rainstorm.
[1]
Notes
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]