Antoine Wright

Antoine Wright

Antoine Domonick Wright (born February 6, 1984 in West Covina, California) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. He was selected 15th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Nets (the highest pick from the Big 12 Conference that year and in Texas A&M University history until Acie Law was drafted 11th in the 2007 NBA Draft), after his junior year at Texas A&M University. He attended preparatory school at Lawrence Academy at Groton; in 2002, he led the Spartans to an Independent School League Basketball Championship.

Wright was born in West Covina, California to Wanda Wright. He has an older brother, Wayne, and a younger sister, Courtney.

Wright attended the Lawrence Academy prep school in Groton, Massachusetts, where in his three seasons he started 115 games and amassed 1800 points, 500 rebounds, 350 assists, 170 steals and 200 blocked shots. His career single game highs were 50 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists.

As a sophomore (1999-2000), Wright averaged 20 points per game, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, helping his school to a 15-12 record and earning him All-ISL and team MVP honors. The following year, his junior season, the team improved to a 23-2 record and Number 11 state ranking behind Wright's average 23.0 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists per game. He was named MVP of the 2001 playoffs and earned All-ISL and All-Scholastic honors.

In his senior year, Wright, who averaged 26.5 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists, was again named the MVP of the playoffs and earning All-ISL and All-Scholastic rankings as his team reached a Number 7 state ranking. Wright was named the Number 1 prep shooting guard in the country by ESPN.com, who also ranked him the Number 4 overall prospect. He was also named third-team Parade All-American. He was also dismissed from the High School months before graduating for disciplinary reasons.

Wright joined the USA Basketball Junior World Championship Qualifying Team in 2002, with the team earning a bronze medal for their 4-1 record and wright averaged 6.8 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, and a team second best 2.4 steals per game. The medal qualified the team for a berth in the 2003 FIBA Junior World Championships. He recorded tournaments bests of 10 points in the USA's preliminary round victory over the Dominican Republic and seven rebounds in their semifinal loss to Venezuela.

Wright was heavily recruited, entertaining scholarship offers from schools including Arizona, Maryland, Connecticut, UNC, Texas and Arizona State University. He chose to attend Texas A&M University and play under coach Melvin Watkins, primarily to show his loyalty to the coaching staff who had noticed him long before the other schools began wooing him.

Antoine Wright had a phenomenal season in his first year at Texas A&M University, becoming the consensus Big 12 Conference Freshman of the year. Leading the Aggies with 6.6 rebounds per game, .7 blocks per game, 1.3 steals per game, and 2.3 three pointers made per game, Wright's 14.5 points per game made him the second-highest scorer on the team, and one of only five freshmen in the nation to average 14.0 points and 6 rebounds. He had eight games where he scored more than 20 points, and 10 additional games where he scored 10 or more points. He scored a season-high 25 points in games against Miami and Texas. His best game, however, came against Kansas State University, in which he scored 24 points and had 11 rebounds.

Despite a tough year for the Aggies, who lost all 16 of their conference games, Wright who started in 26 of the 28 games in which he played, was named an Honorable Mention All-Big 12 player. He led the Aggies in scoring (13.5 points per game), three-point field goals (47) and blocked shots (98). Against Grambling, Wright scored a career-high 32 points, including 5 3-pointers. He recorded a career-high 12 rebounds against Kansas while also scoring 24 points. In the Big 12 Tournament, he scored 22 points in a game against Missouri.

After Coach Watkins was pressured to resign during the Big 12 Tournament, Wright seriously considered transferring to a different school or entering the draft early. He met with new coach Billy Gillispie, who told him that he needed one great year to become a first round draft pick, and vowed to help Wright attain that goal. Wright was still not completely convinced, until, after returning late from a weekend trip to Atlanta, Georgia, Gillispie suspended him for breaking the rules. As he watched his teammates complete their off-season workouts without him, he noticed that the players were beginning to look tougher and better, and Wright decided to stay and join them.

As a junior, Wright ranked fourth in the Big 12 in scoring, with 17.8 points per game, and led the league in three-point completion percentage (.447). His 36 steals were a team high, and he blocked 22 shots, second only to Joseph Jones for the Aggies. He tied his career-high 32 points in a game against Colorado, including making all 11 of his free-throw attempts. Against Texas Tech he scored 29 points, converting 7 of his 8 three-point attempts. These accomplishments made him the first Aggie to be named to First Team All-Big 12 by the Associated Press.

With Wright's assistance, under new coach Gillispie the team exhibited a dramatic turnaround, earning an invitation to the NIT. The team made it to the NIT quarterfinals, their best postseason performance since 1982, when they lost in the NIT quarterfinals. Wright scored 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting in their quarterfinal loss to St. Joseph's.

Wright chose to leave the Aggies after his junior year to join the 2005 NBA Draft. His 1,338 career points rank tenth on the Texas A&M all-time leading scorer list, while his 181 three-point field goals place him second, and his 50 blocks put him in 11th place of all Aggie basketball players.

