Darrell Eugene Armstrong (born June 22, 1968 in Gastonia, North Carolina) is a former American professional basketball player, who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He is currently an assistant coach for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, who won the championship in the 2010–11 season.

Early life[link]

Armstrong did not play basketball in high school until his senior year, and did not play again until his junior year of college.^[1] He played college basketball at Fayetteville State University, a Division II school in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and was also a kicker on the football team.

After college, Armstrong was not drafted by any NBA team, and went on to play in the Global Basketball Association and United States Basketball League, as well as in Europe, where he began playing in Cyprus with Pezoporikos Larnaca, followed by an ACB stint.^[2]

NBA career[link]

Armstrong first signed with the NBA as a free agent for the Orlando Magic in late 1994–95, playing just 3 games with 10 points and 8 minutes of action including a spectacular one handed reverse windmill dunk late in a blowout vs the Indiana Pacers in his 2nd game. In 95–96 he played just 13 games in 41 minutes, scoring 42 points total.

He saw 67 games in his first full season on the roster in 1997–98, averaging 6 points per game in 15 minutes per game off the bench. Armstrong won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award and the NBA Most Improved Player Award in 1999, thus becoming the first player in NBA history to win both awards simultaneously. In a 1999 game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Armstrong stole an inbounds pass and streaked to the other end of the court for a game winning layup as time expired. He subsequently became the starting point guard for the Magic. His career year was in 1999-00, averaging 16.2 ppg in 31 mpg. During his nine years in Orlando, the team never posted a losing record, making the post-season seven times.

On July 7, 2003, Armstrong was arrested after an incident outside an Orlando night club. He was subsequently charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer, but the case was eventually dismissed.^[3] During that off-season, Armstrong signed with the New Orleans Hornets as a free agent. He was traded by the Hornets to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Dan Dickau and a second round draft pick on December 3, 2004.

On December 19, 2005, while he was still with the Dallas Mavericks, Armstrong was fined $1,000 for grabbing a microphone before a Mavs game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the American Airlines Center and yelling "How 'bout those Redskins!" Only a few hours prior, the Cowboys had been routed by the Redskins 35–7. Armstrong was raised in North Carolina as a Redskins fan.^[4] After appearing in the 2006 NBA Finals with the Mavericks, he was traded to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for guard Anthony Johnson in July 2006.

Armstrong was released by the Pacers on October 1, 2007, and signed with the New Jersey Nets after clearing waivers.^[5][6] He appeared in 50 games in 2007–08, averaging 2.5ppg in 11.0 minutes, and buried three 3-pointers in his final appearance of the season. After retiring, Armstrong re-joined the Mavs, as an assistant coach.

Player profile[link]

Despite his short height, Armstrong had the ability to dunk. He accidentally completed a reverse layup in the 1996 Slam Dunk Contest, which was deemed the worst dunk in the competition's history by Kenny Smith.^[7] Subsequently, he was awarded last place in the contest, and was never invited to compete again.

NBA career statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

Playoffs[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• NBA.com profile
• ESPN.com profile
• Darrell Armstrong at Basketball-Reference.com
• Official website

Yinka Dare (born October 10, 1972 – January 9, 2004) was a Nigerian professional basketball player. A 7'0", 265 pound (120.2 kg) center, he played four seasons in the National Basketball Association. In 2004, Dare died at only 31 years of age after suffering a heart attack.

Early years[link]

Born in Kano, Dare was discovered by Nigerian-born lawyer Lloyd Ukwu during a visit to Lagos in 1991. While Ukwu was driving, he noticed a very tall man sitting on a bench eating a bowl of food. When he asked him how tall he was, Dare said he didn't know.

Dare had previously spent most of his free time playing tennis, but soon picked up basketball for the first time.^[1]

High school/college career[link]

Already in the United States, Dare played one season at Milford Academy High, a prep school in Connecticut.

Subsequently, he played college basketball for George Washington University, where he excelled as a player under coach Mike Jarvis, also helping revive the basketball program. As a freshman in 1992–93, he led the Colonials to the NCAA Tournament round of 16 ('The Sweet 16'), the furthest they had ever advanced.

The next year, Dare led the team to the second round of the tournament. He finished his college career averaging 13.8 points and 10.7 rebounds per game; additionally, after just two seasons, he had become the Colonials' all-time leader in blocked shots, averaging more than two per game.

Professional career[link]

Dare was selected in the first-round (14th overall) of the 1994 NBA Draft by the New Jersey Nets, agreeing to a six-year, $9 million guaranteed contract. In the NBA, he would appear in 110 games in four seasons, all with the Nets; in his rookie campaign, he played for three minutes before getting injured (torn ACL) and missing the rest of the season.

