Difference between revisions of "Andy Toolson: Mormon Athlete"

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Andrew Kent Toolson is a former American professional basketball player, coach, and commentator. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Toolson, known more frequently as Andy, was born on January 19, 1966, in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from high school in Twin Falls, Idaho, where he was a first-team All-State player during both his junior and senior years. He was chosen as the 1A 1984 Idaho Player of the Year, Gem State Conference MVP, and Converse All-American. He also played for Brigham Young University, where he was the third-leading scorer his freshman year (1984–1985). He served as a full-time missionary in Chile then returned to BYU for a sophomore year in 1987–1988. During his junior year, he improved his points and rebounds per game. He was named WAC Player of the Week three times and received Academic All-WAC honors. His career-high of 32 points was achieved in a game against University of California, Berkeley. His senior year, he was a first-team Academic All-American. He still ranks at BYU as third overall in 3-point shooting percentage. He earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations in 1990 and worked as an intern in U.S. Senator James A. McClure’s office in the summer of 1989. He earned his master’s degree in social science from Syracuse University in 1999 and a master’s degree in business from University of Phoenix.

The Cedar Rapids Silver Bullets picked him in the 1990 Continental Basketball Association Draft. He made the Utah Jazz in 1990 as an undrafted free agent. He played 47 games during his rookie season and averaged 2.9 points in the average of ten minutes he played during each game.

Toolson played basketball in Italy, Greece, and Spain from 1991 to 1995. He returned to the Jazz for the 1995–1996 season, and played again internationally from 1996 to 2001.

His first coaching job came in 2001 as an assistant coach at BYU, where he stayed until 2005. In 2006 he joined KSL with Greg Wrubell to call BYU men's basketball games on the radio. He served as an analyst for KSL broadcasts for the 2006–2009 seasons. He called games for BYUtv Sports from 2206 to 2010. In 2010 he signed a contract to call games for MountainWest Sports Network.

Andy Toolson is a licensed Investment Advisor Representative and has held the positions of vice president with Charles Schwab and Co., Key Investment Services, Cambria Capital, and is the founder and President of Toolson Wealth Management, LLC.

He and his wife, Holly, are the parents of six children.