Education
1986-1988
Scheffler attended Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, where he played under head coach Gene Keady.
1986-1988
Scheffler attended Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, where he played under head coach Gene Keady.
He is left handed.
During his Freshmen season, he got limited minutes coming off the bench, while appearing in 16 games and averaging 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds a game. After his Freshmen season, Steve played in twice as many games during his Sophomore season. He dramatically improved his scoring and rebounding, with averages of 6.8 points and 4.2 rebounds a game, while boasting a.708 field goal percentage, which became a Big Ten single-season record.
He helped lead the Boilermakers to a Big Ten Conference title, along with Seniors Todd Mitchell and Everette Stephens, a sixth straight National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament appearance, making it to the Sweet Sixteen, and onto a 29-4 record after losing to a Mitch Richmond-led Kansas State team
1988-1989
Scheffler"s Junior season showed just as much improvement as his Sophomore season. Averaging 13 points and 6 rebounds a game, he also improved his free-throw percentage with a.776 accuracy, while holding a.667 field goal percentage.
With key players gone from the prior season, Scheffler carried the Boilers to a 15-16 record in a highly competitive and stacked conference. He was named the team Most Valuable Player and an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten.
After the 1988-1989 season, Steve was selected as a reserve Center on the Gold Medal United States. Team in the World University Games in West Germany.
1989-1990
As a Senior at Purdue, Scheffler averaged 16.8 points and 6.1 rebounds a game, where he scored in double figures in 28 of the 30 games he appeared. After coming off his Junior season without a post season, he and Jimmy Oliver led the Boilers to an National Collegiate Athletic Association Second Round appearance, where they lost to Texas by one point as a #2 seed. He helped Purdue to a 22-8 record in his senior season.
College notes
Throughout his four seasons at Purdue, Steve set the National Collegiate Athletic Association career field-goal percentage record at.685, which broke Ohio State"s Jerry Lucas" record of.678, which was set in 1962.
The "Incredible Hulk" currently holds Purdue"s basketball squat max record at 458 pounds and is tied at first with Glenn Robinson and Kenny Williams with 309 pounds in the power clean. He had a vertical leap of 33".
Steve Scheffler was selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2nd round (39th overall) of the 1990 National Basketball Association Draft. He played for the Hornets, Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets and Seattle SuperSonics in 7 National Basketball Association seasons.
Career notes
Scheffler had the ability to excel in Summer League games against young players and National Basketball Association journeymen, but then struggled getting his shot off against National Basketball Association regular season competition, He finished his 7-year National Basketball Association career with averages of 1.9 points in 5.3 minutes per game, while shooting 55.8% from the floor.
He appeared in 178 games with eight starts. Scheffler"s older brother, Tom Scheffler, also played at Purdue and in the National Basketball Association. Tom played 39 games for the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1985-1986 season.
Making 71 of his last 78 free throws with a.805 percent accuracy in his career, Steve was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and a Third-Team All American his Senior year. The 6"9", 250-pound Center/Forward became one of three Boilers to win the conference player of the year honors, along with Jim Rowinski in 1984 and Glenn Robinson in 1994. He attained a high percentage mid-range jump shot during his tenure in the National Basketball Association.
Scheffler was a member of the Sonics when they reached the 1996 National Basketball Association Finals and played briefly in four of the six games against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls as a crowd favorite at KeyArena coming off the bench.
