Jim "Jimmy" Woudstra (born June 22, 1952) is an American-Dutch former professional basketball player. He was a standout college player for the Northwestern Red Raiders, where he is the all-time scoring leader. Woudstra played six seasons of professional basketball in the Dutch

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

, for

Punch Delft Delftse Studenten Basketball Vereniging Punch or simply Punch Delft is a Dutch amateur basketball team from the city of Delft. The team plays in the Promotiedivisie, the Dutch second division.Parker Leiden ZZ Leiden Basketball, also known as Zorg en Zekerheid Leiden, is a basketball club based in Leiden, Netherlands. The club plays in the BNXT League, the domestic first tier league. Their home games are played at Vijf Meihal, which has 2,000 seat ...

. He also represented the Netherlands national team.

Early life

Woudstra grew up in

Orange City, Iowa Orange City is a city in, and the county seat of, Sioux County, Iowa, United States. Its population was 6,267 in the 2020 census, an increase from 5,582 in 2000. Named after William of Orange, the community maintains its Dutch settler tradition ...

. He attended Unity Christian High School, where he was named an Iowa All-State player in 1970. He also was active in athletics

College career

Woudstra played for the Northwestern Red Raiders of the Northwestern College. He scored 2,368 points over his college career, and so Woudstra is the Red Raiders' all-time leader in points scored. He was named MVP in 1973 and 1974 and was named to the all-conference team four times. He was inducted into the Northwestern Hall of Fame in 1983.

Professional career

In 1974, Woudstra received a letter from Theo Kinsbergen, who attended him on his Dutch heritage and invited him to play professionally in the Netherlands. He refused the offer and started working for the Christian High School in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

. There, he met

Dan Cramer Daniel John Cramer (born October 31, 1985) is an American retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 2009 until 2014, Cramer made his professional debut with the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) and was a competitor on SpikeTV's ' ...

who had already been playing in the Netherlands. The following year, he joined

Punch Delft Delftse Studenten Basketball Vereniging Punch or simply Punch Delft is a Dutch amateur basketball team from the city of Delft. The team plays in the Promotiedivisie, the Dutch second division.Bill Sheridan William Sheridan (born January 27, 1959) is an American football coach who is currently the linebackers coach for the Arlington Renegades. Sheridan was previously the defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football Le ...

. Woudstra averaged 18.3 points in his rookie season (1975–76). In 1978, Woudstra moved to

Parker Leiden ZZ Leiden Basketball, also known as Zorg en Zekerheid Leiden, is a basketball club based in Leiden, Netherlands. The club plays in the BNXT League, the domestic first tier league. Their home games are played at Vijf Meihal, which has 2,000 seat ...

after three years with Punch.

National team career

After debuting in 1975, Woudstra played for the Netherlands national team and played with the team at

EuroBasket 1977 The 1977 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1977, was the twentieth FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. Venues Group stage Group A – Liège Group B – Ostend ...

and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. He averaged 16.7 points (1977) and 17.7 points (1979) per game. Woudstra played 73 total games for the Netherlands.

Personal

Woudstra lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He has a nephew, Brandon Woudstra, who also played professional basketball in the Netherlands.

References

1952 births Dutch men's basketball players American men's basketball players Northwestern Red Raiders People from Sioux County, Iowa Forwards (basketball) DSBV Punch players ZZ Leiden players Living people {{DEFAULTSORT:Woudstra, Jim