Tony Dorsey

Jerald Anthony "Tony" Dorsey ( born June 15, 1970 in Atlanta, Georgia ) is a former basketball player. The native Americans played after studying in his native country as a professional until 2000, interrupted by a brief stint in the German Basketball Bundesliga, in the British Basketball League. In the wake of the Bosman ruling Dorsey acquired British citizenship and then played even in Israel, France, Belgium and Italy, before he in his adopted hometown ended his active career in 2009. For the English national basketball team, he played 15 times.

Career

Dorsey graduated from the University of North Alabama in Florence, where he played for the high school team Lions in the NCAA Division II. In the not so significant second division of the NCAA, he won with the Lions, the national finals in 1991. Subsequently he was in his hometown for the Trojans in the summer league United States Basketball League and is active also have played in the Dominican Republic. First, Dorsey but got no contract in a more significant professional league.

1994 Dorsey therefore moved to Europe and signed a contract with the Bullets from Birmingham in the British Basketball League. In his second season he won the championship with the Bullets this league and was named MVP of last season. He was the successor of Roger Huggins, who was agierend a year earlier in the same position become MVP. Dorsey then moved to the German Basketball Bundesliga former champion Steiner Bayreuth, found there but can not cope and moved back to the Bullets in the English- BBL. In 1998 he won the championship again with the Bullets, and then moved on to league rivals Manchester Giants, with whom he won the championship in 2000 and was re-appointed to the MVP of the league. Dorsey acquired British citizenship and became a member of the England team, but with which he could qualify for no title fights themselves.

As a Briton Dorsey scored in European club teams in the wake of the Bosman ruling, no longer as a foreigner, and did other Americans no longer eligible to play away. First of all, Dorsey moved but for the 2000 /01 season in the Israeli Ligat ha Al to Hapoel Jerusalem. During the Israeli series champion Maccabi Tel Aviv started in the Suproleague FIBA Europe, the newly founded Hapoel ULEB Euro League followed, however, was eliminated in their first season in the first round. At the end of the season the team was reinforced by his English team-mate Roger Huggins and reached the Cup final, which was lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv. For the 2001/ 02 season, Dorsey then moved to the French LNB Pro A about the club from Cholet. In the French league Dorsey was in this season leading scorer with 20 points per game and reached the third place in the final table. In the play-offs for the championship then they lost the semifinal series against the eventual champion ASVEL.

In 2002, Dorsey then to the Belgian champions from Ostend in Flanders. However, the title defense did not succeed, but instead won the Walloon competitor Spirou Charleroi BC with Huggins in its ranks the Belgian double. In the following two seasons arrive no title wins for multiple Belgian champion and cup winner. 2005 Dorsey eventually moved to Italy and played in the second division Legadue for the club from Scafati, but switched at the end of October to league rivals to Jesi. While Scafati at the end of the season directly promoted to the highest Italian league, Jesi difference in the play-offs for the remaining promotion place from early.

2006 returned the now 36 -year-old Dorsey returned to his adopted country and played for the British champion Eagles from Newcastle, with which he successfully defended the title in the British Basketball League (BBL ). For the following season, he joined the BBL Cup winners from Guildford Heat, with whom he could celebrate his 2008 total of five British Championship. In the ULEB Cup in 2007 /08 but we had no chance and lost all ten games of the preliminary round. In the 2008 /09 season, he stood still for the Everton Tigers on the floor, who lost the final game for the championship against his former club Newcastle Eagles at the end of the season. Previously you had won the BBL Cup for the first time a title for the Tigers. Then his active career was finally over. In the all-time best list of BBL Dorsey ranks with 5826 points scored in 273 games in the top ten of the best points scorer.