Alphonso Ford

Alphonso Ford

No. 3, 8
Shooting guard
Personal information
Date of birth	October 31, 1971(1971-10-31)
Place of birth	Greenwood, Mississippi
Nationality	American
Date of death	September 4, 2004(2004-09-04) (aged 32)
Place of death	Memphis, Tennessee
High school	Amanda Elzy (Greenwood, Mississippi)
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight	190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
College	Mississippi Valley State (1989–1993)
NBA Draft	1993 / Round: 2 / Pick: 32nd overall
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
Pro career	1993–2004
Career history
1993–1994	Tri-City Chinook (CBA)
1994	Seattle SuperSonics
1994–1995	Tri-City Chinook (CBA)
1995	Philadelphia 76ers
1995–1996	Grupo AGB Huesca (Spain)
1996–1997	Papagou (Greece)
1998–1999	Sporting Athens (Greece)
1999–2001	Peristeri (Greece)
2001–2002	Olympiacos (Greece)
2002–2003	Montepaschi Siena (Italy)
2003–2004	Scavolini Pesaro (Italy)
Career highlights and awards
Greek League MVP (2001) Greek Cup MVP (2002) 2× All-Euroleague First Team (2001, 2003) All-Euroleague Second Team (2002)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Alphonso Gene Ford (October 31, 1971 – September 4, 2004) was an American professional basketball player. A 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) tall shooting guard, he was one of the greatest scorers in college basketball history. After a short stint in the NBA, Ford played professionally in Europe. In the Euroleague he confirmed his tremendous scoring ability and became a reference in the matter, notwithstanding his chronic health issues. The competition's leading scorer award bears his name in his honor.

Early years

Ford was a high school star player for Amanda Elzy High School in Greenwood, Mississippi. Upon entering college basketball at Mississippi Valley State University, Ford led the entire NCAA in freshman scoring during the 1989-90 season with a 29.9 points per game average. In his sophomore year, he averaged 32.9 points per game, second only to Bo Kimble of Loyola Marymount University. He became the first player in NCAA history to average 25 points per game in four straight seasons. His 3,165 career points scored in the NCAA are 4th on the all time scoring list behind only Pete Maravich, Freeman Williams and Lionel Simmons.

Pro career

NBA and CBA

Ford played just 5 games in the 1994–95 NBA season for the Philadelphia 76ers, who selected him 32nd overall in the 1993 NBA Draft. Before that, he had played six games for the Seattle SuperSonics in 1993–94. During both the 1993–94 and 1994–95 NBA seasons, Ford played in the Continental Basketball Association for the Tri-City Chinook. He averaged 22.8 points per game in his rookie year and demonstrated right away the fact that he was an extraordinary scorer. His performances earned him every possible honor, as he was selected to the CBA All League Team, named Rookie of the Year and played the CBA All-Star Game. The 1994–95 CBA season was not very much different with Ford scoring 24 points per game and playing the All-Star Game once again.

Europe

First steps towards European stardom

In the 1995–96 season, Ford signed with Spanish first division club SD Huesca. However, although he played great basketball and averaged 25.1 points per game, he could not prevent the team's relegation. The next season was for Ford the opportunity to show his skills in what was at the time Europe's most competitive domestic league, Greece's A1 Ethniki. He spent the season with Papagou and not only led the team to a historical seventh position, but also was the competition's leading scorer with 24.6 points per contest. Nevertheless, glory at the European level turned out to be a little bit more far away than the great scorer thought. Before the beginning of the 1997–98 season, he was diagnosed with leukemia, thus obliging Papagou to break his contract. The treatment cost Ford to whole season, but he was determined that he had a lot more to contribute. He signed a one year deal with Sporting Athens, a traditional Greek club that was struggling to remain in Greece's top basketball scene. The gifted shooting guard helped the team finish in a decent eleventh position, but most importantly he defied his disease in an utterly remarkable way.

Ford agreed on a two year deal with Peristeri, experiencing the game within a team with ambitions considerably higher than any of the ones he had played for in the past. Needless to say, the challenge was accepted by the person who would become a reference in the club's history. Ford averaged 22.2 points per game leading Peristeri to a fifth position in the Greek league. Also, he made his first appearance in a European competition, scoring 20.7 ppg. in the 1999–2000 Korać Cup. Peristeri reached the top 16 before falling to Estudiantes Madrid.

