Gino Sovran
Gino Sovran (born December 17, 1924) is a Canadian former National Basketball Association player.
Born in Windsor, Ontario Sovran attended Kennedy Collegiate Institute and was a top basketball player at Assumption College, scoring more than 1,000 points over three seasons, and playing as team captain in the 1943-44 and 1944-45 seasons. He played for University of Detroit Mercy in 1945-46 where he was the team's leading scorer. Sovran then returned to the Assumption team to help it win the Ontario and Eastern Canada senior basketball championships in 1946 before losing to the Victoria Dominoes for the national title.
From there, Sovran joined the newly formed Toronto Huskies professional team that competed in the Basketball Association of America (which later evolved into the National Basketball Association). Along with former Assumption teammate Hank Biasatti, he was one of two Canadians to play for the Huskies in their first and only season in 1946-47. Sovran was signed by the Huskies about two weeks into the season, making his professional debut on November 22, 1946 against the Boston Celtics. He appeared in six games[citation needed].
Sovran was also a competitive track and field athlete, setting regional records in the high jump and triple jump while a student.
He has been inducted into the University of Windsor Alumni Sports Hall of Fame (1997) and the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame (2002).
Away from sports, Sovran earned a doctoral degree from the University of Minnesota and worked as a research engineer for General Motors. He is believed to be the last surviving Huskies player.
External links
- Articles with unsourced statements from August 2014
- 1924 births
- Living people
- Basketball people from Ontario
- Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States
- Canadian basketball players
- Detroit Titans men's basketball players
- General Motors former executives
- Sportspeople from Windsor, Ontario
- Toronto Huskies players
- University of Minnesota alumni
