Torrey Pines’ 6-foot, 11-inch Chris Dudley was among the San Diego Section’s leading scorers with 438 points and a 16.8 average.
A fine season and a productive four years at Torrey but not a blueprint for the future.
The future stretched…and stretched.
Dudley went on to play four years at Yale University and then embarked on a National Basketball Association career that stretched 19 seasons, from 1983-84 to 2002-03, with five different teams.
Dudley ranks in an NBA Top 25 for longevity.
Through 2022-23 only 23 players had played more seasons.
Dudley epitomized the professional journeyman, valuable and available in any situation.
A future candidate for Oregon’s highest office, Chris played in 886 NBA games, averaged 3.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocked shots, and not long after retirement lost a close race in the gubernatorial election.
Dudley was a fourth-round choice and 75th player in the 1983 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He also played for the New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns, and finished his career in a second stint with the Portland Trail Blazers.
