José Ortiz (basketball)
José Rafael "Piculín" Ortiz Rijos is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player. He played in the NCAA, NBA, various European teams, and the Baloncesto Superior Nacional.
He played for the Utah Jazz while in the NBA and the Atléticos de San Germán, Cangrejeros de Santurce, and Capitanes de Arecibo while in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. Ortiz was a member of the Puerto Rican national team from 1983 to 2004. Most notably he was a member of the 2004 team that defeated the United States at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Ortiz played in Summer Olympics, as he played in 1988, 1992, 1996, and 2004.
Ortiz holds various honors and records as a basketball player. He ranks #4 and #6 in the all-time statistics for rebounds per game and total rebounds in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league. He is also the third player to win eight championships in the league. Ortiz is also the first Puerto Rican-born player to be drafted in the NBA. Many experts consider Ortiz to be the best Puerto Rican basketball player.
Despite his success in sports, Ortiz went through financial troubles after retiring. In 2011, he was arrested for the possession of 218 marijuana plants. He was sentenced to six months in prison.
On August 30, 2019, Ortiz was inducted into the FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, in honor of his club career and his career with the senior Puerto Rican Basketball National Team, that spanned over 20 years.
Early life and education
Ortiz was born in Aibonito, Puerto Rico on October 25, 1963, but was raised in Cayey. He started his career as a center at Benjamin Harrison High School in Cayey. He was nicknamed Piculín after one of the characters in The Wizard of Oz and The Concorde as a reference to the popular plane and his height. Ortiz earned a Bachelor's degree in Communications from Oregon State University.BSN career
In 1980, with approximately 17 years, Ortiz debuted with the Atléticos de San Germán from the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league in Puerto Rico. As his career progressed, he improved his game significantly leading San Germán to a championship in 1985. That season, Ortiz averaged more than 25 points and 14 rebounds per game. He would lead the team to a second title in 1991, while he averaged 19 points and 15.8 rebounds per game. After the 1991 season, Ortiz left the league to play in Europe. He would return in 1994 to lead San Germán to yet another title.In 1998, Ortiz was released by San Germán. He then went to play for the Cangrejeros de Santurce, and helped them win four titles in a row. In 2002, Ortiz was named Most Valuable Player of the league, although his team did not reach the Finals. Ortiz and the Cangrejeros won another title again in 2003, making Ortiz only the third player to win eight titles in the league.
He played two more years with Santurce, and in 2006 he played with the Capitanes de Arecibo. However, he retired after just one season with the team. He finished his career with 8,915 points, 5,314 rebounds, and 1,134 assists in 505 regular season games. To this day, he is considered by many experts as the best Puerto Rican basketball player.
College career
Ortiz attended Oregon State University from 1985-1987 where he was instructed by legendary coach Ralph Miller and was a teammate of future Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton during the latter's freshman year. During his two seasons with the Beavers, he averaged 19.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. After the 1986–87 season, he was named Pac-10 Player of the Year defeating Reggie Miller of UCLA. He also earned NCAA All-American honors in the 1986–1987 NCAA season.NBA career
After graduating from Oregon State University, Ortiz entered the 1987 NBA Draft. He was selected #15 by the Utah Jazz becoming the first Puerto Rican to be selected in an NBA draft. However, before his first season, he received an offer from the CAI Zaragoza in Spain and he accepted. Ortiz rejoined the Jazz for the 1988-89 season, debuting on November 9, 1988. During his first season, Ortiz played 51 games, starting in 15. He averaged 2.8 points and 1.1 rebounds per game.Ortiz returned to the NBA for the 1989-90 season, playing in 13 games before being waived by the team on February 5, 1990. He finished his brief NBA career with an average of 2.9 points and 1.1 rebounds per game. Ortiz wore #44 during his NBA career.
International club career
Ortiz played for the Spanish club of CAI Zaragoza in 1987. During that season, he was the second leading scorer of the team with 17.4 points per game. However, he then returned to play with Utah Jazz of the NBA. After being waived by the Jazz in 1990, Ortiz was hired by Real Madrid again in Spain. During that time, he played with Fernando Romay, Antonio Martín Espina, and José "Chechu" Biriukov. After that season, he moved to FC Barcelona Banca Catalana where he won the Copa del Rey in 1991 and finished second at the FIBA European Champions Cup. During that season, he was one of the team's leading rebounder.After that, Ortiz played for Festina Andorra, Unicaja Polti, Gymnastikos Larissas, Iraklio and Aris. In 1997, he helped Aris to win the FIBA Korać Cup. After that season, Ortiz was offered approximately more than $1 million for two years by PAOK but the contract was declared null when laboratory tests for steroids allegedly came positive. Ortiz appealed the decision and won, but refused to return to Europe to play.
In 1997, Ortiz played for Guaiqueríes de Margarita in the Venezuelan league.
National team career
In 1982, Ortiz reached the minimum age to join Puerto Rico's national basketball team, and in 1983, he saw his first international competition, at the Pan American Games of Caracas, Venezuela. At the 1987 Pan American Games, Ortiz was the flag-bearer for Puerto Rico. They won the bronze medal on that tournament. Ortiz also helped the Puerto Rican National basketball team earn a gold medal at the 1991 Pan American Games, in Havana, Cuba.After the 2002 FIBA World Cup, held at Indianapolis, Ortiz announced his retirement from the national team, to coincide with national teammate Jerome Mincy's retirement from the team. He would reconsider his decision later, and rejoin the national team. In 2004, he was a part of the team that defeated the United States men's national basketball team at the Summer Olympics.
Other ventures
Entrepreneur
Ortiz opened a restaurant called Patria in his hometown of Cayey. However, in 2003 the restaurant went bankrupt.Politics
Ortiz became interested in politics after meeting politician Ferdinand Pérez in 2000. Pérez sought Ortiz advice for legislative measures related to sports. Ortiz eventually accepted to run for Senator behind Pérez' campaign for Mayor of San Juan for the Popular Democratic Party. Ortiz ran for senatorial candidate from the district of San Juan-Guaynabo in Puerto Rico's 2008 general elections. However, both their bids were unsuccessful. Pérez has said that Ortiz distanced from politics after the defeat.Social activism
On May 28, 2011, Ortiz officially opened in Cayey the Piculín Ortiz Basketball Institute. The center aims to develop the basketball skills and performance of children and teenagers.Personal life
Ortiz married Nirita Ruíz with whom he had one daughter, Volleyball player Neira, but he had a son from a previous relationship. However, they divorced in 2006. He has been in a relationship with Sylvia Ríos since 2009.Legal problems
On June 29, 2011 Ortiz was arrested for drug related charges. Federal agents seized 218 marijuana plants in a rented property along with munitions for AR-15 rifles. Ortiz allegedly claimed possession of all the material during the arrest. At the bail hearing, Ortiz was legally represented by a public defender since he claimed he had no money for a lawyer. At the hearing, the judge decided to send Ortiz to a rehabilitation clinic.On November 4, 2011, Ortiz declared himself guilty of the charges against him. The next week, he failed a surprise drug test which revealed he had used cocaine. Judge Camille Vélez Rivé ordered the immediate imprisonment of Ortiz, arguing that she had given him several opportunities already. On March 29, 2012, he was sentenced to six months in prison.