Statesman. Ambassador of the game. Hard worker. A great basketball IQ and once dubbed an “Einstein in Sneakers” by an opposing coach.
Any of those descriptions certainly fit Jon Sundvold, one of the Show-Me State’s most respected figures ever to walk across the sports page, let alone the basketball court.
Certainly, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to name Sundvold a Missouri Sports Legend, meaning a specially commissioned bust, cast in bronze, will be featured along the Legends Walkway.
The ceremony, sponsored by Great Southern Bank and presented by Miller Professional Imaging/Mpix, is Sunday, Nov. 15 as the Hall also inducts 15 individuals. It all begins with a noon reception and 1 p.m. dinner at the Holiday Inn Executive Center. For tickets, call 417-889-3100.
In essence, it means the kid who emerged as a standout point guard at Blue Springs High School in suburban Kansas City — and who starred as coach Norm Stewart’s floor general from 1979 to 1983 — will soon be immortalized alongside the likes of Missouri greats such as Stan Musial, Len Dawson and Stewart.
“Representing the community of Blue Springs and playing for my home state university was an honor,” Sundvold said. “It always felt like there was something extra, and special, when my uniform said University of Missouri as we prepared for other schools. I took the “Show-Me State” motto to heart.”
What a career Sundvold enjoyed, as it seemed as if he was born to be on the hardwood and ultimately showed his terrific basketball IQ.
His parents, Robert and Rachel (Quien) Sundvold, moved the family from Canton, S.D., to Blue Springs when he was at a young age. Basketball soon took hold.
At Blue Springs High School, Sundvold scored more than 2,100 points and was twice selected as All-State before graduating in 1979. His 7.17 assists per game is still top 10 in state high school history.
When he made the jump to Mizzou, he was almost instantly a star. The 6-foot-2 guard became a starter midway through his freshman season, when he averaged more than six points a game. He started every game thereafter until graduating from the University of Missouri Business School in 1983.
With Sundvold handling the point guard role, Mizzou won four consecutive Big 8 Conference championships – making him one of only two players to attain such a feat – and reached four NCAA Tournaments.
The Tigers were 100-28 overall during that stretch, in which Sundvold scored 1,597 points – the third-most in school history – and played 4,289 minutes, still a record today.
In his senior year, he averaged almost 17.1 points and 3.6 assists a game, including 87 percent of his free-throw attempts, and earned NCAA All-American status. Many will remember his 22-footer that beat the buzzer, and Kansas State, to clinch the Tigers’ fourth Big 8 title.
Additionally, Sundvold was voted to the All-Big 8 Conference team after his junior and senior seasons, and won a silver medal with the 1982 USA men’s World Championship team.
It’s probably no wonder that Southern California coach Stan Morrison once called Sundvold an “Einstein in Sneakers,” considering the guard ranked second on Mizzou’s all-time points and assists after the ’83 season.
Twice he totaled more than 100 assists in college. In his four seasons in Columbia, he made more than 51 percent of his field goal attempts. Mizzou eventually retired his No. 20 jersey.
For some players, especially of his size, that might have been the end of the road in college basketball.
However, Sundvold had staying power.
The Seattle SuperSonics made him their first-round draft pick in 1983, and he played nine seasons in the National Basketball Association, including stints with the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat.
The Sonics reached the postseason in his first season and his best year as professional was 1986-1987, when he appeared in 76 games and averaged 11.2 points.
In 1988, the new Miami team selected Sundvold in the expansion draft and, despite playing a bench role, Sundvold led the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage (52.2). That season and the next, he participated in the NBA All-Star 3-point contest.
From there, Sundvold enhanced his financial acumen while in the NBA. It led to him opening Sundvold Financial in Columbia, where he and his wife Tamara, also raised a son, Wilson and two daughters, Caroline and Anna Kate.
Indeed, what a career. Blue Springs High School has since retired his jersey, and he was also inducted in the Mizzou Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame, the National High School Hall of Fame and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame (2012) while being named MVP of Mizzou’s All-Decade team of the 1980s.
“When honors come, it reminds me of how many have touched my life throughout this journey,” Sundvold said. “Coaches, teammates, camp counselors, friends and even opponents end up defining our path.
“With each bounce of the ball, as a youngster to professional ranks,” Sundvold continued, “whether in a snowy backyard or on the hardwood of Madison Square Garden, goals were set and achieved and dreams fulfilled.”
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WANT TO GO?
What: Enshrinement in Columbia Class of 2015 presented by Great Southern Bank and presented by Miller Professional Imaging/Mpix
When: Sunday, Nov. 15 with noon reception, 1 p.m. dinner
Where: Holiday Inn Executive Center in Columbia
Honorees: As a Missouri Sports Legend, former Mizzou basketball star Jon Sundvold; former University of Missouri athletic director Joe Castiglione; former Mizzou/NFL defensive lineman Jerome Sally; Mizzou basketball great Al Eberhard; equestrian standout and instructor Gayle Lampe; former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Charlie James; longtime Show-Me State Games director Ken Ash; Mizzou team physician and sports medicine leader Dr. Pat Smith; Mizzou and Macon High School cheerleading coach Suzy Thompson; longtime Missouri State High School Activities Association director Jack Miles; Columbia high school tennis coach Ben Loeb; powerlifting champion Kate Walker; former Mizzou golf coach Richard Poe; Olympic race walker Larry Young; former Rock Bridge High School football coach and athletic director John Henage; and Mizzou super fan Alvin “Squeaky” Marquart.
Tickets: $150 each, or $1,500 for tables of 10. Sponsorships, including congratulatory ads in the program guide, also are available.
Call: Missouri Sports Hall of Fame at 417-889-3100.