The Nets left him unprotected during the 1995 expansion draft, but Dare was not selected by either the Toronto Raptors or the Vancouver Grizzlies. In his first full season (1995–96), in which he played a personal best 58 out of 82 games, he turned the ball over 72 times while registering no assists, holding the dubious NBA record for most games played in a season, 58, without recording an assist.^[2] During his four-year career, he would rack up a total of four assists accompanied by 96 turnovers, while averaging 2.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and less than 0.1 assists per game.

In early 1998, Dare was traded, along with David Benoit and Kevin Edwards, to the Orlando Magic, for Brian Evans and Rony Seikaly, and was immediately waived. Subsequently, he played intermittently in other leagues including the Continental Basketball Association and United States Basketball League, until 2003.^[2]

Death[link]

Dare died in 2004, after collapsing in his home in Englewood, New Jersey. A medical examiner determined that he had suffered a heart attack due to an arrhythmia condition discovered when he was in college.^[2]

Lucious Harris, who joined the Nets in 1997–98, Dare's final season said: "It's a bad situation. I feel for his family. Just 32, to have a heart attack, that's scary. It always seemed like he was in shape. But things happen and you don't understand why."

Kerry Kittles, who played with Dare in the latter's final two Nets seasons said: "He was a quiet guy, didn't talk that much. He worked hard - he didn't really play much, but he was a fun guy to be around. [He was] young: It makes you think... anything can happen any time. It's in the back of your mind [that] it could happen to you."

Jarvis, who coached Dare at George Washington, told The Washington Post: "Yinka was a kind, gentle person. He was nice to my family, as respectful as anybody I've come into contact with. I don't remember him having a bad word to say about anybody; just a nice, sweet kid."

Dare was survived by parents Gabriel and Joan, two sisters and a brother.^[3]

Other appearances[link]

• Dare appeared in the 1995 Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo video game NBA Jam Tournament Edition as a "bonus" player, available on the all-rookie squad at the onset of the game.
• He appeared in a Puma shoe commercial.^[2]

References[link]

External links[link]

• NBA.com profile
• Stats at Basketball-Reference
• Stats at BasketballReference

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Tyronn Jamar Lue (born on May 3, 1977 in Mexico, Missouri) is a former American professional basketball player who last played for the Orlando Magic in the National Basketball Association. The 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m), 175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st) point guard was selected out of the University of Nebraska by the Denver Nuggets with the 23rd overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, but was traded shortly thereafter to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won two NBA championships in his first three seasons. Lue now works as Director of Basketball Development for the Boston Celtics.^[1]

High school and college[link]

Lue attended Raytown Senior High School in Raytown, Missouri. He later went to University of Nebraska. He played basketball and studied Sociology. He finished his Nebraska career ranked third on the all-time list in assists (432), fourth in three-pointers made (145) and attempted (407), fifth in steals (154) and seventh in scoring (1,577). Declaring for the NBA draft after his Junior season, he led the Cornhuskers in assists in each of his three seasons, and finished his career tied with Dave Hoppen for most games with 30 or more points (7).

NBA[link]

This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help improve the article by updating it. There may be additional information on the talk page. (July 2008)

Lue opted for early entry into the 1998 NBA Draft. He was selected 23rd overall by the Denver Nuggets, but was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers with Tony Battie in exchange for Nick Van Exel on draft night. His first three years with the Lakers were disappointing. His playing time was limited, and he suffered from injuries in 2000. However, Lue excelled in the 2001 playoffs. Due to his quickness, he was specifically used to guard Allen Iverson during the NBA Finals. The Lakers' 4-1 series victory over Iverson's 76ers gave them the second of three consecutive titles.

In the off-season of 2001, Lue signed with the Washington Wizards, where he got considerably more playing time and subsequently became a better player at the point. He played with the Orlando Magic in 2003–04 where he got to play a lot of minutes alongside Tracy McGrady while leading the team to the worst record in the NBA that season: 21–61. After the season Lue, along with Juwan Howard and McGrady were traded to the Houston Rockets for Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato. In Houston, Lue did not get many minutes of playing time because of the number of point guards the Rockets had on their roster. He was traded during the mid-season to the Atlanta Hawks for Jon Barry. Lue starred in Atlanta, although he again led the team with the worst record in the NBA that year, and the worst record in franchise history: 13–69.

On February 16, 2008, Lue was acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks and was waived by the Sacramento Kings on February 28, 2008. Lue signed a contract with the Dallas Mavericks after clearing waivers.^[2]

On July 17, 2008, Lue signed a two-year contract with the Milwaukee Bucks.^[3]

On February 5, 2009, Lue was traded back to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Keith Bogans and cash considerations.^[4]

On October 23, 2009, Boston named Lue director of basketball development. ^[5]

NBA career statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

Playoffs[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tyronn Lue at NBA.com
• Tyronn Lue at Basketball-Reference.com