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Rod Strickland

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Rod Strickland
An African-American man sits with hands folded wearing a white shirt and tie
Strickland as an assistant coach for the Kentucky Wildcats in 2009
LIU Sharks
PositionHead coach
LeagueNortheast Conference
Personal information
Born (1966-07-11) July 11, 1966 (age 58)
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolTruman (The Bronx, New York)
Oak Hill Academy
(Mouth of Wilson, Virginia)
CollegeDePaul (1985–1988)
NBA draft1988: 1st round, 19th overall pick
Selected by the New York Knicks
Playing career1988–2005
PositionPoint guard
Number11, 1, 31
Coaching career2014–present
Career history
As player:
1988–1990New York Knicks
1990–1992San Antonio Spurs
1992–1996Portland Trail Blazers
1996–2001Washington Bullets / Wizards
2001Portland Trail Blazers
2001–2002Miami Heat
2002–2003Minnesota Timberwolves
2003–2004Orlando Magic
2004Toronto Raptors
2005Houston Rockets
As coach:
2014–2017South Florida (assistant)
2022–presentLIU
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points14,463 (13.2 ppg)
Rebounds4,084 (3.7 rpg)
Assists7,987 (7.3 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Rodney Strickland (born July 11, 1966) is an American basketball coach and former professional basketball player. He is currently the head coach at Long Island University.[1] Prior to LIU, he served as the program manager for the NBA G League's professional path.[2] Strickland played college basketball for the DePaul Blue Demons, earning All-American honors. He had a long career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing from 1988 to 2005. Strickland was an assistant coach for the South Florida Bulls, under Orlando Antigua from 2014 to 2017.[3] He formerly served in an administrative role for the University of Kentucky basketball team under head coach John Calipari and was the director of basketball operations at the University of Memphis under Calipari. He is the godfather of current NBA player Kyrie Irving.[4][5] Strickland was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame with the Class of 2008.

High school career

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A native of the Bronx, Strickland played for the New York Gauchos. While a junior he led Truman High School in Co-Op City to the state championship and was ranked as one of the top 10 high school recruits in the nation.[citation needed] As a senior, he transferred to Oak Hill Academy in Virginia.

College career

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Strickland became a college star at DePaul University where he appeared in 87 games. As a junior, he was a First Team All-American after averaging 20.0 points and 7.8 assists. A 1987 and 1988 All-America pick, Strickland helped lead the Blue Demons to three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 1985–86 to 1987–88, including Sweet Sixteen showings in 1986 and 1987. He ranks among the program's career leaders in scoring average (8th; 16.6 ppg), assists (3rd; 557) and steals (2nd; 204). He also averaged 3.4 rebounds while shooting 53.4% during his college career.

NBA career

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New York Knicks (1988–1990)

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He was selected in the first round of the 1988 NBA draft by his hometown New York Knicks, where he backed up point guard Mark Jackson, the 1988 NBA Rookie of the Year. Nevertheless, Jackson and Strickland shared time that season. Strickland played in all 82 games and averaged 8.9 points and 3.9 assists in 16.8 minutes per game where he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

San Antonio Spurs (1990–1992)

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The Knicks dealt Strickland to the San Antonio Spurs for veteran Maurice Cheeks in the middle of the 1989–1990 season.[6] Strickland flourished in San Antonio. The Spurs went 18–6 with him in the starting lineup. He led the Spurs in assists 26 times and averaged 12.3 points and 11.2 assists in 10 playoff games.

In the 1990–91 season Strickland lived up to his expectations as an exciting performer when he was healthy. He missed 24 games that year because of a sore ankle and a broken bone in his right hand. In the 58 games he played, Strickland averaged 13.8 points and 8.0 assists, shooting .482 from the field and .763 from the free throw line. He led the Spurs in assists 46 times and in steals 30 times. Strickland finished the year tied with Terry Porter for 12th in the NBA in assists. In a four-game series loss to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 1991 NBA playoffs, he posted 18.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 8.8 assists, and 2.25 steals in 42.0 minutes per game.

Starting the 1991–92 NBA season in a contract dispute with the Spurs management, Strickland did not play in the first 24 games of the season. He finally signed on December 23, then started 54 of 57 games and averaged 13.8 points, 8.6 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.07 steals in 36.0 minutes per game. He scored in double figures 48 times and scored 20 or more points on eight occasions. He notched a then career-high 28 points against the Indiana Pacers on February 6 and made a career-high 19 assists versus the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 3. Strickland started two playoff games against the Phoenix Suns before missing the third with a broken bone in his left hand. The Suns swept the series in three games.

Portland Trail Blazers (1992–1996)

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Before the start of the 1992–93 season, Strickland signed as a free agent with the Portland Trail Blazers.

