Rick Apodaca

Infobox NBA Player
name = Rick Apodaca

---

| width=150
caption =
nickname =
league = BSN
height_ft = 6
height_in = 3
weight_lbs = 190
position = Guard, Forward (internationally)
birth_date = birth date and age|1980|7|1
birth_place = North Bergen, New Jersey
death_date =
death_place =
team = Santurce Crabbers
college = Hofstra
nationality = Puerto Rico
draft = undrafted
draft_team =
draft_year =
career_start = 2000
former_teams = Bayamón Cowboys (2000)
Arecibo Captains (2002;2003;2004)
Westchester Wilfire (2003)
San German Athletics (2005;2006)
Huntsville Flight (2003-2004)
Polpak Swiecie (2005-2006)
Legea Scafati (2006-2007)
Beşiktaş Cola Turka (2007-2008)
Santurce Crabbers (2008-present)
awards =

Rick Apodaca (born in July 1, 1980) in North Bergen, New Jersey) is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player. Apodaca has played in the NCAA, USBL, NBDL, and the National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico (BSN) with the Arecibo Captains, Bayamón Cowboys, and San German Athletics. Apodaca has played internationally in Poland, Italy and Turkey. Apodaca is a member of the 2004 Puerto Rican National Basketball Team that defeated the United States in the 2004 Olympic Games.

Biography

Rick Apodaca debuted in the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a member of Hofstra's basketball team in 1999, and was an All-America East Rookie selection. He led the team in scoring during his junior year with an average of 17.7 points per game, and was an All Colonial Athletic Association second team selection. During his senior saeson Apodaca was selected to the All Colonial Athletic Association first team during the tournament's preseason, but was unable to play during the first fourteen games of the season after being suspended when he failed a drug test. [cite web| author=Jim O'Connel| url=http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/stories/011603abc.html| title=Two Starters Return After 14-Game Suspensions| date=2003-01-16| accessdate=2007-07-05] Apodaca made his professional debut in 2000, playing for the Bayamón Cowboys in the National Superior Basketball league in Puerto Rico, and was selected as the league's Rookie of the Year during this season. Rick played his first two seasons for the team before being traded to the Arecibo Captains in 2002. He was a member of the Captains during the next three years, and was selected to play in the league's All Star Game for the first time in 2002, he was also selected during the following two years. During 2003 Apodaca played for the Westchester Wilfire in the United States Basketball League and the Orlando Magic in the Nationa Basketball Association's Summer League. Apodaca played with the Huntsville Flight of the National Basketball Development League during the 2004-2005 season. In the 2005 offseason the Arecibo Captains traded him to the San Germán Athletics for Larry Ayuso, following his participation with Huntsville in the NBDL he joined the team and was selected to the All Star Game for a fifth time. Apodaca has been a member of the Puerto Rican National Basketball Team since 2002. Apodaca has participated in the World Championships in Indianapolis in 2002 and the 2003 Pan American Games where Puerto Rico won the bronze medal.Apodaca played in the 2004 Summer Olympics in a game where Puerto Rico defeated the United States, during the game Apodaca suffered an injury that left him unable to compete for the rest of the tournament. Apodaca competed with Puerto Rico in the 2006 World Championships in Japan.

Apodaca was part of Polpak Swiecie for the 2005-2006 season of the Dominet Bank Ekstraliga. Following his participation with the team he was selected as the league's Most Valuable Player. During the 2006-2007, Apodaca participated with the Scafati Basket in the Serie A division in Italy. During this time Apodaca was selected to play in the league's All-Star Game and finished fourth in scoring in the league with an average of 19.7 points per game.cite web| author=Raúl Álzaga Sánchez-Bretón | url=http://www.primerahora.com/noticia/baloncesto/accion_deportiva/con_la_mira_en_la_nba/66561| title=Con la mira en la NBA| publisher=Primera Hora| date=2007-05-18 | accessdate=2007-07-04]

Apodaca played as part of the Turkish club Beşiktaş Cola Turka in that coutry's national championship and the ULEB Cup. Apodaca participated with the Santurce Crabbers in the semifinals of the 2008 National Superior Basketball season. In June 2008 the national team's gerency announnced that Apodaca didn't have a guaranteed sopt in the roster. Following this Apodaca notified to them on June 15, 2008, that he would need time to attend some personal issues and take time off to ponder about his international future. [cite book| title=Apodaca pide tiempo| author=Noel Piñeiro Planas | publisher=El Nuevo Día| chapter=Deportes| location=Puerto Rico| date=2008-06-16]

Career highlights

2000 BSN Rookie of the Year

2003 Pan American Games Bronze Medal 2003 Pre-Olympic Tournament Bronze Medal

2005 Polish League Most Valuable Player

2006 Italian Division I League A All-Star Game Starter

Career stats

Apodaca's NBA Development League stats in 25 games are 7 games started, 267 points with a 10.7 PPG, 42 assists with a 1.7 APG, 37 rebounds with a 1.5 RPG, 19 steals with a 0.7 SPG, 5 blocks with a 0.1 BPG, .412 field goal percentage, .390 three-point percentage and .849 free-throw percentage.

References

External links

* [http://www.hoopshype.com/players/rick_apodaca.htm HoopsHype.com Biography]
* [http://www.nba.com/nbdl/players/rick_apodaca.html NBA-DL Biography]
* [http://www.basketball-reference.com/nbdl/players.cgi?player=apodari01d Basketball Reference Player Page]