During his first season as a professional basketball player, Wright played in thirty-nine games for the Nets, averaging 1.8 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.3 assists, and 9.5 minutes per game. He was forced to sit out the beginning of the season on the inactive list, but began gaining minutes as the season progressed, eventually becoming part of the rotation. Although Wright was drafted for his jump shot, he shot only 35% from the field.

Wright's 2006-07 season began much better, as he became a big part of coach Lawrence Frank's rotation. After starter Richard Jefferson injured his ankle against the Miami Heat, Wright took his place in the starting lineup. He was averaging 28.2 minutes per game and chipping in 8.5 points per game, and 4.5 rebounds per game off the bench.

An ankle injury caused Wright to miss eight games in the 2007–08 season.

Wright was part of a trade that sent Jason Kidd, Malik Allen, and himself to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, Keith Van Horn and future draft picks.

He scored a career-high of 24 points over 39 minutes in the 109–106 victory against the Indiana Pacers on November 25, 2008.

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Sonny Parker (basketball)

Robert S. Parker, known as Sonny (born March 22, 1955) is a retired American college basketball forward for Texas A&M University who was a first-round NBA draft pick for the Golden State Warriors. After retiring from basketball, Parker created the Sonny Parker Youth Foundation in Chicago to help inner-city students.

Parker was born in Chicago, Illinois and attended Chicago's Farragut High School, where he was received All-City, All-State, and All-Public League honors. In appreciation of his efforts on the school's basketball team, he has been named to the Farragut Hall of Fame, the Chicago Public Schools Hall of FAme, and the Illinois High School Hall of Fame.

After graduating from high school, Parker spent two years at Mineral Area College. In both of his seasons, Parker was named an All-American, as well as Conference Player of the Year and Region Player of the Year. He was an All-Conference and All-Region pick, and is the Mineral Area College's Leading Career Scorer. He has been inducted into the Junior College Hall of Fame.

Although Parker was recruited by many of the top college basketball programs, he chose to attend Texas A&M University, primarily to learn under legendary coach Shelby Metcalf. The lonely Parker, over 1000 miles from home, was quickly embraced by Metcalf and his family, often accompanying his coach on fishing trips. The men became close enough friends that after Parker was named the most valuable player in one of the many college tournaments in which A&M participated, he gave his reward, a nice watch, to Metcalf as a gift. Metcalf treasured the watch for twenty-five years,, before giving it to Parker's son Christian at the ceremony inducting Parker into the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame. At Metcalf's funeral in February 2007, Parker gave a eulogy and served as one of the pallbearers.

In his two years at Texas A&M, Parker led the Aggies to back-to-back Southwest Conference titles, earning himself first-team All-Southwest Conference honors both years as well. The team reached the NCAA Tournament in 1974-1975. As a senior, Parker averaged 20.7 points per game, a feat that only two other Aggie players have achieved in the 20 years since he left.

Parker was a first-round draft pick, chosen by the Golden State Warriors as the 17th overall pick in the 1976 NBA Draft. For 29 years, Parker held the record as the highest an Aggie had ever been drafted, until in 2005 Antoine Wright was chosen as the 15th overall draft pick by the New Jersey Nets.

In his rookie season, Parker played in 65 games, scoring a total of 379 points (5.8 points per game), with 2.7 rebounds per game and .9 assists per game. His team reached the playoffs, with Parker contributing 4.2 points per game and 2.8 rebounds, and .9 assists per game.

The following season, Parker played in 82 games, averaging 11.4 points per game, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. He ranked 16th in the NBA for Field Goal Percentage, with .519 field goals (406 out of 783). His best season, however, cam in 1978-1979, where he averaged 15.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, with 144 steals and 33 blocks.

In a thrilling game in November, 1981, Parker led the Warriers to a 102-100 victory over the Houston Rockets. At the opening of the final quarter, the Warriers trailed by 10 points before Parker and teammate Joe Hassett combined to score 13 points and give the Warriers their first lead with 3 minutes left to play. The game was tied at 100 when Parker rebounded a shot by his teammate Lloyd Free with two seconds remaining and completed a reverse layup to give the Warriors their victory.

After a disappointing 1981-82 season, where Parker averaged only 3.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game, in September 1982 the Warriers waived Parker, ending his NBA career.

For the six years that he played professional basketball, Parker averaged 9.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game.

In 1990, Parker established the non-profit Sonny Parker Youth Foundation (SPYF) in his hometown of Chicago. The foundation is designed to provide year-round educational, recreational, and multi-cultural programs for inner-city children from kindergarten through 12th grade. Through after-school and weekend programs, the foundation provides tutoring, ACT/SAT preparation, parents' workshops, job training, mentoring, career planning, and physical education in the hopes of improving the reading and writing skills of the students and preparing them to become more productive citizens. Parker is the president of the organization and is active in its daily activities.

Parker and his wife, Lola, have seven children. One of their sons, Jabarri, is following in his father's footsteps. As a nine-year-old in 2005, the boy showed enough talent to earn a spot on his school's eighth-grade basketball team, but the school would not let him play with the older children due to liability issues. He now plays with an elite youth travel team. Parker's eldest son is a graduate of the University of Oregon and plays professional basketball overseas.

