Dean Daniel Oliver (born November 5, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach for the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team. An undrafted 5'11" (1.80 m)

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

from the University of Iowa, Oliver played with 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 ...

from 2001-02 to 2002-03.

Early life and college

Born in

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ), known as Illinois's "Gem City", is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Illinois, United States, located on the Mississippi River. The 2020 census counted a population of 39,463 in the city itself, down from 40,633 in 2010. ...

, Oliver graduated from Mason City High School in Mason City, Iowa in 1997 as a member of the

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...

with a 3.9 GPA. At the University of Iowa, Oliver played in the

Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...

basketball team all four years and graduated in 2001 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in

finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

. In his senior season, Oliver averaged 14.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. Oliver was a three-time third-team All- Big Ten Conference selection (1999–2001) and led the conference in assist/turnover ratio in his senior season.

Professional career

Player

In March 1996 and 1997 Oliver and his fellow players lead his team, the Mason City Mohawks, to two state tournament wins. Head coach at the time was Robert Horner, father of player and former Hawkeye, Jeff Horner. Oliver was not drafted in the

2001 NBA Draft The 2001 NBA draft took place on June 27, 2001 in New York City, New York. Kwame Brown became the first high school player to be drafted with the first overall pick in the history of the NBA. The selection of Kwame Brown by the Washington Wizards, ...

but played two seasons with the

, who waived Oliver on December 5, 2002. With the Warriors, Oliver played a mostly backup role in 35 games, averaging 1.8 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. Oliver's final NBA game was played on December 3rd, 2002 in a 110 - 89 win over the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

where he recorded 5 points and 1 rebound. On February 3, 2003, he signed with the

Greenville Groove The Greenville Groove were a National Basketball Development League (NBDL) team based in Greenville, South Carolina. Playing their home games at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, the Groove was a charter franchise of the league, which had four tea ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

(D-League). The Groove waived Oliver on February 23, and Oliver signed with the D-League team

Asheville Altitude Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and ...

two days later. In October 2003, Oliver signed with the expansion team of the USBL, Cedar Rapids River Raiders, in his home state of Iowa; the River Raiders would begin play in the spring of 2004. He then signed with the Dakota Wizards of the CBA in February 2004. The Wizards won the 2004 CBA title, and Oliver was a backup for the Wizards. Oliver began playing in European leagues in 2004. With Śląsk Wrocław of the Polish Basketball League, Oliver scored 17 points to bring the team to third place in the tournament. From 2007 to 2010, Oliver played for the Dutch team EiffelTowers, which won

Dutch Basketball League The Dutch Basketball League (DBL), formerly the Eredivisie, was the highest professional basketball league in the Netherlands, run by the Federatie Eredivisie Basketball (FEB). Since 2021, the league has been replaced by the Belgian-Dutch BNXT Le ...

Cups in 2008 and 2009.

Coach

In 2011, he became the head of basketball operations at North Dakota. In 2014, he became an assistant basketball coach at Illinois State. On April 20, 2017, Oliver was named an assistant at Wisconsin under coach

Greg Gard Gregory Glen Gard (born December 3, 1970) is an American college basketball coach for the Wisconsin Badgers . Gard took over on December 15, 2015, after Bo Ryan announced his retirement as head coach of the Badgers. Gard is a native of Cobb Wisco ...

Notes

External links

Illinois State bio

North Dakota bio

DraftExpress stats (includes European league stats)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Dean 1978 births Living people ABA League players American expatriate basketball people in Croatia American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in the Netherlands American expatriate basketball people in Poland American expatriate basketball people in Slovenia American men's basketball players Asheville Altitude players Basketball players from Illinois Basketball players from Iowa Dakota Wizards (CBA) players Golden State Warriors players Greenville Groove players Heroes Den Bosch players Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball coaches Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball players KK Zadar players North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's basketball coaches People from Mason City, Iowa Point guards Sportspeople from Greater St. Louis Sportspeople from Quincy, Illinois Undrafted National Basketball Association players Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball coaches