John Pinone

Who is John Pinone?

John Gabriel Pinone Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player. Pinone played competitively at South Catholic High School in Hartford, leading the team to the Class L state championship in 1977 and 1979. Early in the 1978-79 season, Pinone and South Catholic defeated Middletown, ending their 80-game winning streak, longest in state history.

Pinone played collegiately for the Villanova Wildcats from 1979 to 1983. He was named a third-team All-American as a senior. Pinone earned first-team All-Big East honors three times, and was a first-team All-Philadelphia Big 5 selection four times. Pinone was the only freshman in Villanova history to lead the team in scoring, and Villanova retired his number 45 in 1995.

He played for the US national team in the 1982 FIBA World Championship, winning the silver medal.

A third-round draftee in 1983, Pinone played seven games in the NBA for the Atlanta Hawks in 1983-84. After spending the rest of the season in the Ohio Mixers of the CBA, earning a place in the '84 CBA All-Star Game, he joined CB Estudiantes in the Spanish Liga ACB in 1984-85, playing there until 1992-93.