John DiBartolomeo shoots a 3-pointer over Lou Williams while Kobe Bryant watches. Photo by Seth Ribnick, Maccabi Haifa Basketball Club

Guard - John DiBartolomeo
University of Rochester
2009-2013

All-American selections: 2013 (Player of the Year)

All-Region selections: 2011 (1st), 2012 (1st), 2013 (Player of the Year)

Conference MVPs: 2011, 2013

NCAA Tournament appearances: 2011 (Sweet 16), 2013 (second round)

Other honors: 2013 Jostens Trophy Finalist

From the archives

• D3 Player of the Year still thriving abroad (June 2017)
• DiBartolomeo vs. the Lakers (October 2015)
• DiBartolomeo joins our Road Show postgame (February 2013)
• Young Yellow Jackets have some sting (December 2012)

What others say: "John was truly a special player for us at Rochester," said coach Luke Flockerzi. "He is simply the hardest-working and most-dedicated player I’ve ever coached. His humility drives him, and has created a work ethic that is unmatched."

In their own words: "I’d just like to thank my friends, family, and the U of R for an amazing experience. Rochester gave me all the opportunities to grow, not only as a student athlete, but also develop into a professional basketball player which I’ve done for the past 8 years. However, more importantly, I was surrounded by amazing people for four years and it’s those relationships that I cherish the most."

Where are they now: Playing professionally for Maccabi Tel Aviv. A dual citizen of Israel and the U.S., DiBartolomeo has played professionally for eight seasons.

Career synopsis: DiBartolomeo was a three-time All-Region selection and finished his career third in school history in scoring (1,779), second in assists (533), second in steals (201) and second in free throws made (520). Part of a very balanced offense as a freshman, DiBartolomeo was second on the team in scoring by .4 points and averaged 4.6 assists. As a sophomore, in his first year under Flockerzki, DiBartolomeo took over the lead scorer role and never looked back. Those numbers only grew: 17.7 points and 5.7 assists per game as a sophomore with an NCAA Tournament visit, 19.1 and 5.8 as a junior and 22.6 and 5.3 as a senior, as Rochester returned to the postseason. His outside shooting numbers improved until he was the team's leading 3-point shooter as a senior, both in terms of baskets per game and percentage. He shot 91% from the line as a senior and was selected to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week five times that season, and that senior season included a 42-point performance in a 91-86 first-round NCAA Tournament win against Fitchburg State. Since Rochester, DiBartolomeo played in a lower-division league in Spain for two seasons but has spent the rest of his career in Israel. That came first with Maccabi Haifa, which played two games against NBA teams, including one against the Lakers and the late Kobe Bryant pictured above, and now with Maccabi Tel Aviv. His 2019-20 season ended in EuroLeague play because of an Achilles' injury, but the 29-year-old was expected to recover and signed a two-year contract extension this past summer.