Steve Stipanovich

Stephen Samuel Stipanovich (born November 17, 1960) is an American retired professional basketball player. A 6-ft 11-inch (211 cm) center from the University of Missouri, Stipanovich was selected by the Indiana Pacers with the second pick of the 1983 NBA draft. Knee problems limited his career to five seasons, and he retired in 1988 with career totals of 5,323 points and 3,131 rebounds. At Missouri, (1979- 1983), he and Jon Sundvold helped Coach Norm Stewart to four consecutive Big 8 Conference Championships and NCAA tournament appearances.\n', ' Stephen Samuel "Stipo" Stipanovich, son of Sam and Elaine (née Ortmann) Stipanovich, was born and raised in the St. Louis, Missouri area. Sam Stipanovich co-owned a funeral home with his father-in-law, Al C. Ortmann, that is still in operation today. \n', ' Stipanovich is of Serbian and Croatian descent. His paternal grandmother Sadie was the daughter of Simo Visnic from Serbia and Milica Mamula from Karlovac, Croatia. Sadie married Theodore Stipanovic, whose family came from the same region. Visnic had come to the USA in 1905. \n', '