Adrian Francis Branch (born November 17, 1963, in Washington, D.C.) is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6'7" guard/forward out of DeMatha high school, Branch starred at the University of Maryland from 1981 to 1985. He was an All-ACC second team selection twice. In 1984 Branch led the Terrapins to the ACC Championship. He finished his career at Maryland as their second all-time leading scorer. In 2004, Branch was honored at the ACC Tournament as an “ACC Legend.”
Branch was drafted into the NBA in the second round by the Chicago Bulls in 1985. He played a reserve role with the Los Angeles Lakers when they won the NBA Championship in 1987. He later played in Australia for the NBL's Geelong Supercats and Brisbane Bullets, as well as playing in Spain, France, Monaco, Thailand, Philippines, Israel, Turkey and the Dominican Republic.
Branch has worked with Sportsworld Ministries, Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Young Life, Youth for Christ, Youth With A Mission (YWAM), Athletes in Action (AIA) and Sports Power International.
Leonard Kevin "Len" Bias (November 18, 1963 – June 19, 1986) was a first team All-American college basketball forward at the University of Maryland. He was selected by the Boston Celtics as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft on June 17, but died two days later from cardiac arrhythmia induced by a cocaine overdose. He is considered by some sportswriters to be one of the greatest players not to play at the professional level.
Bias was known to friends and family by his childhood nickname "Frosty". He was given the nickname by his good friend and pastor Rev. Gregory Edmond because he was "tall and cool and quiet and unassuming".
From Landover, Maryland, Bias graduated from Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, and subsequently attended the University of Maryland, where he became an All-American player.
Bias impressed basketball fans with his amazing leaping ability, his physical stature and his ability to create plays, and was considered one of the most dynamic players in the nation. By his senior year, scouts from various National Basketball Association teams viewed Bias as the most complete forward in the Class of 1986. According to Celtics scout Ed Badger, "He's maybe the closest thing to (Chicago guard) Michael Jordan to come out in a long time. I'm not saying he's as good as Michael Jordan, but he's an explosive and exciting kind of player like that." Jordan was then in his second professional season with the Chicago Bulls.
Adrian Lewis Peterson (born March 21, 1985), nicknamed "A. D." (for "All Day"), "A. P." and "Purple Jesus", is an American football running back for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). Peterson was selected by the Vikings with the seventh overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Oklahoma.
While at Oklahoma, Peterson set the NCAA freshman rushing record with 1,925 yards as a true freshman during the 2004 season. As a First-team All-American, he became the first freshman to finish as the runner-up in the Heisman Trophy balloting behind USC quarterback Matt Leinart. Peterson finished his college football career as the Sooners' third all-time leading rusher.
Following his stellar first pro season in which he set an NFL record for most rushing yards in a single game (296), Peterson was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He was then awarded the MVP award for his performance in the Pro Bowl and became only the fifth player in NFL history to have more than 3,000 yards through his first two seasons. In 2010, he became the fifth fastest player to run for 5,000 yards, doing so in his 51st game. Currently, Peterson has the fourth highest average rushing yards per game total in NFL history (min. 50 games) with an average of 92.5, trailing Jim Brown (104.3), Barry Sanders (99.8) and Terrell Davis (97.5).