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Billy Gillispie

Billy Clyde Gillispie (born November 7, 1959, in Abilene, Texas), also known by his initials BCG, is the men's head basketball coach at the University of Kentucky. His last name is spelled unconventionally, and is pronounced "Guh-LISS-pee".

After leading both UTEP and Texas A&M to postseason appearances one year after poor seasons, Gillispie became the only college basketball coach to be in charge of the NCAA program with the biggest turnaround in two consecutive seasons. Gillispie is known as an excellent recruiter who has managed to put together four straight top-25 recruiting classes. In his three seasons at A&M, the Aggies achieved three consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time ever. He drew criticism for the way he left A&M by having alerted the A&M players of his decision to take the Kentucky job via text message in route to the introductory press conference in Lexington.

Billy Clyde Gillispie was born November 7, 1959, the middle child and only boy among five children of Clyde, a cattle truck driver, and Winifred "Wimpy" Gillispie. He grew up in Graford, Texas, a town of 494 people located about 65 miles west of Fort Worth. As a child, Gillispie worked as a paperboy, delivering copies of The Fort Worth Press. At Graford High School Gillispie played point guard for the basketball team and was a standout athlete in his graduating class of 20 students. He attended Ranger College, playing basketball and baseball for them from 1978–1980 before transferring to Sam Houston State University to work as a student assistant for their basketball team under coach Bob Derryberry, a former classmate of Gillispie's father. Derryberry moved to Southwest Texas the following year, and Gillispie accompanied him, spending three years as a graduate assistant. Gillispie received his degree in education in 1983.

Gillispie spent the next few years building a coaching resume, spending two years as an assistant high school basketball coach before becoming a head coach at Copperas Cove High School in 1987. From 1987–1993, Gillispie held three high school head coaching positions. He was nominated for TABC (Texas Association of Basketball Coaches) high school coach of the year for his 1992–1993 season with Killeen Ellison High School, which set school records for winning percentage and points scored and ended the season ranked 4th in the state.

After a year as an assistant coach at South Plains Junior College, in 1994, Gillispie moved to Division I college basketball as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Baylor University under head coach Harry Miller. Miller and Gillispie had coached against each other in the same high school district as late as two years earlier, with Miller at Temple High. The school's 1996 recruiting class was ranked as high as number 6 in the nation. After three years at Baylor, Gillispie moved to the University of Tulsa to be an assistant coach under Bill Self. When Self moved to University of Illinois, Gillispie followed, working as an assistant there for the next two years. During those two seasons, Illinois won back-to-back Big Ten Conference titles for the first time in 50 years, advancing to the Elite Eight in the 2001 NCAA Tournament and to the Sweet 16 in the 2002 NCAA Tournament. With Gillispie's assistance, Illinois landed a top 10 recruiting class in 2002.

Through Gillispie's eight years as an assistant, he was a member of coaching staffs that won five conference championships in six years. As part of Bill Self's staff, he was a member of the only coaching staff in NCAA history to lead two different schools to the Elite Eight in successive seasons.

Gillispie was hired as the head coach of the men's basketball team at the University of Texas at El Paso in 2002.

In his first season as a head coach, the UTEP Miners finished a dismal 6–24. Despite the poor showing, Gillispie put his recruiting expertise to work so that his first recruiting class ranked in the top 25 in the country and included Filiberto Rivera, the 2003 National Junior College Player of the Year, and Omar Thomas, the all-time leading scorer in junior college basketball.

In the exhibition games preceding the 2003-2004 season, Gillispie's Texas-El Paso Miners defeated the famous Harlem Globetrotters 89-88, after Harlem had already defeated many college teams including Syracuse, the then-defending national champion. It was the first defeat the Harlem Globetrotters had suffered in 289 games.

Although the Miners were predicted to finish ninth in the WAC the following season (2003–2004), they instead captured their first conference title in 12 years. The team finished 24–8 and received a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The 18-win improvement was the best in Division I basketball that season, and one of the best in Division I history. As a result of their success, the Miners built a huge home following, ranking first in the NCAA in increased attendance. After his second season with the Miners, Gillispie was named Texas coach of the Year by the TABC and was a finalist for National Coach of the Year honors.

After two years at UTEP, Gillispie was approached to interview for the head coach position at Texas A&M University, vacant after the forced resignation of Melvin Watkins, whose team had gone 7-21 and failed to win a Big 12 Conference game in 2003-2004. Athletic Director Bill Byrne needed to revitalize the program, which had only one winning season in the previous eleven years, and desired a new head coach with the ability to "recruit the heck out of Texas". Gillispie agreed to take the job only after he was sure that the predominantly football-focused school was actually committed to winning, becoming the first native Texan to be the head basketball coach at A&M since J.B. Reid was hired in 1930.

