Bruce Lefkowitz was one of the premier basketball players in the University of Pennsylvania’s illustrious history. Even today, he remains the standard by which many players are measured by longtime fans of Penn basketball.
A dominating front court presence throughout the mid 1980’s, “Lefko” finished his career ranked 5th on Penn’s all time scoring list. His field goal percentage, which led the Quakers all four years, was 58.7% which remains 2nd all time. His 60.6% from the field in his senior year is 3rd all-time.
He was Penn’s leading scorer in both his junior and senior years, averaging 18.7 in 1986-87. A four year starter, he led the Quakers in rebounding each season, a feat that has never been duplicated. On February 27, 1987 Lefkowitz scored 31 points and grabbed 29 rebounds vs. Brown, marking the last time a Penn Player had 30+ points and 20+ rebounds.
As a freshman, he was honored with the G Fred Di Bona award as the outstanding newcomer and earned a place on the All Ivy Rookie Team. In his senior season, he was named first team All Ivy. Lefkowitz was selected to the Jewish All American Team all four years 1984- 1987. He was a member of the United States Gold Medal Winning team at the 1985 Maccabiah Games. He was inducted into the University of Pennsylvania’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.
A highly – recruited student athlete from Edgemont High School in Scarsdale, Bruce’s scholastic career set the stage for future success. He was a 4 year starter at Edgemont and tallied 2,036 points and 1,514 rebounds. At the time of his graduation, he was the 2nd highest scorer in Westchester County History and the 10th in New York State.
Lefkowitz was the first Edgemont Athlete to have his jersey retired and was inducted into the inaugural Edgemont High School Hall of Fame class. Finally, he was inducted in the Westchester County Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.