Freddie Banks (born March 6, 1965) is an American former collegiate and 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. Banks attended the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

and is a member of the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame. Banks was the first pick of the second round (#24 overall) of the

1987 NBA draft The 1987 NBA draft was held on June 22, 1987, in New York City. This draft included two future members of the NBA 50 Greatest Players list, David Robinson and Scottie Pippen, as well as fellow Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, who was named to the ...

by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

Early life

Banks attended Valley High School in Las Vegas, where he was a 1983

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger ...

College career

Banks chose to stay home to attend and play collegiate basketball at the

University of Nevada-Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

under Hall of Fame Coach

Jerry Tarkanian Jerry Tarkanian (August 8, 1930 – February 11, 2015) was an American basketball coach. He coached college basketball for 31 seasons over five decades at three schools. He spent the majority of his career coaching with the UNLV Runnin' Rebe ...

. Banks played for UNLV from 1983–1987 and helped lead the Rebels to the 1987 Final Four. As a Senior in 1986–1987 Banks averaged 19.5 points per game, alongside teammates

Armen Gilliam Armen Louis Gilliam (born Armon Louis Gilliam; May 28, 1964 – July 5, 2011) was an American professional basketball player who played 13 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1987 to 2000. He also played one season for the Pi ...

and

Gerald Paddio Gerald James Paddio (born April 21, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played in three National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons for five different teams – the Cleveland Cavaliers, Seattle SuperSonics, Indiana Pa ...

in leading the

UNLV Runnin' Rebels The UNLV Runnin' Rebels are the men's basketball team that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in the Mountain West Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); it plays at the Thomas & Mack Center on campus. As ...

to a 37–2 record and the

1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 1987, and ended with the championsh ...

Final 4. Banks scored 38 points and hit 10 3-point shots in his final game, a 97–93 loss to the eventual Champion

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the Nationa ...

in the semi-final game. “He was the most clutch shooter I ever coached,” UNLV Coach Jerry Tarkanian said. Overall, Banks averaged 13.7 points, 3.5 assists and 2.2 rebounds in his 144 game UNLV career, making 42% of his 3-point shots and scoring 2,007 career points.

Professional career

A 6' 2" Guard, Banks was selected 23rd overall by the

in the

. Banks then played in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

for the Mississippi Jets and

San Jose Jammers The Bakersfield Jammers, known originally as the San Jose Jammers, were an American professional basketball team that were members of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1989 to 1992. Originally based in San Jose, California, the tea ...

, in the

World Basketball League World Basketball League (WBL) was a minor professional basketball league in the United States and Canada that ran from 1988 to 1992. It was founded as the International Basketball Association in November 1987, before changing its name prior to the 1 ...

(6'5" and under) for the Las Vegas Silver Streaks and in Greece.

Personal

As of 2018, Banks was Head Boys' Basketball Coach at Canyon Springs High School, in Las Vegas. Banks has a wife and seven children. At his UNLV Hall of Fame induction, Banks said: "It really is an honor. I feel really blessed to be a hometown kid that got to play for coach Tarkanian and win so many games here. For those of you who watched me during my fours at UNLV, just remember, Freddie Banks is still behind that three-point line."

Honors

Banks was inducted into the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame on February 7, 2005. In 2010, Banks was also inducted into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame. On Saturday, November 27, 2021, Banks had his number 13 jersey retired during halftime of UNLV's game against UCLA.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Freddie 1965 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Greece American men's basketball players Detroit Pistons draft picks McDonald's High School All-Americans Mississippi Jets players San Jose Jammers players Basketball players from Las Vegas UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball players Guards (basketball) 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople