Edward Sebastian "Ed" Palubinskas (born 1950) is an Australian NBA shooting coach and the President of the National Basketball Shooters Association. He is a member of the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame.

College

Palubinskas started his collegiate career at Ricks Junior College in Rexburg, Idaho

Rexburg, Idaho

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 17,257 people, 4,274 households, and 2,393 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,534.4 people per square mile . There were 4,533 housing units at an average density of 928.4 per square mile...

 in 1970, where he led the U.S. in free throw

Free throw

In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points from a restricted area on the court , and are generally awarded after a foul on the shooter by the opposing team...

 percentage with 92.4%. He holds the record for the most consecutive free throws in a game (14) and 43 consecutive for the season. He was also selected as an All-American that year while breaking most records at Ricks College which is now BYU-Idaho. Palubinskas then transferred to Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...

, after playing in the Munich Olympics where he was second leading scorer missing the Olympic scoring title by one point. At LSU, Palubinskas averaged 18.6 ppg and was selected to the All-SEC Coaches Team.

Professional

Ed was selected in the 1975 NBA Draft

1975 NBA Draft

The 1975 NBA Draft was the 29th annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on May 29, 1975 before the 1975–76 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players...

 by the Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...

 in the 3rd round. He was then traded to the New Orleans Jazz

Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

 and drafted in the 8th round of the ABA

American Basketball Association

The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...

 draft by the Utah Stars

Utah Stars

The Utah Stars was an American Basketball Association team based in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround.-History:...

.

Olympics

Palubinskas is widely regarded as one of the greatest Australian basketball players ever. After being the 2nd leading scorer in the asketball at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich], Palubinskas was the top overall scorer in asketball at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal]. He set three Olympic scoring records in Montreal, most notably the record for most points scored in a single Olympics (269), which was broken by Brazilian Oscar Schmidt

Oscar Schmidt

Oscar Daniel Bezerra Schmidt is a retired Brazilian basketball player. He is also known as Oscar Schmidt Bezerra in Spain, where he played for Fórum Valladolid for the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons, and simply Oscar or Mão Santa in his homeland. At his peak, he was 2.05 m tall and weighed...

 during the 1988 Summer Olympics.

The most points he scored in one game was 48 against Mexico in overtime.

Coaching career

Palubinskas began his coaching career in 1976 right after he graduated from Louisiana State University. After 2 years coaching in baton Rouge, He became Head coach of the Bahraini National handball team while working for the United States Sports Academy. Upon returning to the States he decided to get his Masters degree with a thesis in Sports Art. Immediately after he got a coaching job in Sunnyside Utah as the Head coach at East Carbon High school. After a year here he got the coveted job at East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah (where they just won the State championship) where he coached till 1986 then decided to take the assistant coach position at Brigham Young University in Hawaii, where he stayed only for a year due to an illness by his wife causing them to return to the mainland in Idaho to be near his wife's parents. After sitting out a couple years from coaching he got back in and became the Head coach at Mountain Home High School in Idaho where he stayed a few years before returning to Baton Rouge Louisiana in 1991. In 1992 He became the head coach at Central Private where he won 3 state championships over the next few years. He became a voluntary assistant coach at LSU during the 1991-92 season, helping the Tigers win a Southeastern Conference Championship that year.

After a four year campaign as the head coach at Central Private High School from 1992 to 1996, Palubinskas took a position as shooting coach to Shaquille O'Neal with the Los Angeles Lakers for the entire 2000-01 NBA season. Shaq's improved Free throw shooting helped lead the Lakers to the 2001 NBA Championship.

Other experience

Along with his valuable coaching experience at every level, Ed has served as a shooting consultant for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA and the Australian Women's Olympic Team which won the gold medal the next year (2006).

In addition, he founded the Palubinskas Basketball Academy in 1996 to teach shooting fundamentals and aggressive scoring techniques to basketball players of all levels. His vision is to change the dynamics of shooting on a national and global scale.

Career highlights

• "Mr. Basketball Australia" - 1970
• 1972 and 1976 All-World Olympic Team.
• Most points scored in Olympic history (269) - 1976
• Most free throws made in 1 hour with one ball with Toss back. Made 867/880
• Guinness Book of World Records - Most Free Throws Made in 1 Hour (1,206/1265) using 6 balls and 6 rebounders.
• Guinness book world record- most free throws (8) made in 2 minutes blindfolded in Phoenix AZ. at NBA ALL-Star weekend
• Guinness Book world records for most free throws made in one minute while blindfolded. (17)
• Voted #1 All-Time Basketball Player in Australia - 1990
• College career 90% free throw shooter. Presently shoots 99% from the line as of 2009
• Personal shooting coach to NBA players like Shaq, Dwight Howard, Brandon Bass, and WNBA players Lauren jackson, Lisa Leslie, Just about all MVP's.

External links

• Palubinskas Graphics site
• Palubinskas Basketball Academy
• Historical Vignette: Ed Palubinskas, Australia's first basketball great - Australian Olympic Committee
• Eddie Palubinskas profile at sports-reference.com