Derrick Samuel Alston Sr. (born August 20, 1972) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player who is the head coach for the
Westchester Knicks
The Westchester Knicks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in White Plains, New York, and are affiliated with the New York Knicks. The Knicks typically play their home games at Westchester County Center in White ...
of the
NBA G 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 ...
.
Early life
Born in
The Bronx, New York
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New York ...
, Alston played basketball at
Hoboken High School
Hoboken High School (HHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in Hoboken, in Hudson County, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Hoboken Public Schoo ...
in
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...
.
Professional career
Alston, a
power forward
The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...
/
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
from
Duquesne University
Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened as the Pittsbu ...
, started off his professional career when he was selected 33rd overall in the
1994 NBA Draft
The 1994 NBA draft took place on June 29, 1994, at Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. Two NBA rookies of the year were picked in the first round, as Jason Kidd and Grant Hill were co-winners of the award for the 1994–95 NBA season. Kidd and Hill ...
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 Eas ...
for whom he played two seasons. He then played 2 games for the
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...
in late
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
before taking his game overseas.
Joining the
New Zealand Breakers
The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...
mid-season 2007–08, Alston made an immediate impact. Statwise, he reached the top 20 in the league for FG%, shooting at 56.0%, and offensive rebounds, while averaging 13.8 ppg and being instrumental in helping the Breakers reach the playoffs for the first time in club history.
Career statistics
NBA
, -
, align="left" ,
1994–95
, 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. Sinc ...
, 64 , , 1 , , 16.1 , , .465 , , .000 , , .492 , , 3.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 4.7
, -
, align="left" ,
1995–96
, 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. Sinc ...
, 73 , , 41 , , 22.1 , , .512 , , .333 , , .491 , , 4.1 , , 0.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.7 , , 6.2
, -
, align="left" ,
1996–97
, align="left" ,
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, 2 , , 0 , , 5.5 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career
, 139 , , 42 , , 19.1 , , .489 , , .143 , , .487 , , 3.8 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.6 , , 5.4
College
, -
, align="left" ,
1990–91
, align="left" ,
Duquesne
, 28 , , 25 , , 28.8 , , .536 , , .000 , , .598 , , 6.3 , , 1.3 , , 0.8 , , 1.9 , , 11.3
, -
, align="left" ,
1991–92
, align="left" ,
Duquesne
, 28 , , - , , 32.8 , , .556 , , .000 , , .526 , , 8.0 , , 1.5 , , 1.2 , , 2.1 , , 13.9
, -
, align="left" ,
1992–93
, align="left" ,
Duquesne
, 28 , , 27 , , 34.3 , , .563 , , 1.000 , , .574 , , 9.3 , , 1.1 , , 1.4 , , 2.1 , , 19.9
, -
, align="left" ,
1993–94
, align="left" ,
Duquesne
, 30 , , - , , 36.0 , , .578 , , .000 , , .601 , , 7.3 , , 1.4 , , 1.6 , , 1.8 , , 21.3
, - class="sortbottom"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career
, 114 , ,
52 , , 33.0 , , .561 , , .333 , , .576 , , 7.7 , , 1.3 , , 1.2 , , 2.0 , , 16.7
Coaching career
After retiring, in 2012, Alston joined the staff of 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 ...
and served as their Player Development Coach for two seasons 2012–2015. On October 27, 2015 he was hired by the
Westchester Knicks
The Westchester Knicks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in White Plains, New York, and are affiliated with the New York Knicks. The Knicks typically play their home games at Westchester County Center in White ...
to be an assistant coach.
In August 2014, Alston traveled to the Philippines as a
SportsUnited
Formerly known as SportsUnited, Sports Diplomacy is the U.S. Department of State's sports diplomacy division. Sports Diplomacy uses sport to help youth around the world develop important off-the-court skills, including leadership, mutual understan ...
Sports Envoy for the
U.S. Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
. In this function, he worked with
Alison Feaster and
Erik Spoelstra
Erik Jon Spoelstra ( ; born November 1, 1970) is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has won two NBA championships as the head coach of the Heat. A Fi ...
to conduct basketball clinics and events for more than 375 youth from underserved areas. In so doing, Alston helped contribute to SportsUnited's mission to advance the status of women and girls around the world and to show support to an important regional partner.
Personal life
Alston's son
Derrick Alston Jr. is a college basketball player at
Boise State
Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...
.
Alston also has a daughter (Avery)
References
External links
Eurobasket.com profilebasketball reference.com
ACB.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alston, Derrick
1972 births
Living people
American expatriate basketball people in Argentina
American expatriate basketball people in Croatia
American expatriate basketball people in France
American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand
American expatriate basketball people in Russia
American expatriate basketball people in Spain
American expatriate basketball people in Turkey
American men's basketball players
Anadolu Efes S.K. players
Atlanta Hawks players
Basketball coaches from New Jersey
Basketball coaches from New York (state)
Basketball players from New Jersey
Basketball players from New York City
Bàsquet Manresa players
BCM Gravelines players
Boca Juniors basketball players
Centers (basketball)
Duquesne Dukes men's basketball players
FC Barcelona Bàsquet players
Hoboken High School alumni
KK Split players
La Unión basketball players
Libertad de Sunchales basketball players
Liga ACB players
PBC Ural Great players
Philadelphia 76ers draft picks
Philadelphia 76ers players
Power forwards (basketball)
Real Madrid Baloncesto players
Sportspeople from Hoboken, New Jersey
Sportspeople from the Bronx
Türk Telekom B.K. players
Valencia Basket players
Westchester Knicks coaches