Special to the New Journal and Guide
Sterling Edmonds, a Chesapeake, Va. high school basketball pioneer, was in Switzerland recently where he was honored for holding a unique place in the history of European professional basketball.
For Edmonds, now 70, the Swiss chapter of his sports career, was part of a basketball journey that began at Oscar C. Smith High School in Chesapeake.
Nearly five decades ago, Edmonds left after leaving Chesapeake to pursue basketball at Dartmouth College, Sterling Edmonds returned to Switzerland in September to receive an honor celebrating his place in the history of European professional basketball.
On Sept. 11, Edmonds, now 70, was recognized by BBC Monthey-Chablais in Monthey, Switzerland, for being the first American professional basketball player to wear the club’s colors.
The honor brought Edmonds back into contact with a club where he made history more than 40 years ago.
According to BBC Monthey’s historical record, Edmonds played for the club from 1983 to 1985, during an important period in its development. The club had moved into Switzerland’s second division, the LNB, in 1978 and reached the country’s top division in 1981. Edmonds became one of the American players who helped establish the club’s international identity.
The significance of his contribution was underscored recently by Claude Pottier, a longtime Monthey player and current club president. Pottier recalled playing alongside Edmonds and described him as the first American to wear Monthey’s colors. When Edmonds returned to the Valais region with his family in September, the club hosted a reception in his honor.
For Edmonds, the Swiss chapter was part of an unusual basketball journey that began in Chesapeake.
A graduate of Oscar Smith High School, Edmonds went on to become a standout at Dartmouth. The 6-foot-9 forward-center finished his Dartmouth career with 1,306 points and 523 rebounds, averaging 17.4 points and seven rebounds over 75 games. He remains No. 10 on Dartmouth’s career scoring list.
His senior season in 1977-78 was particularly impressive. Edmonds averaged 19.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, shooting 57.3 percent from the field while scoring 509 points. He was named first-team All-Ivy and became one of the most accomplished players in Dartmouth basketball history.
His college career also earned him an opportunity at the highest level of American basketball. The Portland Trail Blazers selected Edmonds in the third round of the 1978 NBA Draft, 66th overall. He did not appear in an NBA regular-season game, but being drafted was itself a notable achievement.
Instead, Edmonds’ professional basketball journey took him overseas — where he would leave a lasting mark.
More than 40 years later, Monthey remembered him not simply as a former player but as a pioneer.
That distinction gives Edmonds’ story special meaning back home in Hampton Roads. His journey took him from a Chesapeake high school gym to an Ivy League basketball court, to the NBA draft and ultimately across the Atlantic, where he helped open the door for American players in a Swiss basketball organization.
And decades later, the organization he helped build still remembered his name.
For Edmonds, the September reunion offered something rare in professional sports: the opportunity to return to a place where his contribution had become part of the institution’s history.
