Clarence Weatherspoon, Sr. (born September 8, 1970) is a former American 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 in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA) born in

Crawford, Mississippi Crawford is a small town in Lowndes County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 641 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. During the 1840s, a Baptist minister named Peter Crawford lived in the area. When the town was platted in ...

. He is currently the assistant coach for Jones County JC. Previously, he was an assistant coach for the

Southern Miss Golden Eagles The Southern Miss Golden Eagles and Lady Eagles (also known as Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles and Lady Eagles) are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), located in Hattiesburg, Miss ...

. At

the University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

, Weatherspoon was a three-time

Metro Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year The Metro Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year was a basketball award given to the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Athletic (Metro) Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1976–77 season and was disc ...

, the only player in conference history to achieve the feat three times. He was selected by the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

as the ninth pick in the

1992 NBA draft The 1992 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1992, at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. The draft is considered to be one of the deepest in NBA history. The top three picks (Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Christian Laettner) were conside ...

. He played for the 76ers, the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

, the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

, the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central ...

, the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

and the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

, averaging 11.5 points per game throughout his career. At six-foot-seven-inches and 250 pounds (201 cm, 113 kg), he was nicknamed "Baby Barkley" early during his career due to a similar aggressive playing style attributed to fellow short-statured NBA power forward and former 76er,

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons in the Nati ...

. He participated in the 1993 Slam Dunk contest, finishing second to Harold Miner with an overall score of 92.

College career

After playing his high school basketball at Motley High School, in

Columbus, Mississippi Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, on the eastern border of Mississippi, United States, located primarily east, but also north and northeast of the Tombigbee River, which is also part of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Water ...

, Clarence "The Thumb" Weatherspoon decided to attend the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to a ...

, where he became the school's most decorated basketball player. Weatherspoon finished his four-year career at Southern Mississippi with averages of 18.5 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. He is first on the school's all-time list in rebounding, blocked shots, and minutes; is second in scoring (just six points behind all-time leader Nick Revon); and third in points per game, field goals made, field goal percentage, free throws made and attempted, and steals. The Golden Eagles were 64-53 during Weatherspoon's four seasons, including a 21-8 record in 1991 when USM were nationally ranked (at one point reaching no. 9) and advanced to the NCAA tournament. The Golden Eagles fell to

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

on March 14, 1991, in the opening round of the East Regional, 114-85, and Weatherspoon scored 21 points. It was the second straight season USM had made the NCAA tournament; in 1990 they had lost 79-63 in the opening round to La Salle. Weatherspoon led the Golden Eagles with 16 points. Weatherspoon was named Metro Conference Player of the Year for three straight years, from 1990 to 1992. He is the only three-time recipient of the award, and remains the all-time leading rebounder in the conference's history. Weatherspoon became the first Golden Eagle to have his jersey retired when his #35 was raised to the rafters on March 7, 1992, on the night of his final home game. As a collegian, Weatherspoon twice represented the US in international competition. In 1990, Weatherspoon was on the silver-medal winning USA team that participated in the

Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other ...

. In 1991, Weatherspoon was on the USA's team for the Pan-American games played in Cuba; the USA won the bronze medal, and in the tournament's seven games Weatherspoon averaged 9.6 points and 6.3 rebounds. In February 1991, Weatherspoon was the focus of a five-page feature in

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

. While at Southern Mississippi, Weatherspoon had a trademark dunk called the "Spoon Feed." Weatherspoon was inducted into the Southern Mississippi Alumni Association Hall of Fame in 2007.

NBA career

Weatherspoon was drafted by the

(Round 1, Pick 9) in the

. He was drafted just three days after the Sixers had traded away

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

. The Philadelphia media, who had once called Weatherspoon the "Metro's Barkley" during one of USM's NCAA tournament appearances, instantly drew comparisons between the departed Barkley and the recently drafted Weatherspoon. Spoon, listed at 6-7 but appearing closer to 6-5, was, like Barkley, an undersized power forward with a strong desire for rebounding and operating down low. Weatherspoon was referred to as "Baby Barkley" at times during his early career. He is often remembered for multiple pump fakes under the basket when scoring down low. Weatherspoon quietly had an excellent rookie campaign for the struggling 76ers. He averaged 15.6 points per game, which placed him third on the team, and he broke Lee Shaffer's thirty-one-year-old record for most points in a season by a Sixers rookie (the record has since been broken by both Jerry Stackhouse and Allen Iverson). Spoon led the 76ers in rebounding, was fourth among rookies in scoring (trailing

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program '' Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greate ...

Alonzo Mourning Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr. (born February 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who has served as vice president of player programs and development for the Miami Heat since June 2009. Mourning played most of his 15-yea ...

and

Christian Laettner Christian Donald Laettner (, ; born August 17, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. His college career for the Duke Blue Devils is widely regarded as one of the best in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) hi ...

