Hall of Fame
Talk about being productive in a short period of time! In just one-and-one-half seasons at St. Francis, Paul Stachowicz twice earned both all-CCAC and all-District 20 accolades, became the first CSF player to gain NAIA All-America status (earning honorable mention rank) and amazingly required just 52 games to reach the coveted 1,000-point mark. The latter feat has yet to be matched by any Saint before or since his brief run, while his 19.6 career scoring average (1,038 points/53 games) places him third in the St. Francis record books. Stachowicz, a graduate of St. Joseph's High School in South Bend, Indiana, where he was an all-state selection as a senior and an honorable mention all-state choice during his sophomore and junior seasons, took the long route in finding St. Francis. He initially enrolled at Valparaiso, where he lettered during his freshman season before moving on to Florida College. There, he helped lead his 1982-83 team to a junior college state title and advancement to the third round of the NJCAA national tournament. That season, he averaged 20.0 points and 14.0 rebounds per game enroute to claiming honorable mention all-america honors. Next was a stop at South Carolina, where Stachowicz was redshirted in 1983 after tearing a knee ligament. He then returned to the Chicagoland area in the spring of 1984 when his father, Nester, became ill. Stachowicz would become a Saint later that fall. And, it would take him just two games to make an impact. On December 20, 1984, suiting up for just the second time as a Saint, Stachowicz not only established the record for most steals in a game with nine thefts, but also notched his first career triple-double that night authoring 30 points, ten rebounds and 11 assists against Illinois Benedictine College. Stachowicz's name can be found no fewer than ten times in the Saints' single-season records section highlighted by a second-place standing in rebounding (10.8 rpg in 1984-85). He also ranks third in steals (52/'85-86 season), fourth in free throws made (117/'85-86) and attempted (169/'85-86), fifth in points (647/'85-86) and scoring average (19.60 ppg/'85-86), sixth in scoring average again (19.55 ppg/'84-85), seventh in rebounds (268/'85-86), eighth in field goals attempted (478/'85-86) and ninth in field goal percentage (.554/'85-86). His 204 career free throws made also ranks ninth all-time. Stachowicz earned his Social Work degree in 1986.
