Valparaiso University

Chuck Kriston was a tremendous scorer on the hardwood for the Valpo men’s basketball program in the early 1960s.

He closed his time at Valpo as the program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,287 career points – a mark which still ranks 18th in program history – and currently sits second all-time among Valpo players with an average of 18.9 points/game. Kriston is also tied for Valpo’s career record for free throw percentage (86.5%) and holds two of Valpo’s top-nine single-season marks for free throw percentage.

Kriston averaged 21.2 points/game as a senior and was named a First Team All-ICC honoree after earning Second Team honors each of his first two seasons. His scoring average was the program’s single-season record at that point and still ranks sixth all-time at Valpo.

As a junior in 1961-62, Kriston helped lead Valpo to a 17-win campaign and a pair of wins in the NCAA Tournament as the Brown and Gold advanced to the NCAA National Quarterfinals.

Following his Valpo career, Kriston was a third-round draft pick of the Boston Celtics in the 1963 NBA Draft. He went on to coach varsity boys basketball in Indiana for 16 years, winning six sectional championships.