Andre Woolridge (born November 11, 1973) is an American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He was an All-American college player at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

and played professionally for 12 years in nine different countries. In 2005, he was the Israeli Premier League Assists Leader.

Basketball career

Woolridge, a

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

from

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, starred for

Omaha Benson High School Omaha Benson High School Magnet, Benson High Magnet, or Benson High, is located at 5120 Maple Street in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, in the Benson community of Omaha. The original site of Benson High was the current building that houses Benson ...

where he led the team to the 1992 Nebraska state championship, scoring a record 50 points in the title game. He chose to play college basketball at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

as part of an acclaimed recruiting class with fellow in state talents

Erick Strickland Demerick Montae "Erick" Strickland (born November 25, 1973) is an American professional basketball player formerly in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Opelika, Alabama, Strickland attended Bellevue West High School in Bellevue ...

and Jaron Boone. He averaged 4.9 points and 2.0

assists per game In basketball, an assist is attributed to a player who passes the ball to a teammate in a way that leads directly to a score by field goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the basket. An assist is also credited when a basket is awarded due ...

and was named to the

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...

all-freshman team in 1993. Following his freshman season, Woolridge transferred to

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

to play for coach Tom Davis. After sitting out the 1993–94 season due to NCAA transfer rules, he became a three-year starter for the Hawkeyes. In his junior season, he was named first team All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

after averaging 13.1 points and 6.0 assists and leading the team to the 1996 NCAA tournament. As a senior, Woolridge became the first player to lead the Big Ten in scoring and assists and was again named first team All-Conference. Nevertheless, Bobby Jackson, who was later disgraced in the Ganglehoff scandal, received the Big 10 Player of the Year Award. Woolridge also received national recognition as he was named a third team All-American by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

. Following his college career, Woolridge was not selected in the

1997 NBA draft The 1997 NBA draft took place on June 25, 1997, at Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Vancouver Grizzlies had the highest probability to win the NBA draft lottery, but since they were an expansion team along with the Toronto ...

. He instead signed with

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...

in the

Turkish Basketball League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

, starting an international career that included the top leagues in Turkey, Italy, France, Germany, and Israel. In 2005, he was the Israeli Premier League Assists Leader. Woolridge retired in 2009 and started a basketball academy in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

References

External links