Tony Costner (born June 30, 1962) is an American former 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, who was selected by the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

, in the second round (34th pick overall) of the 1984 NBA draft. He played professionally in Europe and in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA). Costner was a tall center, that played in college at

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a Private university, private Jesuits, Jesuit university in Philadelphia, Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Jesuits, Society of J ...

. He is the father of former professional basketball player Brandon Costner.

Early life

Costner graduated from Overbrook High School, in Philadelphia, in 1980. In 2012, Costner was recognized by the ''

Philadelphia Daily News ''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', a daily newspaper in Philadelphia. The ''Dail ...

'', as a Third-Team All City member, on its list of the "Best high school hoops players of the past 35 years".

College career

Costner decided to stay in Philadelphia for his collegiate career. He played at the center position for the Saint Joseph Hawks, from 1980 to 1984. He averaged 14.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game in his college career. As a Senior, Costner averaged 18.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, as Saint Joseph's finished the season with a 20–9 record, under head coach Jim Boyle. On December 30, 1983, Costner scored 47 points in a game versus Alaska-Anchorage, which still stands as the Saint Joseph's single-game scoring record. During his college career, Costner was an Atlantic 10 All-Conference selection in his junior and senior seasons, a three-time All-Big 5 selection, and an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America selection in 1983. In his college career, Costner scored a total of 1,730 career points, to go along with a total of 951 career rebounds.

Professional career

On June 19, 1984, the

NBA 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 ...

, selected Costner in the second round, with the 34th overall pick of the 1984 NBA draft. Costner went on to play pro club basketball in Europe, starting his career with

Basket Napoli Napoli Basket may refer to: * Napoli Basket (2016) Napoli Basket, known for sponsorship reasons as GeVi Napoli, is an Italian professional basketball team of the city of Naples. It's the ''de facto'' successor of the Basket Napoli which was diss ...

. With Las Palmas, Costner averaged 20.4 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game, in 21 regular season games played, during the 1985–86 season. He spent the 1987–88 season with A.P.U. Udine. Costner also played in the

(CBA), with the Tulsa Fast Breakers, Rockford Lightning, Rochester Flyers, and Philadelphia Spirit. He averaged 11.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, in his 54-games career with the Rockford Lightning. In Europe, he also played with

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

(1989–90),

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

(1991–92), Sporting Athens (1992–93),

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

(1993–94), Estudiantes Bahía Blanca (1994), Sporting Athens (1994–96), and Papagou Athens (1996–97).

Personal life

Costner is the father of former North Carolina State and professional player Brandon Costner.

Awards and accomplishments

* Saint Joseph's Men's Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee (1989). *

Philadelphia Big 5 The Philadelphia Big 5, known simply as the "Big 5", is an association of six college athletic programs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is not a conference, but rather a group of NCAA Division I basketball schools who compete for the city’ ...

Hall of Fame Inductee (1990).

References

External links

*
Basketball_Reference.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Costner, Tony 1962 births Living people AEK B.C. players American expatriate basketball people in Argentina American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players S.S. Basket Napoli players CB Gran Canaria players Centers (basketball) Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca basketball players Greek Basket League players Lega Basket Serie A players Liga ACB players Limoges CSP players Montpellier Paillade Basket players Pallalcesto Amatori Udine players Papagou B.C. players Basketball players from Montclair, New Jersey Rochester Flyers players Rockford Lightning players Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball players Sporting basketball players Tulsa Fast Breakers players Washington Bullets draft picks 20th-century American sportsmen