On April 5, 1994, Strickland set a Trail Blazers record with 20 assists in a single game, during a 135–113 win over the Phoenix Suns.[7][8]

On January 24, 1995, Strickland set a career high with 36 points scored, on 15-21 shooting from the field, in a 105–99 loss to the Knicks.[9] During that year's playoffs, Strickland averaged 23.3 points and 12.3 assists per game in a first round loss to the Suns.[10]

On April 5, 1996, Strickland scored 27 points and recorded 12 assists in a 110-102 Game 1 loss to the Utah Jazz.[11] The Trail Blazers eventually lost the series 3–2, and the series was contested until Game 5, when Strickland scored only 10 points while missing 11 of his 16 shots, as the Jazz won 102–64.[12]

Despite regular season success in Portland, Strickland and the Trail Blazers never advanced out of the first round in the playoffs.[13] In four seasons with the Blazers, Strickland averaged 17 points and 8.6 assists per game.

Washington Bullets/Wizards (1996–2001)

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Strickland and teammate Harvey Grant were traded to the Washington Bullets for Rasheed Wallace and Mitchell Butler in 1996. In his first season in Washington, Strickland averaged 17.2 ppg and 8.9 apg helping the Bullets make the playoffs in 1997 for the first time in 8 seasons.

In 1997–98, Strickland had the best season of his career as he averaged 17.8 ppg and a league leading 10.5 apg. During the year, Strickland also became only the 25th player in NBA history to record 10,000 points and 5,000 assists. Strickland was selected to the second All-NBA team. While his individual stats improved over the next few seasons for the Wizards, the team got worse, leading to a buyout of his contract.

Last seasons and retirement (2001–2005)

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Strickland returned to the Portland Trail Blazers in 2001. He finished his playing career with the Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors, and the Houston Rockets. He played in 1,094 games (740 starts) and scored over 14,000 points and tallied nearly 8,000 assists. He also ranked among the NBA's top 10 in assists per game in 1991–92 (5th), 1993–94 (6th), 1994–95 (5th), 1995–96 (4th), 1996–97 (5th), 1997–98 (1st), and 1998–99 (2nd).

Strickland averaged 13.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 30.7 minutes of floor time per game.[14]

NBA career statistics

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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
 *  Led the league

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1988–89 New York 81 10 16.8 .467 .322 .745 2.0 3.9 1.2 .0 8.9
1989–90 New York 51 0 20.0 .440 .286 .638 2.5 4.3 1.4 .2 8.4
1989–90 San Antonio 31 24 36.2 .468 .222 .615 4.3 8.0 1.8 .2 14.2
1990–91 San Antonio 58 56 35.8 .482 .333 .763 3.8 8.0 2.0 .2 13.8
1991–92 San Antonio 57 54 36.0 .455 .333 .687 4.6 8.6 2.1 .3 13.8
1992–93 Portland 78 35 31.7 .485 .133 .717 4.3 7.2 1.7 .3 13.7
1993–94 Portland 82 58 35.2 .483 .200 .749 4.5 9.0 1.8 .3 17.2
1994–95 Portland 64 61 35.4 .466 .374 .745 5.0 8.8 1.9 .1 18.9
1995–96 Portland 67 63 37.7 .460 .342 .652 4.4 9.6 1.4 .2 18.7
1996–97 Washington 82 81 36.5 .466 .169 .738 4.1 8.9 1.7 .2 17.2
1997–98 Washington 76 76 39.7 .434 .250 .726 5.3 10.5* 1.7 .3 17.8
1998–99 Washington 44 43 37.1 .416 .286 .746 4.8 9.9 1.7 .1 15.7
1999–00 Washington 69 67 31.7 .429 .048 .702 3.8 7.5 1.4 .3 12.6
2000–01 Washington 33 28 30.9 .426 .250 .782 3.2 7.0 1.3 .1 12.2
2000–01 Portland 21 0 16.7 .418 .000 .577 1.7 3.4 .5 .0 4.6
2001–02 Miami 76 64 30.2 .443 .308 .766 3.1 6.1 1.1 .1 10.4
2002–03 Minnesota 47 8 20.3 .432 .091 .738 2.0 4.6 1.0 .1 6.8
2003–04 Orlando 46 9 19.9 .454 .303 .750 2.6 4.0 .6 .2 6.8
2003–04 Toronto 15 1 18.8 .333 .000 .682 2.5 3.9 .5 .3 4.7
2004–05 Houston 16 2 12.3 .209 .500 .900 1.7 2.4 .2 .1 1.8
Career 1,094 740 30.7 .454 .282 .721 3.7 7.3 1.5 .1 10.2

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1989 New York 9 0 12.3 .449 1.000 .529 1.4 2.8 .4 .1 6.0
1990 San Antonio 10 10 38.4 .425 .000 .556 5.3 11.2 1.4 .0 12.3
1991 San Antonio 4 4 42.0 .433 .000 .810 5.3 8.8 2.3 .0 18.8
1992 San Antonio 2 2 40.0 .591 — .625 3.5 9.5 1.5 1.0 15.5
1993 Portland 4 4 39.0 .423 .000 .833 6.5 9.3 1.3 .5 13.5
1994 Portland 4 4 38.5 .500 .000 .815 4.0 9.8 1.0 .5 23.5
1995 Portland 3 3 42.0 .415 .400 .778 4.0 12.3 1.0 .7 23.3
1996 Portland 5 5 40.4 .440 .500 .639 6.2 8.4 1.0 .0 20.6
1997 Washington 3 3 41.3 .423 .500 .737 6.0 8.3 1.0 .0 19.7
2001 Portland 2 0 9.5 .333 — .667 2.0 1.0 1.0 .0 4.0
2003 Minnesota 6 0 12.2 .524 — 1.000 1.0 2.8 .7 .3 4.7
Career 52 35 30.7 .446 .286 .706 4.0 7.5 1.1 .2 13.4