Gillispie asked for a budget large enough to allow them to play confidence-building non-conference schedules, rarely venturing out of Reed Arena in the first two seasons. Using the padded non-conference schedule to their advantage, the Aggies won the first eleven games of Gillispie's debut season before finishing the season 21–10, a fourteen-game improvement over the previous season. Although the Aggies were picked to finish last in the Big 12 Conference, they finished 8–8 in conference play, winning games against number 9 Texas and Number 25 Texas Tech on their way to becoming only the third college team to ever finish .500 in league play after being winless the previous season. For the first time in eleven years, the team received a postseason bid, with their two wins in the NIT their first postseason wins in 23 seasons. With the best first-season record of any head basketball coach in A&M history, the Aggies had the most season wins since the 1979–1980 team had won 26 games. The Aggies were named the country's most improved team, making Gillispie the only coach in history to lead the most improved team in consecutive seasons. As a result of his success, he was the consensus selection for Big 12 Coach of the Year. and was selected to serve as a court coach at the 2005 USA Men's World University Games Team Trials.

Although the Aggies lost Antoine Wright to the NBA draft following the 2004-2005 season, the team did not suffer the predicted drop-off, and actually broke a streak of twenty-five years without being ranked in the poll. The Aggies finished the regular season with a 21-8 record, including a 10–6 conference record and a fourth-place finish in the Big 12, the best finish and most wins for Texas A&M since the formation of the Big 12 in 1996–97. For the first time since 1987, Texas A&M received a bid to the NCAA Tournament. As a twelfth-seeded team, the Aggies upset Big East champion Syracuse in the first round of the tournament but then lost in the second round to eventual Final Four participant LSU by the score of 58–57 on a three-pointer that LSU made in the final seconds of the game. Following the season, Gillispie was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year by several major newspapers and was named the Texas College Coach of the Year by the TABC.

The Aggies began the 2006–2007 season deemed capable of contending with the Kansas Jayhawks for the Big 12 regular-season crown and were picked to finish second in the Big 12 media and coaches' polls. In their twelfth attempt, on February 3, 2007, Texas A&M became the first Big 12 South team in conference history (31 attempts) to beat Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse, moving them into sole possession of first place in the Big 12. Less than forty-eight hours later the Aggies defeated their archrivals, then number-25 ranked Texas, marking their 21st straight win at home.

The 2006–07 Aggies ended the regular season ranked #7 by the Associated Press and #6 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll. The Aggies have set a school record for most consecutive weeks in the top 25, reaching a school high Number 6 ranking. On March 4, 2007, Gillispie was awarded his second Big 12 Coach of the Year award for leading the Aggies to a 13-3 conference record and a second place finish behind the Kansas Jayhawks. The 2006-07 post-season, the Aggies advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tourney. Their post-season hopes ended with a one point loss (65-64) to the University of Memphis Tigers at the Alamodome in San Antonio on March 22, 2007.

On April 5 2007, University of Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart was given permission by A&M to speak with Gillispie about the program's basketball coach opening, vacated by Tubby Smith.On April 6, 2007, the announcement was made that Gillispie had accepted the position.

At 12:45 p.m on April 6, 2007, Billy Gillispie was officially and formally announced as the new head coach of the University of Kentucky by UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart. He fielded questions from the media during the press conference held at UK's new practice facility, the Joe Craft Center. He expressed his excitement and joy to be not only considered for the position but to have been given the honor and the opportunity to coach what former UK coach Rick Pitino referred to as the "Roman Empire" of college basketball. "I'm very, very grateful and honored to be here, but we have a lot of work to do." Gillispie became only the sixth head coach in the last 76 years at the school.

Wildcat fans packed Rupp Arena for Big Blue Madness (the first practice of the season and the program's major publicity event) to catch a glimpse of their new coach in action. In his first few months he signed two high profile recruits, Patrick Patterson and Alex Legion. Patrick Patterson had previously been recruited by Duke, Florida, and Kentucky (by former coach Tubby Smith) before signing with Gillispie. Alex Legion would transfer 6 games into his first season at Kentucky. Gillispie's first season got off to a rocky start, being routed 84–68 in Rupp Arena, in the second game of the year to unranked Gardner-Webb, removing them from the AP top 25 for the remainder of the season. The Wildcats improved their record during conference play, achieving a 12-4 record and on March 11, Gillispie was named Co-SEC coach of the year along with Bruce Pearl of Tennessee.

On November 14, 2008 Gillispie's Kentucky team opened the 2008-2009 season with another shocking loss at home, this one to the VMI Keydets, by a score of 111–103. However, on November 30th 2008, Gillispie led Kentucky to a 54–43 come from behind victory over West Virginia to win the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invintational championship. Although his Wildcats had trailed for the entire game, Billy made halftime adjustments that stymied Coach Bobby Huggins West Virginia Mountaineers, eventually allowing Kentucky to overcome a 14 point deficit well into the second half - holding the Mountaineers to only 17 second-half points. Although neither team was ranked, the win was considered an upset victory for Coach Gillispie and his Wildcats after the VMI debacle and was the first in-season tournament championship win for the University of Kentucky since winning the Great Alaska Shootout in late 1996. After a 5-0 start in the SEC conference schedule, however, Gillispie's team dropped three straight games to Mississippi, South Carolina and Mississippi State, with the latter two losses coming at Kentucky's Rupp Arena. Some Kentucky fans vociferously booed Gillispie throughout the game in the Mississippi State loss. Kentucky rebounded against Florida on February 10th with a 68-65 victory in Rupp Arena. Jodie Meeks hit a contested fade-away three pointer with less than 5 seconds left to give UK the lead. Nick Calathes had an opportunity to tie the game after being fouled with 0.6 seconds left by Kevin Galloway, but missed all three free throws (The last intentional) to seal the UK win. With the win, UK improved to 17-7 on the season, 6-3 in the SEC.

