Former Stanford forward Peter Sauer died Sunday night after a recreational basketball game in White Plains, N.Y., when the 35-year-old collapsed suddenly on a concrete court.
In a statement, former Cardinal basketball coach Mike Montgomery called Sauer “one of the most popular players [he had] ever coached.”
Sauer graduated from Stanford in 1999 as a four-year player for a team that made straight NCAA tournament appearances, helping pave the way for a Pac-10 championship his senior year and a memorable Final Four run in 1998. He had 10 points and seven rebounds in the Cardinal’s semifinal loss to Kentucky that year, an 86-85 heartbreaker, and averaged 7.9 points per game over his career.
As a sophomore, he made one of the most memorable shots in recent memory for Stanford, sinking a three-pointer with six seconds left in an 81-80 victory over No.12 Arizona.
Sauer worked in finance after leaving the Farm, and had three daughters and a wife, Amanda.
He recently visited with last year’s Stanford basketball team, speaking to the Cardinal during its NIT championship run in the winter.
“Peter truly embodied what it meant to be a Stanford student-athlete,” said current head coach Johnny Dawkins in a statement. “Meeting him for the first time, you could easily see how invested he was in this program and really, all of Stanford athletics.”
—Joseph Beyda
Check back Thursday, as The Daily takes a look through its archives to relive Sauer’s career.