Danny Ferry

No. 35
Power forward / Small forward
Personal information
Born	(1966-10-17) October 17, 1966 (age 45) Hyattsville, Maryland
Nationality	American
High school	DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Maryland)
Listed height	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight	230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
College	Duke (1985–1989)
NBA Draft	1989 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2nd overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Clippers
Pro career	1989–2003
Career history
1989–1990	Il Messaggero Roma (Italy)
1990–2000	Cleveland Cavaliers
2000–2003	San Antonio Spurs
Career highlights and awards
NBA Champion (2003) Naismith College Player of the Year (1989) USBWA Player of the Year (1989) UPI College Player of the Year (1989) 2× ACC Player of the Year (1988–1989) 2× ACC Athlete of the Year (1988–1989) Consensus NCAA All-American First Team (1989) Consensus NCAA All-American Second Team (1988)
Career NBA statistics
Points	6,439 (7.0 ppg)
Rebounds	2,550 (2.8 rpg)
Assists	1,185 (1.3 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men’s Basketball Competitor for  United States Summer Universiade Silver 1987 Zagreb National team

Daniel John Willard "Danny" Ferry (born October 17, 1966) is a retired American professional basketball player and the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA).^[1] Considered one of the best high school basketball athletes in the country from the class of 1985,^[2] Danny Ferry was Parade Magazine's prep Player of the Year and one of the most highly recruited high school seniors in the nation before committing to Duke University.^[3] Known for his superb outside shooting, strong rebounding abilities and full-court vision while in college,^[4] Ferry's talents on the court likened him to that of a younger Larry Bird during his career with the three-time Final Four-bound Duke Blue Devils.^[4] The consensus All-American standout left Duke setting many school records while earning several national player of the year awards as one of the country's most celebrated college basketball athlete during his senior year.^[5] Drafted into the NBA in 1989 as the second overall pick in the draft, Ferry would go on to spend the majority of his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers where he became the team's all-time leader in games played (723 games) until Žydrūnas Ilgauskas surpassed his record on December 2, 2009.^[6] Danny Ferry is ranked among the top 50 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) men's basketball players of all-time as well as one of Duke's top basketball players in the school's history.

Early life[link]

Ferry was born in Hyattsville, Maryland^[5] to former NBA center and NBA executive Bob Ferry.^[5] The younger Ferry began his basketball career in earnest at DeMatha Catholic High School in Maryland where he excelled at the high school level under Morgan Wootten. The two-time All-American was ranked as one of the country's top high school basketball centers^[2] while at DeMatha and earned Parade Magazine's prep Player of the Year in 1985.^[3]

College career[link]

Ferry attended Duke University and played basketball for the school over four seasons from 1985 to 1989. During his college career, he helped lead the Blue Devils to the Final Four in 1986, 1988 and 1989, twice winning the MVP award for the East Regional. He was selected to the first team All-America in 1989 and second-team All-America in 1988. Ferry still holds Duke's all-time single game scoring record, scoring 58 points against Miami on December 10, 1988.^{[citation needed]} He is among Duke's greatest players of all time, ranking 5th in career points, 5th in career rebounds, and 7th in career assists–the only player in the top 10 of all three categories.^{[citation needed]} Ferry became the first player in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) history to collect more than 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in his collegiate career.^[5] He left Duke with several national player of the year awards under his belt, including the Naismith College Player of the Year,^[5] USBWA College Player of the Year (Oscar Robertson Trophy)^[7] and the UPI player of the year awards. Ferry's number 35 was retired in 1989 at the end of his senior season.^[8] In 2002, Ferry was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team honoring the fifty greatest players in ACC history.

Professional career[link]

Italy[link]

After college, the Los Angeles Clippers drafted Ferry in the first round (second overall pick) of the 1989 NBA Draft; he did not want to play with the Clippers,^{[citation needed]} and Ferry soon afterwards accepted an offer to play for the Italian league's Il Messaggero (now Virtus Roma) instead. Ferry made a name for himself overseas as he averaged 23 points and six rebounds per game during the 1989–90 season, leading the Italian club into the playoffs.^[5] The Clippers traded Ferry's rights on November 16, 1989, along with Reggie Williams to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for high-scoring guard Ron Harper, two first-round draft picks and a second-round pick.^[5][9]

Cleveland Cavaliers[link]

The Cavaliers signed Ferry to a 10-year guaranteed contract.^{[citation needed]} He had a decent career in Cleveland, but he never became the type of star the Cavs were hoping for based on his outstanding play for Duke.^[10] His best season in Cleveland came in 1995–96, when he averaged 13.3 ppg. He had only one other season in which he averaged double figures.

San Antonio Spurs[link]

The San Antonio Spurs signed Ferry as a free agent on August 10, 2000. Accepting a role as an off-the-bench shooter with the Spurs, Ferry played for San Antonio through the 2002–03 season.

Management career[link]

Ferry signed on to work at the middle management level in the Spurs' front office shortly after retiring as a player from 2003–2005. On June 27, 2005 the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Danny Ferry to a 5-year contract worth close to $10 million dollars as their eighth general manager.^[9] Ferry began his management tenure with the Cavaliers overseeing a series of less than optimal transactions.^[11] Nonetheless the team flourished with superstar LeBron James and newly installed head coach Mike Brown at the helm as the team made a series of serious postseason runs beginning in 2006. Ferry, Brown and Cavaliers' majority owner Dan Gilbert began to further reshape the organization's identity by adding unprecedented talent and depth to the Cavs' roster, notably acquiring All-Star guard Mo Williams, All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal, starting shooting guard Anthony Parker, Leon Powe, former All-Star Antawn Jamison and re-signing veteran center Žydrūnas Ilgauskas between 2008–2010.^[11] The personnel shuffling paid off in the 2008–09 season when Cleveland not only won its first Central Division title since 1976 but also, for the first time ever, finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference as well as the league overall. In the 2009–10 season Cleveland repeated these feats, with the NBA's best record for the second consecutive season.^[9]

On June 4, 2010, Ferry announced that he was resigning from the Cavaliers and would not seek a new contract.^[12] Ferry had one month left on his contract. The Cavaliers went 272-138 under Ferry.

In late August, he returned to the Spurs as the Vice President of Basketball Operations.^[13]

See also[link]

• List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 2000 points and 1000 rebounds

References[link]

External links[link]

• Danny Ferry at Basketball-Reference.com
• NBA Draft Busts - No. 10