), and scored a season-high 30 points in a nationally televised game at Denver. He was named to the all-rookie second team. Weatherspoon's second season was his finest as a professional. He led the 76ers in scoring at 18.4 points per game and averaged what turned out to be a career-high 10.1 rebounds per game. He was extremely consistent, scoring in double-figures in 80 of 82 games, and recording 46 double-doubles. He registered his only career

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

in a February, 1994, home win over Charlotte (15 points, 15 rebounds, and 13 assists), and scored a then career-high 31 points against Cleveland. He was one of only five players to have over 100 in the five major statistical categories (points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals), joining

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets a ...

David Robinson David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...

Shawn Kemp Shawn may refer to: *Shawn (given name) *Shawn (surname) See also * Sean * Shaun Shaun is an anglicized spelling of the Irish name Seán. Alternative spellings include Shawn, Sean and Shawne. Notable persons with the given name include: Peo ...

, and Clifford Robinson. Spoon was the only player of the group to not play in that season's All-Star Game in Minneapolis. He narrowly missed selection, receiving 13 of 15 votes from the East coaches. Philadelphia hired John Lucas as its coach and general manager in 1994, and Lucas moved Weatherspoon to the small forward position for the 1994–95 campaign. The Sixers included many lottery picks on the team: Weatherspoon,

Shawn Bradley Shawn Paul Bradley (born March 22, 1972) is a German-American former professional basketball player who played center for the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, and Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the ...

, taken second in 1993, and

Sharone Wright Sharone Addaryl Wright (born January 30, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Macon, Georgia, he played collegiately at Clemson University from 1991 until 1994. Wright was selected 6th overall in the 1994 NBA draf ...

, taken sixth in 1994. Weatherspoon averaged 18.1 points per game, but saw his rebounding numbers dip from his new position, down to 6.9 per game. He matched his career-high with 31 points in a January game at Phoenix against Charles Barkley. The Sixers won 24 games. Lucas drafted Jerry Stackhouse third overall in 1995, and in retained several unpredictable players, including

Vernon Maxwell Vernon Maxwell (born September 12, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who was a shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for thirteen seasons during the late 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. Maxwell play ...

and

Richard Dumas Richard Wayne Dumas (born May 19, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he is the son of former American Basketball Association player Rich Dumas. Basketball career Dumas, a 6' 7" small forward ...

. Within the season's opening month they had traded Bradley to New Jersey for

Derrick Coleman Derrick Demetrius Coleman (born June 21, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. Coleman was born in Mobile, Alabama, but grew up and attended high school in Detroit, and attended college at Syracuse University. He was select ...

, and the Sixers, while talented, were never able to develop consistency, save for Weatherspoon. He averaged 16.7 points per game, second behind Stackhouse's 19.2, and 9.7 rebounds per game. Spoon recorded 30 double-doubles, scored 20 or more 30 times, and was one of six players to record 100 in five of the major statistical categories. On the final day of the regular season, in a game at Toronto, Weatherspoon scored a career-high 35 points to go with 14 rebounds and 7 blocks. The season was not a success one, with Philadelphia winning 18 games—their win total decreasing every year of Weatherspoon's career as several coaches and players transferred. The 1996–97 season brought with it promise, as the 76ers drafted

Allen Iverson Allen Ezail Iverson (; born June 7, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Answer", he played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) at both the shooting guard and point guard positions. Iv ...

with the first overall selection. He joined Stackhouse, Coleman, and Weatherspoon on a talented Sixers squad whose pre-season mantra was "New Spirit, New Attitude." Philadelphia had fired Lucas and hired Johnny Davis to coach, and the team continued losing. Weatherspoon saw his role reduced, averaging 12.2 points and 8.3 rebounds for a Sixers team that battled injuries, consistency, and maturity. Weatherspoon's season-high of 34 points came against Golden State in January. Davis was fired the day after the season ended and shortly after, Larry Brown was hired. Brown's first move was to trade Weatherspoon to Boston along with Michael Cage for

Dino Radja Dino may refer to: Prefix * dino-, a common prefix in taxonomy, meaning "terrible", "formidable" **Dinosaur People * Dino (given name), a masculine given name and a nickname * Dino (surname), a surname found in Albania and Turkey * Diño, a sur ...

. The trade fell through after Radja failed his physical, and the Sixers' lack of communication with Weatherspoon, after five years of service, during this time angered him. He reported to camp unhappy though played dutifully as both a starter and, for the first time in his career, as a reserve. Weatherspoon's name was constantly in trade rumors, with the low point occurring during a December 1997 game with Miami, when Brown did not insert Weatherspoon into the first half because he thought he had already been traded. That trade did not occur until February when Philadelphia sent Weatherspoon and Jim Jackson to Golden State for Joe Smith and

Brian Shaw Brian Keith Shaw (born March 22, 1966) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He could play both guard positions, but wa ...