The biggest scorer in Euroleague's modern era

The real breakout season for Ford though was going to be his second one for Peristeri in 2000–01. The team contented for the A1 Ethniki title and ended in the third position, while he was named the league's MVP. In parallel, they took part in ULEB's Euroleague and Ford shined for the first time at the highest European stage. He led the competition in scoring with 26 points per game and had a memorable 41 points outburst against Tau Ceramica in the top 16, making more than half of his team's 79 points that night. Tau qualified for the quarter finals sweeping the series two to none but Ford's performance is now part of the Euroleague legend. Finally, his nomination to the All-Euroleague 2000-01 First Team, was at the same time, a huge recognition and an official introduction to superstar status.

In the 2001–02 season, European powerhouse Olympiacos offered Ford a $1 million single-year contract. His mission was to bring a squad that had not won anything since the treble in 1997 back to the top. Ford signed the deal and the results were immediate: he led the Reds to a Greek Cup trophy by having 20 points, 7 assists and 3 rebounds in the semifinal against Bodiroga's Panathinaikos and 24 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists in the final game to defeat Maroussi 66–74. In the Euroleague, Olympiacos made it to the Top 16 and fell one game short from reaching the Final Four. Ford could actually not prevent a 85-89 home loss to outsider Olimpija Ljubljana although he had a solid performance that night with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. He still was once again the Euroleague's leading scorer with 24.8 points per game and was selected to the All-Euroleague 2001-02 Second Team. The season ended with a loss in the Greek championship finals series to AEK, with Ford missing the last two crucial games due to an injury.

The Euroleague showed a new face in the 2002–03 season. Indeed, the major Greek clubs were forced to reduce their budgets due to the renovation of their arenas for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. They became therefore considerably less competitive. Ford's contract with Olympiacos consequently was not renewed and he signed a new one with Italian league's Euroleague contender Mens Sana Siena. The adaptation period was not long for this phenomenal player and although his numbers dropped to 17.9 points per game, he was selected to the All-Euroleague 2002-03 First Team after Siena qualified for the Final Four. Unfortunately, Ford had one of his worst shooting nights ever in the semifinal against Benetton Treviso: he had 15 points making only 5 of his 19 shots. His 7 rebounds and 2 steals did not allow his team to overcome Benetton's obstacle, losing 62–65 in a highly intense game. In the Italian League, Ford averaged 19.1 points per game and Siena finished fourth.

Final season and death

Despite his leukemia being in an advanced stage, Ford played the 2003-04 season with Scavolini Pesaro. Averaging 22.2 points per game, Ford, in his final season, helped Scavolini reach fourth place in the Italian League, synonym of Euroleague qualification, and was the Italian Cup's runner-up, despite being near death. That record still stands today.

Only three days after announcing his retirement from Euroleague Basketball, Ford died from leukemia at age 32. He is survived by his wife Paula, their daughter Quekenshia, and their sons Karlderek and Alphonso, Jr. In Ford's honor, the Euroleague renamed its trophy for the leading scorer of the year the Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy. The player who replaced Ford on Scavolini Pesaro following his death, Charles Smith, would win the award the very next season.

Team titles and personal accomplishments

• Played the 1994 and 1995 CBA All-Star Game
• Played the 1996, 2000 and 2002 Greek All-Star Game
• 4x Greek league scoring leader 1997 (24.6 ppg), 1999 (22.3 ppg), 2000 (22.2 ppg), 2001 (23.7 ppg)
• 2x All-Euroleague First Team 2001, 2003
• 2x Euroleague scoring leader 2001 (26.0 ppg), 2002 (24.8 ppg)
• Greek league MVP 2001
• All-Euroleague Second Team 2002
• Won the 2002 Greek Cup with Olympiacos Piraeus
• Greek Cup MVP 2002

See also

• List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career scoring leaders

External links

• Official Web Site
• Euroleague.net Profile
• Basketpedya.com Profile
• NBA.com Historical Profile
• NBA Stats @ Basketballreference.com