On March 4th, 2009 Billy Gillispie's team dropped thier eleventh game of the season - falling at home in Lexington, KY to a Georgia team sitting squarely in last place in the SEC conference and coached by an interim head coach (Pete Hermann) ever since the Bulldogs head coach, Dennis Felton, was fired earlier in the season. The shocking loss set off a flurry of UK fans, school alumni, and even media, calling for Billy Gillispies dismissal as head coach at UK. The loss marked the 10th time in less than two seasons that a Billy Gillispie-led UK team has lost a game at Rupp Arena. Former Kentucky coaches Rick Pitino (8 seasons) and Tubby Smith (10 seasons) only lost 7 and 19 games in Rupp Arena respectively over their careers in the bluegrass.

Between April 29, 2008 and May 7, 2008, Billy Gillispie made recruiting waves by snagging commitments from five players spread over five different classes, most notably was the commitment on May 1, 2008 of Thousand Oaks, CA 8th grader Michael Avery. Avery, a member of the class of 2012, gave the University of Kentucky its earliest basketball commitment in the history of the program. The commitment also earned national scrutiny for Coach Gillispie and the University, but no there were no violations in the NCAA recruiting rules. As of March 4th, 2009, Gillispie has already snagged numerous high profile recruits for Kentucky. These include Three 5* recruits according to Scout.com (Patrick Patterson, Daniel Orton, & Dominique Ferguson), and Five 4* recruits (Alex Legion, DeAndre Liggins, Darius Miller, Kevin Galloway, and Jon Hood).

Gillispie is a self-professed workaholic. Despite the fact that he has three assistants who watch opponents' game film and summarize it for him, he watches as many as fifteen of an opponent's games, often working as late as 2 or 3 a.m. to ensure he has adequate time to devote to the task. He has stated that his eight-year marriage ended because he could not find a balance between work and home. With the sheer amount of hours he spends working, Gillispie often does not have time to even shop for groceries, once going as long as six months without any food in his refrigerator. For this reason his breakfast often consists of peanut butter crackers and Dr Pepper purchased at a local convenience store near his home.

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Melvin Watkins

Melvin Lenzo Watkins (born November 15, 1954 in Reidsville, North Carolina) is an American college basketball coach and former player. Since 2004, he has been the associate head coach at the University of Missouri. He served as interim head coach during the end of the 2006 season, but returned to his former position when new coach Mike Anderson was hired.

Melvin Watkins attended Reidsville High School in Reidsville, North Carolina. Watkins started for the high school basketball team for three years, from 1970 - 1973. His senior year he was named team captain and, after helping the team earn the state championship, he was named a 1973 High School All-American. A feat shared with only two other Reidsville athletes, Marcus Harris and Frank"Gilbert" Fleming, who accomplished it 21 years later.

Watkins played college basketball at UNC Charlotte, where he was the point guard and team captain of the 49ers' 1977 Final Four team. His #32 jersey was retired at his final home game in 1977. While at UNC Charlotte Watkins made a point to complete his education, earning a B.A. in Economics in 1977.

Watkins was drafted in the fourth round of the 1977 NBA Draft by the Buffalo Braves, but only lasted one season in the NBA.

In 1978 Watkins became an assistant coach for UNC Charlotte head coach Mike Pratt, and would continue as an assistant with Charlotte through eighteen seasons and three coaches - Pratt, Hal Wissel, and Jeff Mullins. When Mullins retired in 1996, Watkins was promoted and became the seventh head coach in school history and the first Charlotte alumnus to hold the position.

In his first season as head coach Watkins was named the Conference USA Ray Meyer Coach of the Year. He compiled an overall 42-20 record in his two seasons as head coach, bringing the 49ers to the NCAA Tournament twice, reaching the second round each year.

At the end of the 1998 season Watkins accepted an offer to become the head coach at Texas A&M University, a school which had enjoyed only one winning season in the previous eight years. During the next six years, Watkins failed to live up to the success he enjoyed at Charlotte, achieving an unimpressive 60-112 record.

In one of the team's more controversial games of Watkins's A&M career, A&M beat Texas Tech 78-76 by sinking a basket at the buzzer. As soon as the basket was declared good and A&M given the victory, Watkins shepherded his team off of the court and onto the team bus, without allowing them time to change. After watching a replay, officials declared that the basket had come after the buzzer, but Watkins refused to allow his team back on the court to play overtime, and after thirty minutes of discussion, the officials finally declared that A&M had won. The team left so fast that they forgot to bring their radio crew, leaving Watkins to conduct the post-game news conference from a cell phone while he was on the team's bus.

