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Rafer Alston

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Rafer Alston
No. 11 – Miami Heat
PositionPoint guard
Personal information
Born (1976-07-24) July 24, 1976 (age 48)
Queens, New York
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolCardozo
CollegeFresno State
NBA draft1998: 2nd round, 39th overall pick
Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks
Playing career2000–present
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Rafer Jamel Alston (born July 24, 1976 in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, New York) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a member of the Miami Heat.

Streetball legend

Alston grew up in Jamaica Queens, New York and is widely regarded as one of the best streetball basketball players of all time.[1] He is often referred to by his streetball nickname "Skip to My Lou" or "Skip 2 My Lou", a name he received for skipping while he dribbled the ball.[2]

He has been associated with shoe manufacturer And 1's "Mix Tape Tour" promotional streetball team. And 1 has become well known because of his tape, which his coach sent to And 1. And 1 printed 500,000 copies, and the tape was offered as a free gift when their products were sold. Alston was a poster boy for the street league, and he carried his reputation into the National Basketball Association.

He played basketball under coach Ron Naclerio at Benjamin N. Cardozo High School in Bayside, Queens, New York.

NBA career

Alston played college basketball for 3 seasons: for Ventura College (1994/95, 1 season), then for Fresno City College (1996/97, 1 season; in the 1995/96 season he was redshirted at FCC) — both community colleges in California, and finishing at Fresno State (1997/98, 1 season).

Alston struggled early in his NBA career, but successfully transitioned from streetball to the professional game.[3] After sitting on the bench for most of the time he was with the Milwaukee Bucks, he was traded to the Toronto Raptors.[4] Following a tumultuous tenure with the Raptors, he emerged as a starter for the Miami Heat in 2004. He did not disappoint, averaging 12 points and 4 assists on a young Miami team, led by rookie guard Dwyane Wade, that made it to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals of the NBA Playoffs. During that season, in a March 26 game against the Dallas Mavericks, he hit a game-winning shot in overtime with 0.5 seconds left over the outstretched arms of Shawn Bradley to catapult Miami to a 119-118 victory. He would again sign with the Toronto Raptors during the summer of 2004, yet his career did not blossom in Toronto the way he hoped.

Alston was traded to the Houston Rockets for guard Mike James on October 4, 2005. Although Alston frequently was criticized for his attitude while in Toronto, it is believed that Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy conferred with his brother, Miami Heat coach Stan Van Gundy, who coached Alston during the 2003–04 NBA season, about Alston's work ethic and attitude. Jeff Van Gundy's reputation for toughness and his ability to get the most out of players previously considered "trouble-makers" or "temperamental" (e.g., Latrell Sprewell) led to optimism on the part of the Rockets' staff.[5] In the 2006–07 season, as the Rockets starting point guard, Alston averaged 13.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He finished the season ninth in steals among all NBA players, fourth in three pointers made, and 23rd in assists.[6]

On November 12, 2008, Alston was suspended for two games without pay for his role in a fight after a non-call foul with Matt Barnes and Steve Nash.[7] Alston was traded to the Orlando Magic in a three-way deal on February 19, 2009,[8] and replaced the injured Jameer Nelson in the team's starting lineup. On April 30, 2009, Alston helped the Orlando Magic defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 4-2 in a best of 7 series in the NBA Playoffs first round. Alston had 21 points to go along with 10 assists. The Magic then defeated the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers to advance to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers.

On June 25, 2009, he was traded to the New Jersey Nets along with Tony Battie and Courtney Lee in exchange for Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson.[9] He had his first triple double as a member of the New Jersey Nets in 2009-2010. On January 5, 2010 he was released by the Nets in hopes of letting him play for a contender.

On January 7, 2010, he cleared waivers and signed with the Miami Heat for the second time.[10] After starting 25 games for Miami, he was suspended indefinitely on March 6, 2010, for missing a practice and a game.[11]

On March 13, 2010, the Miami Heat upgraded his suspension for the remainder of the season. [5]. He is considering retirement. [6]

On Sunday morning, August 5, 2007, Alston was arrested in downtown Houston on misdemeanor charges of assault and public intoxication.[12] He was arrested again in the early hours of Tuesday, August 28 in New York on charges of allegedly slashing a man on the neck during a nightclub altercation.[13] Neither the club owner, police, nor security tapes have provided any evidence of the incident occurring.[14]

The charges brought against Rafer Alston for the incident that took place on August 5, 2007 were dropped on February 29, 2008.[15]

"We went into court, and the DA office indicated that all charges be dismissed based on their investigation," Al Ebanks (Alston's Lawyer) said. "They did not feel this is a case that should go forward. We're obviously pleased with the outcome, as pleased as can be when the case had no merit and understand should never have been charged in the first place."

