Elías "Larry" Ayuso (born March 27, 1977) is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player, who is head coach for the Piratas de Quebradillas of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). Internationally, Ayuso has represented and played for the Puerto Rican national team since 2001. He was part of the 2004 team that defeated the United States at the 2004 Olympic Games.[1]

Elías Ayuso
Piratas de Quebradillas
PositionHead coach
LeagueBSN
Personal information
Born (1977-03-27) March 27, 1977 (age 46)
Carolina, Puerto Rico
NationalityPuerto Rican
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
CollegeUSC (1998–1999)
Playing career1996–2020
Career history
1996–1997Piratas de Quebradillas
1999Piratas de Quebradillas
2000–2001Atléticos de San Germán
2001–2002Sutor Montegranaro
2002Atléticos de San Germán
2002–2003Grand Rapids Hoops
2003Ionikos Neas Filadelfeias
2003Atléticos de San Germán
2003–2004Beşiktaş
2005Capitanes de Arecibo
2005–2006Žalgiris Kaunas
2006Capitanes de Arecibo
2006–2007KK Split
2007Cangrejeros de Santurce
2007–2008Cibona Zagreb
2008Cangrejeros de Santurce
2008–2009Iowa Energy
2009Cangrejeros de Santurce
2010–2012Capitanes de Arecibo
2012Huracanes del Atlántico
2013–2014Mets de Guaynabo
2014Vaqueros de Bayamón
2015Mets de Guaynabo
2015–2016Piratas de Quebradillas
2016–2017Cangrejeros de Santurce
2017Brujos de Guayama
2017–2018Cariduros de Fajardo
2019-2020Atléticos de San Germán
Career highlights and awards
  • BSN champion (2005, 2007, 2010, 2011)
  • 2× BSN Finals MVP (2007, 2010)
  • BSN Most Outstanding Player (2005)
  • BSN scoring champion (2002)
  • 4× BSN All-Star (2006–2008, 2010)
  • 3× BSN First team (2005, 2010, 2012)
  • 9× BSN three pointers leader (2003, 2005–2011, 2015)
  • Greek League All-Star (2003)
  • CBA All-Star (2003)

Professional career edit

Ayuso has spent most of his career playing in Puerto Rico.[2] He also has played in Europe with Montegranaro in Italy, Ionikos Neas Filadelfeias BC in Greece, Beşiktaş in Turkey, Spartak St. Petersburg in Russia, the Žalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania, and the KK Split and KK Cibona Zagreb in Croatia. [3]

Ayuso participated in the 2003 pre-season training camp of the San Antonio Spurs and the 2006 pre-season training camp with the Denver Nuggets of the NBA.

Ayuso led the BSN in 2002 scoring 703 points and achieving a 24.2 PPG average.

During the summer of 2004, Ayuso was a member of the Puerto Rico National Team that participated in the 2004 Olympics which defeated the United States.

In 2005, Ayuso helped the Captains win their first title since 1959 when Arecibo beat the Bayamón Cowboys in four games during the BSN finals.

During the summer of 2006, Ayuso was a member of the Puerto Rico National Team that participated in the 2006 FIBA World Championship. Ayuso scored 106 points with a 21.2 PPG and shot a .629 3-point percentage during the tournament. Ayuso finished tied for fourth in PPG in the 2006 Worlds. Due to his outstanding performance during the 2006 Worlds the Denver Nuggets invited him to the 2006 Training Camp and was added to the Pre-Season roster.

In February 2007, Ayuso signed with the KK Split of the Croatian A1 League.

During the summer of 2007, he joined the BSN Santurce Crabbers before joining the Puerto Rico National Team. During his tenure with the Santurce Crabbers he led the team to win the BSN Championship over the Arecibo Captains. He was elected the 2007 BSN Finals MVP.

On 7 November 2008, Ayuso was drafted with the 2nd pick in the 2nd round (18th overall pick) by the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League.

On July 3, 2010, Ayuso led the Arecibo Captains to the 2010 BSN Championship, beating the Vaqueros de Bayamón in seven games.

Coaching edit

Ayuso was slated to coach Santurce for the 2022 season in the BSN, but opted to ask for his release to pursue other options. He signed with Quebradillas in March. [4]

Personal life edit

Ayuso is a graduate of the University of Southern California with a bachelor's degree in Social Sciences. He is married with Puerto Rican model and host Angelique Burgos better known as "La Burbu" with whom he has two sons named Sahil Elías Ayuso and Kokoh Mar Ayuso.

Career statistics edit

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA D-League edit

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008–09 Iowa 14 14 35.0 .383 .321 .895 2.8 1.9 0.6 0.1 13.2
Career 14 14 35.0 .383 .321 .895 2.8 1.9 0.6 0.1 13.2

BSN edit

Year Team GP FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG PPG
1996 Quebradillas 27 .363 .322 .869 1.4 0.6 8.6
1997 Quebradillas 17 .344 .327 .794 1.9 0.4 6.4
1999 Quebradillas 28 .444 .352 .818 1.7 1.0 10.3
2000 San Germán 28 .461 .402 .826 3.0 1.7 16.3
2001 San Germán 26 .495 .455 .881 4.4 1.8 22.3
2002 San Germán 29 .451 .426 .864 3.4 1.9 24.2
2003 San Germán 4 .362 .270 .947 4.5 3.8 19.5
2005 Arecibo 31 .423 .392 .880 3.5 2.7 23.9
2006 Arecibo 26 .400 .379 .807 3.1 2.6 19.9
2007 Santurce 7 .458 .455 .908 2.4 3.0 24.6
2008 Santurce 30 .442 .393 .859 1.9 1.9 19.7
2009 Santurce 30 .470 .420 .880 2.9 1.5 21.9
2010 Arecibo 29 .406 .351 .902 2.9 2.0 18.2
2011 Arecibo 22 .384 .382 .896 2.3 0.9 19.0
2012 Arecibo 27 .390 .352 .939 2.7 1.3 18.0
2013 Guaynabo 36 .376 .348 .913 2.8 2.2 19.9
2014 Bayamon 36 .362 .334 .905 2.5 1.8 16.9
2015 Guaynabo 44 .416 .365 .872 2.2 2.0 18.8
Career N/A 477 .418 .380 .876 2.7 1.7 18.2

EuroLeague edit

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2005–06 Žalgiris 8 8 24.2 .355 .372 .632 1.8 1.1 1.1 .0 10.3 7.0
2007–08 Cibona Zagreb 13 12 29.2 .476 .296 .921 2.5 1.5 1.0 .0 12.8 8.7

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Puerto Rico 92, USA 73". Usabasketball.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
  2. ^ "Baloncesto Superior Nacional | Jugador". www.bsnpr.com. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  3. ^ "AYUSO, LARRY - Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL". www.euroleague.net. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  4. ^ "Larry Ayuso acepta propuesta para dirigir a los Piratas de Quebradillas". Primera Hora (in Spanish). 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-03-24.

External links edit