Andrew S. Fields (born January 10, 1957) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player and coach. As a player, he led Cheyney State to the 1978

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

championship, where he was named playoff MVP. His success led him to be drafted with the 18th pick of the second round of the 1979 NBA draft by the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

. He however failed to land a contract when Blazers management decided to sign just one player. A resident of

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, Fields graduated from

Atlantic City High School Atlantic City High School (ACHS) is a comprehensive public high school in Atlantic City, in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. It is the lone secondary school of the Atlantic City School District. The current school building opened i ...

in 1975. He played overseas, earning playing contracts in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, and most notably in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

for

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

(PBA). In the Philippines, Fields was among the best defensive and rebounding imports in PBA history, with a career average of 15.5 rebounds per game. He was an adept shotblocker, feared by local players and fellow imports. During his stint with Toyota, he sparked the team's dreaded fastbreak either with a shotblock swatted to the direction of a streaking teammate on the wings or a sharp outlet pass which he threw like an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

forward pass In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The forward pass is one of the main distinguishers between gridiron ...

to a teammate at the other end, usually Francis Arnaiz or Arnie Tuadles. He was part of the 1981 Toyota team that won the Open Conference championship over arch-rival

Crispa Redmanizers The Crispa Redmanizers were a multi-titled Filipino basketball team that played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) from 1975 to 1984. It was one of the nine founding teams of the PBA, winning a total of thirteen PBA championships, i ...

, playing alongside fellow import

Victor King Victor Bernard King (born July 16, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player. He played collegiately for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, where he was a four-year starter and two-time All-Southland Conference selection during his fin ...

. In that same conference he won the PBA's Best Import of the Conference Award. The following year, he teamed up with Donnie Ray Koonce to lead Toyota to the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

Open Conference title. On August 19, 2011, Fields was named the Head Men's Basketball Coach at

Atlantic Cape Community College Atlantic Cape Community College is a public community college in Atlantic County and Cape May County in New Jersey. Atlantic Cape enrolls more than 6,000 students. Its main campuses are in the Mays Landing section of Hamilton Township in Atlantic ...

. In his first season, he led Atlantic Cape to a 16–15 record and their first Region XIX Final Four appearance in 20 years. In February 2015, Fields was replaced by Marvin Graham as coach after becoming unable to return to coaching due to a car accident in January.

References

Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Switzerland American expatriate basketball people in the Netherlands American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American men's basketball players Atlantic City High School alumni Basketball players from New Jersey Centers (basketball) Cheyney Wolves men's basketball players Philippine Basketball Association imports Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Atlantic City, New Jersey Toyota Super Corollas players 1957 births 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople {{1950s-US-basketball-bio-stub