The low point came in 2003-04, when the Aggies put up a 7-22 record, going 0-16 in the Big 12 Conference. Watkins was pressured into resigning during the Big 12 Tournament in 2004. He attributed much of the team's poor showing to the youth of the team's very talented recruits, which included freshman Acie Law IV and sophomores Marlon Pompey and Antoine Wright, and under his replacement Billy Gillispie, Watkins's players developed into a very strong team, earning an 8-8 conference record and a trip to the NIT in 2004-2005.

During his tenure at Texas A&M, Watkins was noted for his outstanding recruiting, bringing eight National Top 100 recruits to the campus, including Antoine Wright the school's tenth all-time leading scorer. He also placed a large emphasis on academics, turning out 15 Academic All-Big 12 first or second team members during his six years, and ensuring that fourteen of the seventeen players who completed their eligibility at A&M went on to graduate (the remaining three players are playing professional basketball in overseas leagues).

After tendering his resignation at Texas A&M, Watkins accepted a job as associate head coach at the University of Missouri.

Watkins was named interim head coach at Mizzou following Quin Snyder's firing on February 10, 2006, with the Tigers at a record of 10-11 and suffering from a six-game losing streak. Watkins led the team to a 2-4 record during the remained of their conference play. Following the hiring of new head coach Mike Anderson, Watkins resumed his title of associate head coach.

Watkins is married to the former Burrell Bryant. They have three children, Manuale, Marcus, and Keia. Marcus played for his father at both Texas A&M and the University of Missouri.

Watkins is active in Habitat for Humanity, and has served as the co-chair of a battered women's shelter.

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Jason Kidd

Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball player in the NBA who currently plays for the Dallas Mavericks.

He led the New Jersey Nets to two consecutive NBA Finals appearances (2002 and 2003) and is considered to be one of the best players of his generation. His on-court versatility also makes him a regular triple-double threat, and he is in third place all-time for regular season triple-doubles in the NBA with a career total of 101 and second in playoffs triple-doubles with a career total of 11.

Kidd was born in San Francisco, California, the oldest of 6 children of Steve and Anne Kidd. His father, now deceased, was African-American and his mother is Irish American. He was raised in Oakland Hills, an upper middle class section of Oakland. He attended St. Paschal's Baylon school in Oakland Hills. He frequented the city courts of Oakland, where he often found himself pitted against future NBA All-Star Gary Payton. The two still reminisce about the playing days of their youth. During his youth, Kidd also excelled at soccer as well as other sports.

At St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda, California, under the guidance of legendary prep coach Frank LaPorte, Kidd led the Pilots to back-to-back state championships, averaging 25 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds and 7 steals his senior season. During that year, he also received a host of individual honors, including the Naismith Award as the nation's top high school player, and was named Player of the Year by PARADE and USA Today. The all-time prep leader in assists (1,155) and the state’s seventh-best career scorer (2,661 points), Kidd was voted California Player of the Year for the second time and also a McDonald's All-American.

After a highly publicized recruiting process, Kidd shocked many fans and pundits alike by choosing to attend the University of California, Berkeley -- a school that was coming off a 10-18 season and hadn’t won a Pac-10 title since 1959 -- over a slew of top-ranked collegiate programs including the University of Arizona, the University of Kentucky, the University of Kansas, and the Ohio State University.

During his first year at Cal, Kidd averaged 13.0 points, 7.7 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.8 steals per game which earned him national Freshman of the Year honors and a spot on the All Pac-10 Team, making him the fifth newcomer in conference history to do so. His 110 steals broke both the NCAA record for most steals by a freshman and set a school record for most steals in a season, while his 220 assists that season also was a school record. His play also was a key factor in the resurgence of Cal Basketball and helped The Golden Bears earn an NCAA Tournament bid, where they upset two-time defending National Champion Duke University in the second round of that tournament before losing to Kansas in the Sweet 16.

Despite enormous expectations stemming from his past season's success, Kidd continued his success as a sophomore, tallying averages of 16.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 9.1 assists, breaking his previous school record for most assists in a season with 272, while also leading the nation in that category. He was also selected a First Team All-American, the first Cal player to be so named since 1968, as well as Pac-10 Player of the Year, becoming the first sophomore to receive that honor. The Golden Bears would make the NCAA Tournament again as a 5 seed, but would be upset in the first round by Dick Bennett's twelve-seeded Wisconsin-Green Bay team 61-57. Kidd was also named a finalist for both the Naismith and Wooden Awards as college basketball's top player and subsequently opted to enter the NBA Draft in 1994. In 2004, the University of California, Berkeley retired Kidd's number 5 jersey, cementing his place among the school's all-time greats.

Kidd was selected as the second pick overall by the Dallas Mavericks, behind Glenn Robinson of Purdue, and just ahead of Duke's versatile swingman Grant Hill. In his first year he averaged 11.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and led the NBA in triple doubles, sharing 1995 NBA Rookie of the Year honors with Grant Hill of the Detroit Pistons. The year before the Mavericks drafted Jason Kidd, they ended a season with the worst record in the NBA at 13-69. After Kidd's first season with the Mavericks, their record improved to 36-46 which was the best improvement in the NBA that season. Kidd also was voted in as a starter in the 1996 All-Star Game. At the first 3 years with the Mavericks, the move most people associated him with is "the Baseball pass". Kidd was a member of the "Three J's" in Dallas along with Jim Jackson and Jamal Mashburn. However, that plan did not come to fruition, as all three found themselves playing for other teams shortly thereafter. Kidd was traded to the Phoenix Suns along with Tony Dumas and Loren Meyer for Michael Finley, A.C. Green, and Sam Cassell during the 1996-97 season. In 2001, after five seasons in Phoenix in which the team made the playoffs each year under Kidd, he was traded, along with Chris Dudley to the New Jersey Nets for Stephon Marbury, Johnny Newman, and Somailia Samake.

