Juno Pintar had quite the scare at the North Dakota Boys State Tournament this past March. He had a seizure, while on television that gave listeners a jolt of shock.
The former North Dakota State University basketball player is a color analyst for state tournament basketball games in North Dakota as well as for the Bison men’s games during the winter.
Pintar, who played for the Bison from 1985-1989 said, “As long as I haven’t scared everyone away with that massive seizure on statewide television, I’m hoping to have the opportunity to do it again.”
After his on-air medical emergency, Pintar stayed in a hospital for about a week and once he was released. He soon started to adjust his diet and took better care of himself and started living a healthier lifestyle.
Today, he’s feeling a lot better and one may think it’s because he doesn’t have the stress of being a coach on his shoulders.
After averaging just over eight points a game in four years for the Bison, Pintar tried to get out of the basketball world, but that didn’t last long.
And today, he is selling sporting goods for Gerrells Sports Center based out of Devils Lakes, N.D., while living in the Bismarck area.
His daily routine consists of driving around to high schools and colleges, selling them equipment and other sporting goods.
Pintar said, “I’m just living the dream that way.”
The former guard has been living the sports dream.
Right out of college he became a graduate assistant for the University of Mary basketball team, which later turned into a head coaching position.[/text_output]
[image type=”none” float=”none” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” src=”3632″ alt=”Juno Pintar ndsu bison men’s basketball”]
[text_output]He taught special education at Mandan High School and then became the athletic director at Standing Rock High School in Fort Yates, N.D.
But now Pintar said he enjoys his job as a sales rep because it keeps him connected to the athletic community in the North Dakota area.
“Sports has always been a big part of my life so this kind of allows me to stay in touch with coaches and even the kids that are playing in the sports,” Pintar, who has been selling sporting goods for almost a year said. “So, it’s a connection to keep me involved in the athletic world.”
Now that his playing days are over, Pintar still follows NDSU basketball and even makes it up to Fargo for Bison football games.
He said it’s getting more and more frustrating to play the game he loves because he knows what moves to make, but his body just can’t keep up with his brain.
“In my head, I know what to do and my body just doesn’t seem to,” Pintar said with a chuckle. “My brain is speaking Chinese and my body doesn’t understand it. It just doesn’t seem to work.”
When Pintar isn’t selling sporting goods or expressing his opinion on-air, he is hanging out with his family.
This August will be his wife, Kim and his 25th anniversary. The two of them have two kids in their 20s and a granddaughter that keeps their life on edge.
The 47-year-old has been around sports his whole life and still continues to learn as much as he can about sports through his line of work, but when asked if he thought he would be here when he was in college he laughed and said, “no, not at all.”
“You can never predict how things are going to turn out (and) I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Pintar said.[/text_output]