Angelo "Hank" Luisetti
Forward · Stanford University
Basketball · Game-Changing Scorer
Angelo "Hank" Luisetti
A San Francisco native whose one-handed shot reshaped the sport, Hank Luisetti is remembered as the greatest college basketball player to come out of the West Coast.
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Career Points at Stanford
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Single-Game Points vs. Duquesne (Stanford Record)
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Consecutive Pacific Coast Championships
The Backstory
From Galileo High to National Stardom
A San Francisco Native
Grew up in San Francisco and graduated from Galileo High School before going on to be recognized as the greatest basketball player West Coast basketball had produced.
A Shot That Changed the Game
Revolutionized how the sport was played by popularizing the one-handed shot.
Three Straight Conference Titles
Led Stanford to three consecutive Pacific Coast Championships from 1936 to 1938, was named a three-time All-American, and scored 1,596 points over his four-year college career — including a Stanford single-game record of 50 points against Duquesne.
National Honors
Named National Player of the Year in 1937 while averaging 17.1 points per game, and College Basketball Player of the Year for 1937-38.
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See Angelo "Hank" Luisetti in Action
1936 → 1938
Career Timeline
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1936–1938
Three consecutive Pacific Coast Championships
Led Stanford to the conference title in three straight seasons.
A Trailblazing College Career
Three straight conference titles and a scoring record that stood out nationally.
3x All-American — At Stanford
3 consecutive Pacific Coast Championships — 1936 through 1938
1,596 career points — Over a four-year Stanford career
50-point single-game record — Against Duquesne, a Stanford program record
Every award, on the record
Honors & Awards
National Player of the Year
Averaged 17.1 points per game.
College Basketball Player of the Year
Repeated as the sport's top national honoree.
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted for his impact on the game.
Helms Foundation Hall of Fame
Inducted for his collegiate career.
More To Know
Deeper Cuts on Angelo "Hank" Luisetti
He picked "Hank" as his own nickname in high school, finding "Angie" too feminine for the basketball court.
His breakthrough national moment came on December 30, 1936, when Stanford stunned Long Island University's 43-game winning streak in a nationally watched game at Madison Square Garden.
A stint in the Navy during World War II ended his playing career after he contracted spinal meningitis, and the sulfa drugs that saved his life left him with heart damage that ruled out a planned professional career with the fledgling New York Knicks.
A 1950 poll of sportswriters ranked him the second-best basketball player of the sport's first half-century, trailing only George Mikan.
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