The 2001-02 season saw Kidd lead the Nets to a surprising 52-30 finish, and marked one of his best all-around seasons as he finished second to the Spurs' Tim Duncan in MVP voting. Many have argued that Kidd deserved to win the award because of his impact in New Jersey—transforming the Nets from perennial league doormats into championship contenders seemingly in the space of a single training camp. His contribution to the Nets during his first season in New Jersey was huge, and resulted in one of the greatest turnarounds in NBA history. He was also fortunate to join the team when he did, as the team reaped the benefits of the newly healthy Kenyon Martin, Kerry Kittles and Keith Van Horn; along with the trading of Eddie Griffin for Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins, and Brandon Armstrong.

Under Kidd's guidance, the young Nets team prospered through the playoffs and ended up advancing all the way to the Eastern Conference title and the franchise's first-ever appearance in the NBA Finals. However, New Jersey's season would end without an improbable NBA crown, as Kidd and the Nets were swept in four games by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers. New Jersey enjoyed another stellar season under the helm of Kidd's leadership in the 2002-03 NBA season, during which the team finished 49-33 and reached the NBA Finals once again, only to succumb to Tim Duncan's San Antonio Spurs in six games. He had his highest scoring season with 18.7 points per game and led the league in assists with 8.9 per game.

On July 1, 2004, Kidd underwent microfracture surgery to repair a damaged knee. He made a full recovery and returned to the court in December of that year, during which the Nets acquired star swingman Vince Carter from the Toronto Raptors. With the Nets hanging on the prospect of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2001 and with Jefferson injured, Carter and Kidd combined to fuel the team to a late regular-season surge that enabled them to inch past the Cleveland Cavaliers for the eighth and final playoff berth in the East. However, their season would come to an end early as they fell in four games to top-seeded Miami in the first round.

In 2005-06, Kidd averaged 13.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.4 assists (5th in the league). On February 1, 2007, Kidd was named a reserve for the NBA All-Star game along with teammate Vince Carter. However, Kidd missed the game because of a strained back and was replaced on the roster by Joe Johnson.

On April 7, 2007, Kidd and Carter became the first teammates to record triple-doubles in the same game since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen did it in 1989 for the Chicago Bulls. Kidd finished with 10 points, 16 rebounds, and 18 assists. In the 2006-07 postseason, Kidd notched his 10th postseason career triple-double on April 27, 2007 in game three against the Toronto Raptors. He recorded 16 points on 50% field goal shooting, a playoff career high 19 assists, 16 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block, as the Nets defeated the Raptors 102-89. He tied Larry Bird for second All-time in career postseason triple-doubles. In the first round of the postseason, Kidd averaged 14.0 points, 13.2 assists, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals, as the Nets defeated the Raptors in six games. He joined Wilt Chamberlain and Magic Johnson as the only players in NBA history to average a triple-double in multiple playoff series. In Game 3 of the second round in the 2006-07 playoffs, Kidd recorded his 11th postseason triple-double with 23 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds, breaking the tie with Larry Bird for second place on the All-Time career list. For the postseason, Kidd averaged 14.6 points, 10.9 assists and 10.9 rebounds in twelve playoff games. He became the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire postseason.

In the 2007-08 NBA season, Kidd became the third player to get a triple-double in three straight games since 1989. He did so after he logged his 97th career triple-double in a 99-115 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats.

Kidd had been mentioned in trade rumors, notably to the Los Angeles Lakers last season, but the deal fell through when the Lakers refused to give up their young center Andrew Bynum. On January 28, 2008, Kidd revealed that his agent has been talking to the Nets' front office about a trade. On February 19, 2008, Kidd was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, the team that originally drafted him.

On February 13, 2008, the Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey Nets reached an agreement on a trade to send Kidd and Malik Allen to Dallas for Devin Harris, Devean George, Jerry Stackhouse, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, two first-round drafts picks (in 2008 and 2010), and $3 million, but the trade fell through when George invoked his (Early) Bird rights, as was stipulated in his contract at the time. The trade was retooled, with Trenton Hassell replacing George, and Keith Van Horn, who had agreed to come out of retirement, replacing Stackhouse, because NBA officials informed the Mavericks that if Stackhouse were to be included in the deal, he could not re-sign with the team if the Nets chose to buy out his contract. Antoine Wright was also added to the retooled trade proposal (the two teams originally agreed on a separate deal that would send Wright to the Mavericks for a 2008 second-round pick, but were ultimately able include him in the Kidd deal).

