Steve Serio Explained

Steve Serio
Full Name:Steven Dillon Serio
Nickname:Steve
Birth Date:8 September 1987
Birth Place:Mineola, New York, U.S.
Height:5 ft 6 in (2011)
Weight:180 lb (2011)
Sport:Wheelchair Basketball
Collegeteam:University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Team:Briantea 84
Turnedpro:2010
Show-Medals:yes

Steven Dillon Serio (born September 8, 1987) is a wheelchair basketball player. As a co-captain of the USA Men's National Wheelchair Basketball Team, he led the American men to their first Paralympic gold medal since 1988 at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games[1] and defended the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.[2] He currently plays for the New York Rolling Knicks in the NWBA Championship Division.[3]

He grew up in Westbury, New York and graduated from Carle Place High School in 2005. When Steve was 11 months old, he had surgery to remove a spinal tumor which resulted in the compression of his spinal cord. Consequently, he was left paralyzed and is classified as an incomplete paraplegic.[4]

Steve began his wheelchair basketball career as a sophomore in high school with the Long Island Lightning, the only competitive junior wheelchair basketball team in New York State.[5] He was a tremendous asset to this team, eventually leading them to the team's first National Championship in 2005 where was named the tournament MVP.[6] In that same year, he played on a USA U-23 Team played at the Australian Junior National Games for the Disabled in Sydney.[6]

He played point guard for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Steve was named a 2nd Team All-American in both the 2005–2006 and 2006–2007 seasons at Illinois.[7] At the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament at Oklahoma State University on March 15, 2008, Steve led the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to a NIWBA Championship over the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.[8] Steve took home the Championship Game Player of the Game, NWBA Tournament MVP, and the NWBA 31st NIWBT Player of the Year in the process.[9]

Steve also plays on the U.S. Paralympics Men's Wheelchair Basketball Team, which came in second place at the World Championships in Amsterdam in the summer of 2006.[10] In the summer of 2007, the U.S. National Team won a gold medal at the Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Steve made his Paralympic debut with the U.S. National Team in 2008 in Beijing, China.[11] The team finished in fourth place, just missing a medal. Since the disappointing Paralympics, the U.S. National Team took the gold medal at the 2009 America's Cup in Richmond, Canada[12] and finished third at the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Birmingham, England.[13]

He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2010, where he studied Kinesiology.

He is currently living in Germany and playing for RSV Lahn-Dill. His contract was recently extended through the 2016 season.[14]

Major achievements

Juniors

Intercollegiate

US National Team

Professional

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Westbury's Serio helps USA to gold medal . September 18, 2016 . newsday.com . July 13, 2017 . December 29, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171229172411/https://www.newsday.com/sports/olympics/westbury-s-steve-serio-helps-usa-to-paralympics-gold-medal-1.12331627 . dead .
  2. Web site: USA retain men's wheelchair basketball Paralympic title after dramatic win over Japan . Tokyo 2020 Paralympics . September 9, 2021 . September 9, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210909161157/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/paralympics/news/usa-retain-mens-wheelchair-basketball-paralympic-title-after-dramatic-win-over- . dead .
  3. Web site: Who will rule the Rollstuhl this year? . FIBA.basketball.
  4. Web site: U.S. Paralympic Athlete Biography . usolympicteam.com . March 31, 2008 . April 5, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080405174950/http://www.usolympicteam.com/paralympics/39341_47159.htm . dead .
  5. Web site: United States Olympic Committee Article 3/20/06 . usoc.org . July 6, 2007 . September 30, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070930202317/http://www.usoc.org/117_45350.htm . dead .
  6. Web site: USOC Athlete Spotlight: Steve Serio . usoc.org . July 6, 2007 . September 28, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070928004702/http://www.usoc.org/paralympics/news_47146.htm . dead .
  7. Web site: Past NIWBA All-American Teams . students.uww.edu . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070929110053/http://students.uww.edu/bauleriiwm05/cid/cidmvp.htm . 2007-09-29 .
  8. Web site: Fighting Illini Men's Wheelchair Basketball Page . disability.uiuc.edu . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070221015035/http://www.disability.uiuc.edu/athletics/team.php?sport=1 . 2007-02-21 .
  9. Web site: Daily Illini Newspaper Article 3/24/08 . dailyillini.com.
  10. Web site: 2006 U.S. Paralympics Men's Wheelchair Basketball Team Defeated by Canada in IWBF Gold Cup Final . usoc.org . July 6, 2007 . September 28, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070928005610/http://www.usoc.org/paralympics/news_47915.htm . dead .
  11. Web site: Newsfeed . usocpressbox.org.
  12. Web site: USA Wins Gold . nwba.org . 2009-12-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110719024648/http://www.nwba.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1613:usa-wins-gold&catid=23:usa-mens-national-team&Itemid=38 . 2011-07-19 . dead .
  13. Web site: Day Ten - Finals - British Wheelchair Basketball . gbwba.org.uk . January 26, 2011 . July 19, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100719125458/http://www.gbwba.org.uk/gbwba/index.cfm/wwbc2010/schedule/day-ten-finals/ . dead .
  14. Web site: Details - RSV Lahn-Dill . die.interaktiven . rsvlahndill.de.
  15. Web site: Ascended to the European throne for the seventh time . rsvlahndill.de.

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