Alphonso Ford
Alphonso Gene Ford ( born October 31, 1971 in Greenwood, Mississippi; † 4 September 2004 in Memphis, Tennessee ) was an American professional basketball player. Already during his studies, Ford was one of the best and most consistent points scorer in the history of NCAA Division I. After the end of the study, it was enough for him anyway only to individual operations in the most highly endowed professional league NBA. After playing otherwise in the " minor league " CBA, he moved to Europe in 1995, where he played especially for a station in Spain in Greece. At the end of his career, he still played two seasons in Italy. Ford reached usually an average of more than 20 points per game in Europe and was in the first two seasons of the ULEB Euro League as a " scorer " the player with the best average points of all players. After Ford in the 1997/98 season has already had to suspend an entire season because of leukemia, he continued his career in competitive sports continues anyway. In September 2004, Ford died at the age of not quite 33 years, although he had played until shortly before and had announced his career end just a few days before. The trophy of the best points collector in a season in the top European club competition Euro League was named in his honor as Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy.
Career
Ford went to study at the Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, which was founded as an educational institution for persons of African-American descent in times of racial segregation. There he played from 1989 to 1993 in the high school team Delta Devils in the Southwestern Athletic Conference ( SWAC ) of the NCAA. Neither the basketball teams in the SWAC in general, nor the Delta Devils in particular are counted among the leading teams in the Division I NCAA. Ford to achieve in his first year as a " freshman " a points average of almost 30 points, which he thereafter increased in the year to just under 33 points per game succeeded. This was exceeded in that game time within the Division I only by Kevin Bradshaw. Ford could in each of his four college seasons among the " Top Ten" in the category of best average points scorer place and scored a total of 3,165 points in four years, the fourth-best point yield of all players in the history of Division I. Despite his personal bests handed it to the Delta Devils only a win in the SWAC Championship Tournament 1992. Subsequently difference in the national NCAA tournament in the first round against the set in the regional group to number 1 Buckeyes of Ohio State University from 56:83.
In the " Entry Draft " of the doped at the highest professional league National Basketball Association (NBA ) Ford was selected after the end of his college career in 1993 in the second round to 34th position from the Philadelphia 76ers. Here he did not make it into the final season squad and was released to start the NBA season 1993/94 from his contract. Ford joined the Tri -City Chinook from Tri -Cities (Washington ) in the " minor league " Continental Basketball Association ( CBA). Then from mid-March 1994, he was given two successive short-term contracts with the Seattle SuperSonics and therefore still in his first six missions in the NBA in his " rookie" season as a professional. In the NBA playoffs, in which the main round first Sonics with 60 wins this season and the German NBA All-Star Detlef Schrempf almost sensationally eliminated in the first round in the squad, Ford was no longer under contract. In season break Ford got a contract with the Los Angeles Clippers, which was terminated as a year earlier, shortly before the season started. After Ford had played again at the Tri -City Chinook in the CBA, his personal story of the year repeated, as he 1995, two short-term contracts got this time the end of March by the 76ers, which anyway but not for the play- offs of the NBA 1994 / could qualify 95. Here he admittedly came in five appearances significantly more playing time to be able to take advantage of particularly productive without, however.
After Ford was not long-term fix in an NBA squad and his CBA team Chinook had been disbanded after the end of the season in 1995, sat Ford his professional career in Europe, where he in 1995/96 season for the club CB Peñas from Huesca played in the Spanish ACB League. For this team, he was just under 25 points on average the second best points scorer that season behind John Morton, who had played in the previous year in Huesca. As in the previous year could reach the league in only one play -down excretion. Afterwards, however, the club moved to eleven years old continuous membership in the top domestic league championship voluntarily to the second division back and awarded the license to Baloncesto Fuenlabrada. Therefore, Ford joined the following season in the highest class A1 Ethniki Greek game to AS Papagou from the capital Athens. After the resurgence of a year earlier, the team improved to seventh place and met in the pre- play-offs under reversed sign again on Sporting Athens, which one nevertheless subject to the prior year. At Ford, with just under 24 points per game scorer of the highest Greek league, was found after the season leukemia, so that AS Papagou the contract dissolved and Ford paused the whole of the following season, to cure the life threatening disease.