. On January 24, 1999, Weatherspoon signed as a free agent with the

. After one season with the team, he was traded to the

in a three-team trade that sent

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 ...

forward

Brian Grant Brian Wade Grant (born March 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center positions for five teams during 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He was known for his tenaciou ...

to the Heat. On July 21, 2001, Weatherspoon signed as a free agent with the

. On December 30, 2003, Weatherspoon was traded to the

for

Moochie Norris Martyn Bernard "Moochie" Norris (born July 27, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who played several seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as other leagues. He is the head coach of the Houston Push ...

and

John Amaechi John Uzoma Ekwugha Amaechi , OBE (; born 26 November 1970) is a British-American psychologist, consultant and former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Vanderbilt and Penn State, and professional basketball in the ...

. The Rockets waived him on August 15, 2005.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, align="left" ,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, 82 , , 82 , , 32.4 , , .469 , , .250 , , .713 , , 7.2 , , 1.8 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , 15.6 , - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 82 , , 38.4 , , .483 , , .235 , , .693 , , 10.1 , , 2.3 , , 1.2 , , 1.4 , , 18.4 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

, 76 , , 76 , , 39.4 , , .439 , , .190 , , .751 , , 6.9 , , 2.8 , , 1.5 , , .9 , , 18.1 , - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" ,

, 78 , , 75 , , 39.7 , , .484 , , .000 , , .746 , , 9.7 , , 2.0 , , 1.4 , , 1.4 , , 16.7 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 82 , , 36.0 , , .491 , , .167 , , .738 , , 8.3 , , 1.7 , , .9 , , 1.0 , , 12.2 , - , align="left" , 1997–98 , align="left" ,

, 48 , , 18 , , 26.9 , , .426 , , .000 , , .707 , , 7.0 , , .8 , , .9 , , 1.1 , , 8.4 , - , align="left" , 1997–98 , align="left" , Golden State , 31 , , 31 , , 33.4 , , .458 , , .000 , , .748 , , 8.3 , , 1.6 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , 10.7 , - , align="left" , 1998–99 , align="left" ,

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, 49 , , 3 , , 21.2 , , .534 , , .000 , , .804 , , 5.0 , , .7 , , .6 , , .4 , , 8.1 , - , align="left" , 1999–00 , align="left" ,

, 78 , , 2 , , 20.7 , , .513 , , .000 , , .738 , , 5.8 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .6 , , 7.2 , - , align="left" , 2000–01 , align="left" ,

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

, 82 , , 82 , , 33.8 , , .501 , , .000 , , .790 , , 9.7 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , 11.3 , - , align="left" , 2001–02 , align="left" ,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 56 , , 41 , , 30.9 , , .418 , , .000 , , .795 , , 8.2 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .9 , , 8.8 , - , align="left" , 2002–03 , align="left" ,

, 79 , , 19 , , 25.6 , , .449 , , .000 , , .768 , , 7.6 , , .9 , , .9 , , .5 , , 6.6 , - , align="left" , 2003–04 , align="left" ,

, 15 , , 1 , , 14.4 , , .450 , , .000 , , .947 , , 3.3 , , .9 , , .5 , , .1 , , 3.6 , - , align="left" , 2003–04 , align="left" ,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

, 37 , , 0 , , 17.6 , , .503 , , .000 , , .660 , , 4.2 , , .5 , , .6 , , .4 , , 5.6 , - , align="left" , 2004–05 , align="left" ,

, 40 , , 18 , , 13.1 , , .412 , , .000 , , .829 , , 3.1 , , .4 , , .2 , , .2 , , 3.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 915 , , 612 , , 30.3 , , .471 , , .196 , , .743 , , 7.5 , , 1.5 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , 11.5

Playoffs

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1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 22.4 , , .346 , , .000 , , .647 , , 4.2 , , .4 , , 1.4 , , .2 , , 5.8 , - , align="left" ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, align="left" ,

, 10 , , 0 , , 17.0 , , .417 , , .000 , , .583 , , 4.1 , , .1 , , .4 , , .3 , , 6.4 , - , align="left" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

, align="left" ,

, 2 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .400 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 3.5 , - , align="left" ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

, align="left" ,

, 1 , , 0 , , 1.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 18 , , 0 , , 16.9 , , .396 , , .000 , , .596 , , 3.7 , , .2 , , .6 , , .2 , , 5.6

Post-NBA career

In 2016, Weatherspoon was named an assistant coach of the men's basketball team for his alma mater, Southern Miss. In 2022, Weatherspoon was named an assistant coach for the men’s basketball team at Jones County JC in Ellisville, Mississippi.

References

External links

NBA.com Profile – Clarence Weatherspoon
()

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weatherspoon, Clarence 1970 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Mississippi Basketball players at the 1991 Pan American Games Basketball players from Mississippi Cleveland Cavaliers players Golden State Warriors players Goodwill Games medalists in basketball Houston Rockets players Miami Heat players New York Knicks players Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in basketball People from Crawford, Mississippi Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Philadelphia 76ers players Power forwards (basketball) Southern Miss Golden Eagles basketball players Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople