Mark Christensen (basketball)

Mark Christensen (born October 26, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He led the Úrvalsdeild karla in scoring during the 1978–1979 season.

For other people named Mark Christensen, see Mark Christensen (disambiguation).
Mark Christensen
Personal information
Born(1955-10-26)October 26, 1955
NationalityAmerican
Listed height198 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Career information
College
PositionCenter
Career history
As player:
1977–1979Þór Akureyri
1979→ KR
1979–1980ÍR
As coach:
1977–1979Þór Akureyri
1980Iceland (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As player:

Early life

Christensen grew up in Kearney in Nebraska.[1]

College career

Christensen attendted Kearney State College from 1971 to 1975 were he scored 1,070 points over four seasons.[2] He spent the 1975–1976 season with Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario where he was selected to OUAA Men's Basketball First Team All-Star.[3]

Professional career

In 1977, Christensen was hired as a player-coach with Þór Akureyri.[4] During his first season with Þór, he was the third leading scorer in the league with 363 points, averaging 25.9 points in 14 games.[5] After finishing with a 4–10 record, Þór had to face Snæfell in two games for which team would play in the Úrvalsdeild karla the following season.[6] Þór won both games with Christensen scoring 31[7] and 28 points in the outings.[8]

In January 1979, Christensen was loaned to KR[9] to participate international tournament in England, where it faced Cincinnati Oaks from the United States, Scottish champions Boroughmuir, and Team Ziebart, which went on to win the English National Basketball League that season. KR finished third in the tournament with Christensen averaging 25.3 points per game.[10]

During his second season, he led the league in scoring with 600 points in 20 games.[11] Despite his scoring prowess, Þór was relegated at the end of the season. Shortly later, Christensen signed with Úrvalsdeild club ÍR.[12] In 20 games for ÍR, Christensen averaged 26.4 points per game.

Úrvalsdeild statistics
Season Team Games Points PPG
1977–78Þór Akureyri1436325.9
1978–79Þór Akureyri2060030.0
1979–80ÍR2052826.4
Samtals54149127.6

Coaching career

Christensen coached Þór Akureyri from 1977 to 1979, accumulating a 7–27 record. He served as an assistant coach to the Icelandic men's national basketball team during the 1980 Polar Cup championships.[13][14]

References
  1. Halldor M. Rafnsson (4 October 1977). "Æfingar daglega". Íslendingur (in Icelandic). pp. 2, 7. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  2. "MBB Records – Individual Carerer (PDF)" (PDF). lopers.com. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  3. "Ontario University Athletics Historic Men's Basketball All-Stars" (PDF). oua.ca. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  4. "Hlakka mikið til að fást við þjálfun". Vísir (in Icelandic). 5 October 1977. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  5. "Dirk Dunbar stigahæstur". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 21 March 1978. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  6. Gylfi Kristjánsson (8 April 1978). "Ég er alltaf bjartsýnn". Vísir (in Icelandic). p. 21. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  7. "Heldur Þór sæti sínu". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 11 April 1978. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  8. "Þór vann Snæfell". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 18 April 1978. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  9. Gylfi Kristjánsson (4 January 1979). "Körfuknattleiksmenn KR fyrstir af stað". Vísir (in Icelandic). p. 12. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  10. "KR-ingarnir í þriðja sætinu". Vísir (in Icelandic). 15 January 1979. p. 14-15. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  11. "„Það gleymdist að segja mér frá verðbólgunni!" — segir Mark Christensen". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 22 November 1979. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  12. "Mark til ÍR". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 15 May 1979. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  13. "Mark veiktist og hélt heim". Vísir (in Icelandic). 10 April 1980. p. 7. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  14. "Mark kom tll Noregs". Vísir (in Icelandic). 11 April 1980. p. 7. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
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