Timo Saarelainen

Timo Saarelainen (born August 23, 1960) is a retired Finnish basketball player. He was a member of the Finnish national basketball team for seven years and was a star college player at Brigham Young University (BYU) in the United States.

Timo Saarelainen
Personal information
Born (1960-08-23) August 23, 1960
Helsinki, Finland
NationalityFinnish
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High schoolPHYK - Pohjois-Haagan Yhteiskoulu
CollegeBYU (1980โ€“1985)
NBA draft1985: 5th round, 115th overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
PositionSmall forward
Number33
Career history
1976โ€“1980,
1983โ€“1986
Helsingin NMKY
Career highlights and awards

Saarelainen, a 6'6" small forward from Helsinki, played for Finland's national teams from 1978 to 1984, competing for Finland in the qualifying tournaments for the 1980 and 1984 Olympics. He was Finland's leading scorer for four years.[1] He came to the United States in 1980 to pursue his degree at BYU. While there he went to two NCAA tournaments and as a senior in 1985 was named the Western Athletic Conference player of the year. That season he averaged 22 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for the Cougars. For his BYU career, Saarelainen scored 932 points in 100 games.[2]

Following his BYU career, Saarelainen was selected in the fifth round of the 1985 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, but did not play in the league.[3] Saarelainen played six seasons for Helsingin NMKY of Korisliiga, Finland's top professional league.

References

  1. Appleman, Marc (January 31, 1985). "How Good Is BYU's Saarelainen? Aztecs to Find Out". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  2. "CougarStats.com profile". CougarStats.com. 2012. Archived from the original on May 19, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  3. "basketball-reference.com - 1985 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
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