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John Pierce (basketball)

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John Pierce
Personal information
Born1972 (age 51–52)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight209 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High schoolFranklin Road Academy
(Nashville, Tennessee)
CollegeLipscomb (1990–1994)
NBA draft1994: undrafted
PositionCenter
Career history
1995Stirling Senators
1997–1999Toyotsu Fighting Eagles Nagoya
Career highlights and awards
  • SBL MVP (1995)
  • 2× NAIA National Player of the Year (1993, 1994)
  • 4× NAIA All-American (1991–1994)
  • No. 50 retired by Lipscomb Bisons

John Daniel Pierce Jr. (born 1972) is an American former basketball center. He is the all-time/all-division scoring leader in college basketball history with 4,230 points. He played college basketball at Lipscomb University.

Early years

Pierce attended Franklin Road Academy. As a senior, he averaged 25.8 points and almost 10 rebounds per game, while receiving All-state and The Tennessean Metro Class A Player of the Year honors.[1]

College career

He accepted a basketball scholarship from NAIA Lipscomb University, to play under head coach Don Meyer.[2]

Pierce was redshirted during the 1989-90 season. As a freshman, he posted 22 points and 9 rebounds in 21 minutes during his first college game. As a sophomore, he set the school single-game record with 54 points against Arkansas Baptist College.

As a junior, he was named the NAIA Player of the Year after leading the nation in scoring with an average of 31.9 points per contest.[3] He also set the school's single-game points record (54) against Arkansas Baptist College.

As a senior, he broke his former teammate and roommate Phil Hutcheson's career scoring record of 4,106 points, to become the all-time/all-division scoring leader in NCAA basketball history with 4,230 points.[4][5]

Pierce graduated after helping his teams compile a 129-19 record, while qualifying for the NAIA tournament all four seasons and reaching a pair of Elite Eight appearances. He scored in double figures in every game that he played, while finishing with school records in career rebounds (1,497), field goals made (1,627) and free throws made (881).

In 2003, he was inducted into the Lipscomb Athletics Hall of Fame. His jersey number #50 was retired by the school. In 2003, he was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame. In 2012, he was named to the NAIA 75th Anniversary All-Star Team. In 2015, he was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. In 2018, he was inducted into the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame.[6]

Professional career

In 1995, he signed with the Stirling Senators of the second-tier State Basketball League (SBL) in Australia, where he received the league's MVP award. In 1997, he signed with the Toyotsu Fighting Eagles Nagoya of the B.League in Japan.[7] He also played professional basketball in France.[2]

Personal life

After his basketball career was over, he was hired as an assistant basketball coach at Brentwood Academy. In 2006, he was hired as the varsity boys' basketball head coach at his alma mater Franklin Road Academy. His teams have recorded over 300 wins and qualified for the D2A Tennessee state championship in two occasions.[8][2]

References

  1. ^ "Players of the Year". The Tennessean. March 14, 1989. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame bio". Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  3. ^ "Pierce's Numbers Say It All // David Lipscomb Center Outscores Greatest Names". Tulsa World. March 15, 1994. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  4. ^ "Pierce Hits Highest Mark Ever In College Basketball". The Washington Post. February 25, 1994. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  5. ^ "The 50 Greatest College Basketball Players of All Time". Grantland. December 2, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  6. ^ "Small College Basketball Hall of Fame bio". Small College Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  7. ^ "John Pierce Asia-Basket profile". Asia-Basket. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  8. ^ "Franklin Road Academy basketball coach, college hoops great John Pierce celebrates 300 wins". Brentwood Home Page. February 2, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
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