Spud Webb: Difference between revisions

Spud Webb
Personal information
Born	July 13, 1963 (age 61); Dallas, Texas
Nationality	American
Listed height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Listed weight	133 lb (60 kg)
Career information
High school	Wilmer-Hutchins (Dallas, Texas)
College	Midland College (1981–1982); North Carolina State (1983–1985)
NBA draft	1985: 4th round, 87th overall pick
	Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Playing career	1985–1998
Position	Point guard
Number	4
Career history
1985	Rhode Island Gulls (USBL)
1985–1991	Atlanta Hawks
1991–1995	Sacramento Kings
1995–1996	Atlanta Hawks
1996	Minnesota Timberwolves
1996–1997	Mash J. Verona (Italy)
1998	Orlando Magic
1998	Idaho Stampede (CBA)
Career highlights and awards
	NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion (1986); NBA FT% leader 1995;
Career NBA statistics
Points	8,072 (9.9 ppg)
Rebounds	1,742 (2.1 rpg)
Assists	4,342 (5.3 apg)
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball Reference

Browse history interactively

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Revision as of 15:32, 22 August 2012

Anthony Jerome "Spud" Webb (born July 13, 1963) is a retired American NBA professional basketball point guard. Webb is notable for winning a slam dunk contest despite being one of the shortest players in NBA history. He is currently the President of Basketball Operations for the Texas Legends, the D-League team for the Dallas Mavericks in Frisco, Texas.^[1]

Life and career

Early years

Webb was born in Dallas, Texas, into poverty. He was raised in a small two-bedroom home and used basketball as an inspiration. Webb was never tall, but he used his quickness and jumping ability to outplay the other kids. At Wilmer-Hutchins High School,^[2] he played on the junior varsity team where he made a large impact. When he made the varsity team, he averaged 26 points per game.

Midland College

Despite his impressive high school record, colleges showed little interest in Webb.^[3] Standing at 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm) tall,^[4] he received his first opportunity to play on a college basketball team when he attended Midland College (in Midland, Texas), where he led the Chaparrals to the junior college national title in 1982. In the championship game, Midland defeated #1-ranked and previously unbeaten Miami-Dade North of Florida, 93 to 88, in double overtime. Webb led all scorers in that game with 36 points, making 10 of 15 shots from the floor and 16 of 18 from the free-throw line.^[5] His performance at the tournament earned Webb a write-up in Sports Illustrated, and national attention. In 1983, he was named an NJCAA All-American by the National Junior College Athletic Association.

North Carolina State University

Webb attracted the attention of Tom Abatemarco, an assistant coach at North Carolina State University, who arranged for Webb to meet head coach Jim Valvano, who offered Webb a scholarship.

NBA career (1985-1998)

Webb was then drafted in the 4th round of the 1985 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. His first six seasons were played with the Atlanta Hawks, but he had his best years statistically with the Sacramento Kings, where he played as a starter from 1992-1995. He then split a season between the Atlanta Hawks and the Minnesota Timberwolves before finishing his career after one season with the Orlando Magic and retiring from professional basketball in 1998. Webb played 814 games in his NBA career, averaging 9.9 points per game, and registering 8072 points and 4342 assists in twelve seasons.

Since Webb made his NBA debut, only two players have been shorter than he was: Earl Boykins and Muggsy Bogues.

NBA Slam Dunk Contest

Webb was the shortest person to compete in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, winning the event in 1986. His participation surprised the media; including his teammate and defending dunk champion Dominique Wilkins, who had "never seen me dunk before," Webb said. His dunks included the elevator two-handed double pump dunk, the one-handed off the backboard one-handed jam, a 360-degree helicopter one-handed dunk, a 180-degree reverse double-pump slam, and finally, the 180-degree reverse two-handed strawberry jam from a lob bounce off the floor. He defeated Wilkins with two perfect 50-point scores in the final round. Atlanta coach Mike Fratello said, "Spud kind of duped him. He told Wilkins he never had anything prepared, didn't practice for it. So, Wilkins maybe thought his normal assortment would be good enough to get through". Twenty years after Webb's victory in the Slam Dunk contest, he trained New York Knicks point guard Nate Robinson (who stands at 5 feet 9 inches tall) to win the event. Webb tossed the ball to Robinson, who leaped over Webb and dunked, earning 50 points from the judges. Robinson went on to win, making him and Spud the only two people in NBA history under six feet tall to win a slam dunk contest.

Webb was a judge for the 2010 Dunk contest in Dallas. It was the first time the event has been in Dallas since Webb's win in 1986.^[6]

References

^ http://www.spudwebb.net/texas-legends.html#
^ "This T.O., We Like." Dallas Observer. October 25, 2006.
^ "Spud Webb Enrolls At Midland Junior College" sports.jrank.org
^ "DatabaseBasketball.com: Spud Webb Past Stats, Statistics, History and Awards". Basketballreference.com. 1963-07-13. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
^ "He's Bigger Than He Looks." Sports Illustrated. November 29, 1982
^ "Spud Webb to judge Slam Dunk Contest as part of NBA All-Star Weekend - ESPN Dallas". Sports.espn.go.com. 2010-02-13. Retrieved 2012-07-17.

External links

Template:Persondata

[1] ttp://www.spudwebb.net/texas-legends.html#

[2] "This T.O., We Like." Dallas Observer. October 25, 2006.

[3] "Spud Webb Enrolls At Midland Junior College" sports.jrank.org

[4] "DatabaseBasketball.com: Spud Webb Past Stats, Statistics, History and Awards". Basketballreference.com. 1963-07-13. Retrieved 2012-07-17.

[5] "He's Bigger Than He Looks." Sports Illustrated. November 29, 1982

[6] "Spud Webb to judge Slam Dunk Contest as part of NBA All-Star Weekend - ESPN Dallas". Sports.espn.go.com. 2010-02-13. Retrieved 2012-07-17.

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 == Life and career ==
 === Early years ===
-Webb was born in [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]], [[Texas]], into poverty. He was raised in a small two-bedroom home and used basketball as an inspiration. Webb was never tall, but he used his quickness and jumping ability to outplay the other kids. At [[Wilmer-Hutchins High School]],<ref>"[http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2006/10/this_to_we_like.php This T.O., We Like]." ''[[Dallas Observer]]''. October 25, 2006.</ref> he played on the junior varsity team where he made a large impact. When he made the varsity team, he averaged 26 points per game. During his senior season, when he first made a dunk at a school game, he was 5 feet 6&nbsp;inches (168&nbsp;cm) tall.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} After high school, he attended [[Midland College]] and [[North Carolina State University]], where he averaged 10.4 points and 5.7 assists per game throughout college.<ref>[http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/webbsp01.html/ ]{{dead link|date=July 2012}}</ref>
+Webb was born in [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]], [[Texas]], into poverty. He was raised in a small two-bedroom home and used basketball as an inspiration. Webb was never tall, but he used his quickness and jumping ability to outplay the other kids. At [[Wilmer-Hutchins High School]],<ref>"[http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2006/10/this_to_we_like.php This T.O., We Like]." ''[[Dallas Observer]]''. October 25, 2006.</ref> he played on the junior varsity team where he made a large impact. When he made the varsity team, he averaged 26 points per game.
 === Midland College ===