Coaching career

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In September 2008, Strickland was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame along with NBA stars Kenny Anderson and Sam Perkins, coach Pete Gillen and pioneers Lou Bender and Eddie Younger.[15]

Strickland started his coaching career as director of basketball operations at the University of Memphis, taking over the job held by former NBA player Milt Wagner.[16] Strickland was hired as an assistant coach at USF under former Kentucky assistant coach Orlando Antigua from 2014 to 2017.

He worked served in an administrative role at the University of Kentucky under Coach John Calipari.[17]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
LIU Sharks (Northeast Conference) (2022–present)
2022–23 LIU 3–26 1–15 9th
2023–24 LIU 7–22 6–10 7th
2024–25 LIU 3–7 0–0
LIU: 13–55 (.191) 7–25 (.219)
Total: 13–55 (.191)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Personal life

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Strickland is the godfather of the 2011 NBA draft first overall pick and 2012 Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving.[18] Strickland's son, Tai, played college basketball for Georgia Southern (2022–23) after previously playing for Wisconsin (2018–19) and Temple (2020–21 & 2021–22). His son Terell played for James Madison (2020–). Strickland also has a daughter.[19]

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In 1997, while Strickland was playing for the Washington Wizards, he was arrested in Washington D.C and charged with a DUI and disorderly conduct. He pled guilty to driving while impaired.[20] In 1999, he was arrested again for reckless driving and DUI; he failed field sobriety tests and refused a Breathalyzer test. Strickland was acquitted at trial. In 2000, he was arrested for disorderly conduct at a D.C. club. He was arrested a third time for DUI in January 2001, for which he pled guilty and spent 10 days in jail.[21][22]

On September 11, 2001, Strickland and singer Chico DeBarge had criminal complaints for assault filed against them after a fight outside a TGI Friday's in Maryland.[23][24] Strickland's portion of the case was dismissed in 2004.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Warren, Brooks (June 30, 2022). "Rod Strickland Leaving G League Ignite to Become Head Coach of LIU Brooklyn". slamonline.com. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  2. ^ "Q&A: Allison Feaster, Rod Strickland on Leading the NBA G League Professional Path". NBA.com. November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  3. ^ "Rod Strickland Bio". 14 April 2014. University of South Florida. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  4. ^ Ashish Mathur (September 16, 2018). "Rod Strickland knew Kyrie Irving would be special at a young age". USA Today. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  5. ^ Gary Washburn (August 11, 2018). "The Kyrie Irving-Rod Strickland connection". The Boston Globe. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  6. ^ Goldaper, Sam (February 22, 1990). "Knicks Trade Strickland to Spurs for Cheeks". New York Times.
  7. ^ "The top forgotten players of the 1990s | Sporting News India". May 27, 2020.
  8. ^ "Who Has the Most Assists in a Game by a Portland Trail Blazer".
  9. ^ "Trail Blazers vs Knicks, January 24, 1995".
  10. ^ "1995 NBA Western Conference First Round - Trail Blazers vs. Suns".
  11. ^ "1996 NBA Western Conference First Round Game 1: Trail Blazers vs Jazz, April 25, 1996".
  12. ^ "1996 NBA Western Conference First Round Game 5: Trail Blazers vs Jazz, May 5, 1996".
  13. ^ "Rod Strickland Stats".
  14. ^ "Rod Strickland Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  15. ^ Mallozzi, Vincent M. "City's Basketball Hall Welcomes 98-Year-Old Inductee", The New York Times, September 17, 2008. Accessed September 14, 2009.
  16. ^ "Rod Strickland hired as assistant coach for Memphis". August 31, 2006.
  17. ^ "Antigua, Robic, Strickland Named Basketball Assistants". University of Kentucky. May 19, 2009. Archived from the original on May 22, 2009. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
  18. ^ MacMullan, Jackie (February 24, 2012). "A father dedicated to helping his son". ESPN. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  19. ^ Hundley, Hayden (January 13, 2023). "'I'm pumped': Strickland brothers' sibling rivalry to revive in first college matchup". The Breeze. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  20. ^ "The News-Virginian from Waynesboro, Virginia". Newspapers.com. September 4, 1997.
  21. ^ "Strickland Again Is Charged With DUI". Washington Post. January 16, 2024.
  22. ^ "St. Cloud Times from Saint Cloud, Minnesota". Newspapers.com. October 28, 2002.
  23. ^ "Farewell, TGI Fridays Where Rod Strickland And Chico DeBarge Threw Hands On 9/11 | Defector". defector.com. February 18, 2024.
  24. ^ "Woman Tells Police Strickland Hit Her". Washington Post. January 17, 2024.
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