On February 19, 2008, Kidd was officially traded to the Mavericks along with Allen and Wright for Van Horn (via a sign and trade deal), Harris, Diop, Hassell, Ager, $3 million, Ryan Anderson (the future 2008 first round pick), and the 2010 first round pick.

On April 16, 2008, Kidd reached a new career milestone, achieving his 100th career triple-double in the final regular-season game with the Dallas Mavericks that year against the New Orleans Hornets.

In the 2008-2009 season, Kidd became just the fourth player in NBA history to reach the 10,000 assist milestone.

Jason Kidd's first participation in USA basketball came after his first season at University of California, Berkeley. He was the only freshman chosen to take part in Team USA's 10-member team. The team played five games in Europe and finished with a record of 3-2. Kidd tied for team highs in assists per game with 4.0, and steals per game with 1.4. He also had averages of 8.4 points per game, and 4.2 rebounds per game.

Kidd's next stint with USA basketball came in 1999 where he participated in the USA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The team finished with an undefeated record of 10-0 resulting in a gold medal and earning a berth at the 2000 Olympics. Kidd averaged 7.4 ppg, 6.8 apg, 4.4 rpg, 2.7 spg and again led the team in apg and spg.

In 2000, Kidd was appointed as one of Team USA's tri-captains for the 2000 Olympics at Sydney, Australia. Kidd again led the team to an undefeated record of 8-0 which resulted in team USA winning the gold medal at the Olympic games. Kidd had averages of 6.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, and had team highs of 4.4 apg, and 1.1 spg. Kidd also had a FG% of 51.6 and shot 50% from 3-point range.

In November 2002, Kidd was selected to participate in the 2002 USA Basketball Men's World Championship Team. However, he had to withdraw from the team due to an injury.

Kidd came back the next year and participated at the 2003 FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico. Kidd again led the team to a record of 10-0, bringing home the gold medal and a berth at the 2004 Olympics. Kidd started all 10 games and had averages of 3.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 5.9 apg, and 1.2 spg.

However, Jason Kidd again had to withdraw from the 2004 Olympic team due to another injury.

In 2007, Kidd participated in the FIBA Americas Championship 2007. Kidd helped the team to a 10-0 record where he brought home another gold medal and a berth at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. Kidd had averages of 1.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.6 apg, and 1.3 spg. He also shot 60% from the field and 62.5% from 3-point. Kidd led the entire tournament with assist-to-turnover ratio of 9.20. With Kidd's help team USA averaged 116.7 ppg, and defeated their opponents by a margin of 39.5 ppg.

In 2008, Kidd participated in the 2008 Olympics where the team yet again went undefeated in winning their first gold medal since the 2000 Olympics. The team, given the "Redeem team" moniker because of failures in the 2002 FIBA World Championship and 2004 Summer Olympics, were once again crowned to be the best team in world basketball.

Jason Kidd has an impressive resume in USA basketball. In his professional career, he has an undefeated record of 56-0 including exhibition games. He has brought home five gold medals: three from Olympic qualifying tournaments, one from the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and one from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

In January 2001, Jason Kidd was arrested and pleaded guilty to a domestic abuse charge for assaulting his wife Joumana in anger. As part of his plea, Kidd was ordered to attend anger management classes for six months. Kidd completed the mandatory counseling and continued to attend on his own and it was reported that Kidd has since given up alcohol. He and his wife were both active in their church and were thought to have completely reconciled. On January 9, 2007, Jason Kidd filed for divorce against his wife, citing "extreme cruelty" during their relationship. Kidd contended intense jealousy, paranoia, and the threat of "false domestic abuse claims" to the police as reasons for the divorce. On February 15, 2007 Joumana Kidd filed a counterclaim for divorce, claiming that the NBA star — among countless instances of abuse — "broke her rib and damaged her hearing by smashing her head into the console of a car". The couple has three children (Trey Jason (T.J.), and twins Miah and Jazelle).

On January 10, 2008, news broke that Kidd and his girlfriend, model Hope Dworaczyk, were expecting a child together.

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Malik Allen

Malik Omar Allen (born June 27, 1978 in Willingboro, New Jersey) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA.

After four years at Villanova University Allen went undrafted in the 2000 NBA Draft. He began his career in the ABA with the San Diego Wildfire and in the International Basketball League with Trenton in 2000-01 season. On July 20, 2001 he was signed by the Miami Heat of the NBA. He stayed with the Heat until he was traded on February 24, 2005 to the Charlotte Bobcats. The Chicago Bulls signed him to a two-year deal on September 2nd 2005. Over two seasons with the Bulls Allen played in 114 regular season games making 21 starts and averaged 4.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. On September 10th 2007 the New Jersey Nets signed Allen to a one-year contract worth $964,636 (US$).

Allen appeared in 21 NBA Playoff games. He started all six playoff games for Chicago during '06 playoffs.

On February 19, 2008, he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks along with Jason Kidd and Antoine Wright in exchange for Keith Van Horn, Devin Harris, Trenton Hassell, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, $3 million cash and 2008 and the Mavericks' 2010 first round draft pick.

On July 17, 2008, he, along with Tyronn Lue of the Dallas Mavericks, signed a contract with the Milwaukee Bucks.

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