Arizona State University and the basketball program is sad to announce the passing of former Sun Devil guard Gary James Senitza.
Senitza was a member of Arizona State's basketball team from 1961-1964 and played a pivotal role in the program's success in the early 1960s.
As a student-athlete for three seasons, Gary started two campaigns, helping to lead the Sun Devils to a 26-3 overall record in 1963, a record that still holds as the best record in Sun Devil basketball history.
During his career Gary Senitza played in 80 games, and was well known for his clutch shooting in many down-to-the-wire ASU victories. In total, Gary recorded 566 points for the Devils and averaged 6.9 points per game. His points per game did not do him any justice, as it wasn't a result of his scoring ability. In the 1962-63 season, he averaged 8.2 shots per game and connected on 4.1 of those shots, shooting 50 percent from the field.
"Gary was a great teammate," says Sun Devil Hall of Famer Art Becker. "He played a hard-nosed game and was a fierce competitor. He was a family man and loved the outdoors, hunting and fishing. We roomed together for a time as freshmen in 1960 and he always talked about his girl back home who would later become his wife Sally. A number of players from that era get together for lunch once a month and invariably Gary's name would come up and we would call him to talk about old times. We'll miss him."
Gary Senitza is also member of the Lawrenceburg Basketball Hall of Fame in Indiana where he played high school basketball.
Gary will always be a Sun Devil For Life.
A memorial service will be held at the Greendale First Church of Christ, 421 Ridge Ave, Greendale, IN 47025 on Saturday, October 22, 2016 at noon.
Senitza was a member of Arizona State's basketball team from 1961-1964 and played a pivotal role in the program's success in the early 1960s.
As a student-athlete for three seasons, Gary started two campaigns, helping to lead the Sun Devils to a 26-3 overall record in 1963, a record that still holds as the best record in Sun Devil basketball history.
During his career Gary Senitza played in 80 games, and was well known for his clutch shooting in many down-to-the-wire ASU victories. In total, Gary recorded 566 points for the Devils and averaged 6.9 points per game. His points per game did not do him any justice, as it wasn't a result of his scoring ability. In the 1962-63 season, he averaged 8.2 shots per game and connected on 4.1 of those shots, shooting 50 percent from the field.
"Gary was a great teammate," says Sun Devil Hall of Famer Art Becker. "He played a hard-nosed game and was a fierce competitor. He was a family man and loved the outdoors, hunting and fishing. We roomed together for a time as freshmen in 1960 and he always talked about his girl back home who would later become his wife Sally. A number of players from that era get together for lunch once a month and invariably Gary's name would come up and we would call him to talk about old times. We'll miss him."
Gary Senitza is also member of the Lawrenceburg Basketball Hall of Fame in Indiana where he played high school basketball.
Gary will always be a Sun Devil For Life.
A memorial service will be held at the Greendale First Church of Christ, 421 Ridge Ave, Greendale, IN 47025 on Saturday, October 22, 2016 at noon.