"Al and a lot of my family members were worried if I could go on with the season, would it be on my mind," Alston said. "When you know you didn't do anything, I just waited for it to be over and came in and focused on basketball.

"You can deal with things when you know you didn't do it. Now the whole case is over with, and they want to keep it silent. I was on the front page when it happened.

"Now when it's dropped they want to keep it silent. That's OK. I can deal with that. That's not who I am."[15]

He was arrested again on August 7, 2008, and charged with DWI.[16]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1999–00 Milwaukee 27 0 13.4 .284 .214 .750 .9 2.6 .4 .0 2.2
2000–01 Milwaukee 37 2 7.8 .357 .267 .692 .8 1.8 .3 .0 2.1
2001–02 Milwaukee 50 7 12.0 .346 .380 .621 1.4 2.9 .6 .0 3.5
2002–03 Toronto 47 4 20.9 .415 .392 .685 2.3 4.1 .8 .3 7.8
2003–04 Miami 82 28 31.5 .376 .371 .769 2.8 4.5 1.4 .2 10.2
2004–05 Toronto 80 78 34.0 .414 .357 .740 3.5 6.4 1.5 .1 14.2
2005–06 Houston 63 63 38.6 .379 .327 .692 4.0 6.7 1.6 .2 12.1
2006–07 Houston 82 82 37.1 .375 .363 .734 3.4 5.4 1.6 .1 13.3
2007–08 Houston 74 74 34.1 .394 .351 .715 3.5 5.3 1.3 .2 13.1
2008–09 Houston 48 48 33.1 .370 .348 .789 3.0 5.4 1.2 .2 11.5
2008–09 Orlando 29 28 29.0 .413 .317 .707 2.9 5.1 1.8 .1 12.0
2009–10 New Jersey 27 13 28.4 .343 .322 .815 2.8 3.9 1.0 .2 9.7
2009–10 Miami 25 25 26.2 .355 .370 .556 2.2 2.9 .9 .2 6.6
Career 671 452 28.9 .383 .354 .729 2.8 4.8 1.2 .2 10.1

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1999–00 Milwaukee 4 0 4.0 .000 .000 .000 .0 .3 .0 .0 .0
2000–01 Milwaukee 5 0 1.6 .000 .000 .000 .0 .2 .0 .0 .0
2003–04 Miami 13 0 22.7 .319 .231 .840 2.2 1.7 .4 .1 7.0
2006–07 Houston 7 7 44.1 .338 .320 .769 6.9 5.0 1.9 .4 10.9
2007–08 Houston 4 4 31.5 .438 .440 .800 1.5 4.5 1.0 .0 14.3
2008–09 Orlando 23 23 32.2 .380 .319 .750 2.4 4.1 1.4 .2 12.2
Career 56 34 26.7 .365 .311 .764 2.5 3.1 1.0 .1 9.0

References

  1. ^ Former streetball star Rafer Alston has stabilized the NBA playoff-bound Orlando Magic
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ Beck, Howard (April 11, 2009). "Alston Is a Key to Magic's Playoff Run". The New York Times. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
  4. ^ [2]
  5. ^ [3]
  6. ^ http://www.nba.com/playerfile/rafer_alston/bio.html
  7. ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gQiCNnFelPNA2Xu_ztYJhpVd8t8AD94ET25O7
  8. ^ "Magic to acquire Alston in 3-team deal". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  9. ^ "Nets Acquire Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee from Orlando". NBA.com. 2009-06-25. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
  10. ^ Heat sign Alston off waivers, ESPN
  11. ^ Heat Suspend Rafer Alston Indefinitely
  12. ^ Rockets' Alston arrested, charged with assault, public intoxication, retrieved August 6, 2007
  13. ^ Alston accused of slashing man in club, retrieved August 28, 2007
  14. ^ [4], retrieved August 31, 2007
  15. ^ a b Alston vindicated in N.Y. assault case, retrieved March 2, 2008
  16. ^ Testimony Begins in DWI Trial of Rockets Guard Alston, retrieved October 24, 2008
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