Seemingly recovered under Ford wrote to season 1998 /99 contract with Sporting Athens, which could improve on an eleventh place only slightly and were eliminated in the pre- play-offs against Iraklis Thessaloniki. Ford was again on his return to the highest Greek league top scorer with nearly 23 points per game and now got a contract with Premier League rivals GS Peristeri, who were also regular title taker in European club competitions in the 1990s. In Korać Cup 1999/2000 they reached the second round, which was lost against CB Estudiantes. In the national championship was reached in fifth place, the best finish in three years, but in the play- offs would retire with Ford, the leading scorer of the A1 Ethniki was the third time in the first round against PAOK Thessaloniki. After the conflict between the leading clubs from the Southern League and the FIBA Europe on the organization of the European League had escalated and the newly established ULEB reference agency had previously unprotected rights to the Europa League secured, now sat a bizarre haggling to the participants and greater recognition in the competitive competitions FIBA and ULEB euro Suproleague League. While up on Italy and Spain, the most national champions, including defending champion Panathinaikos Athens, further launched in FIBA Competition, Peristeri slid together with other Greek teams than last year's fifth place starting field of the new ULEB Euro League 2000 /01. After a strong second place in the group stage after the Italian masters Paf Bologna Peristeri difference in the knockout round play-offs against TAU Ceramica. Ford as top scorer of the inaugural season with 26 points per game was selected for the " All- euro League First Team " as a shooting guard. Was in the Greek championship in the Ford for the third consecutive time leading scorer, Peristeri reached on points with defending champion and first Panathinaikos Athens a historic second place after the main round, but had to be in the play-off semi-final series defeat in two games Olympiakos Piraeus give that subsequently lost the final series in five games.
In the 2001 / 02 season, Ford moved to the runner- Olympiakos Piraeus, who had not won more significant since the triple in 1997 and had been ultimately always inferior to the arch-rivals Panathinaikos in the national championship. At European level, the ULEB had the better arguments, ie the financially strong partner on their side and the FIBA had to give in, so that the Suproleague has been set and all European national champions started in the ULEB Euro League 2001 /02 for the most sporty or marketing technically most interesting leagues. In the second round, Olympiakos was ordered in a Greek " group " with champion Panathinaikos, AEK Athens and the later master the Slovenian champion and later ABA League Victors KK Union Olimpija deal. Panathinaikos retained only one defeat in Piraeus the upper hand, while Olympiakos was eliminated, and could then win the competition. Ford was re-elected with nearly 25 points on average scorer of Euro League and in the " All- euro League Second Team" of the ten best players of the season. After winning the title in the Greek Cup competition Olympiakos prevented in the semifinal series of the national championship a further championship success by defending champion Panathinaikos, but had his part in the final series AEK Athens give even beaten, even though they had won the first two finals.
Ford joined the 2002/03 season in the Italian Lega Basket Serie A for the aspiring club Montepaschi Siena. In the ULEB Euro League 2002/ 03 could be in the second round, among others, defending champion Panathinaikos behind and reached somewhat surprising the Final Four tournament. There they lost the semi-final against the Italian champions Benetton Treviso, but secured with a win in the " small final " about PBK CSKA Moscow in third place in the highest European club competition. With just 18 points on average but Ford missed the first time the award as the best scorer of the Euro League, but the only player from Siena, he was selected for the " All- euro League First Team " of the season. Also in the play-off semi-final series of the Italian championship is defending Treviso Siena was defeated. For the following season, 2003/ 04 Ford got a contract with Premier League rivals Scavolini Pesaro. The association, in the 1980s, twice by Italian masters, however, was represented by a 13th place in the previous year in any European club competition. Scavolini returned with a fourth place in the main round among the best Italian teams back, but had to concede defeat, who won then without defeat in the play- offs for the first time the Italian championship in the play-off semi-final series Ford's former team Montepaschi Siena. After Ford had decided in August 2004 to a Vertragsverlängung in Pesaro, who had for the first time qualified for the fourth place for the ULEB Euro League, he announced shortly after the end of August that he was not his career because of an acute become relapse of his leukemia could continue. Even just ten days later, Ford died at the age of not even 33 years in a hospital in Memphis. He left behind a wife and two sons. On the initiative of fans as well as Greek and Italian media, the ULEB decided in his honor to donate a trophy named after him for the best average points scorer of Euro League season.