Gino Sovran (December 17, 1924 – June 26, 2016) was a Canadian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. Born in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

, Sovran attended

Kennedy Collegiate Institute Honourable W.C. Kennedy Collegiate is a secondary school (grades 9 through 12) located in central Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB). Facility The school is located in the heart of Wind ...

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 The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catho ...

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."Gino Sovran '45"
University of Windsor HOF. Retrieved July 4, 2017. From there, Sovran joined the newly formed Toronto Huskies professional team that competed in the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball Lea ...

(which later evolved into the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

). 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 The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. He appeared in six games,"Gino Sovran Stats"
Basketball Reference. Retrieved July 4, 2017. before being waived by the team on December 29, 1946.Zwerling, Jared (February 22, 2016)
"Living Legend: Gino Sovran Still Recalls Many Memories of NBA’s First Season 70 Years Later"
NBPA. Retrieved July 4, 2017. 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 in 1997 and the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame 2002. Away from sports, Sovran earned a doctoral degree from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

and worked as a research engineer for

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

BAA career statistics

Regular season

References

External links

FrozenHoops.com 100 Greatest Canadian Basketball Players
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sovran, Gino 1924 births 2016 deaths Basketball players from Windsor, Ontario Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States Canadian men's basketball players Detroit Mercy Titans men's basketball players Forwards (basketball) General Motors executives Guards (basketball) NBA players from Canada Toronto Huskies players University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering alumni Canadian emigrants to the United States 20th-century Canadian sportsmen