Haywoode Wilvon Workman (born January 23, 1966) 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 a

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball 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 in the United S ...

(NBA). He played the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

position at 6'2", and played 359 games in eight NBA seasons for five teams from 1989 to 2000 (averaging 5.5 points, 3.9 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1 steal in 20.1 minutes per game). He also appeared in 41 career NBA playoff games, averaging 5.9 points, 4.2 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game.

College

Workman attended

Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) is a historically black public university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina. History Winston-Salem State University was founded as Slater Industrial Academy o ...

for one year (1984/85) before transferring to

Oral Roberts University Oral Roberts University (ORU) is a private evangelical university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1963, the university is named after its founder, evangelist Oral Roberts. Sitting on a campus, ORU offers over 70 undergraduate degree programs ...

for three seasons (1986/87-1988/89; missing the 1985/86 season as s transfer student).

Oral Roberts Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009) was an American Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christianity, Christian televangelist, ordained in both the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, Pentecostal Holin ...

went 27–52 during Workman's tenure, where he posted career averages of 17.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.9 steals. Workman's most memorable college performance came in December 1988 when he scored a career high 42 points (18 from 3-pointers and 15 from FTs) against the sixth-ranked

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run ...

featuring

Mookie Blaylock Daron Oshay "Mookie" Blaylock (born March 20, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. He spent 13 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks, and the Golden State Warriors. Col ...

and

Stacey King Ronald Stacey King (born January 29, 1967) is an American sports announcer and retired National Basketball Association (NBA) center who won three consecutive championships with the Chicago Bulls from 1991 to 1993. King is currently the lead col ...

; Oklahoma won 152–122. In his junior year, Workman was named Honorable Mention All-American. Workman remains 8th on the school's all-time points scored list, 5th in total free-throws made, and 10th in total assists. He also has the records for most steals in a game, in a season, and in a career at Oral Roberts. He is a member of the Oral Roberts Hall of Fame.

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 1986–87 , align="left" ,

, 28 , , 28 , , 38.8 , , .365 , , .286 , , .796 , , 3.3 , , 6.7 , , 1.9 , , 0.1 , , 13.8 , - , align="left" , 1987–88 , align="left" ,

, 29 , , 28 , , 34.1 , , .415 , , .282 , , .755 , , 6.0 , , 2.7 , , 3.6 , , 0.1 , , 19.4 , - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

, 28 , , 26 , , 35.0 , , .483 , , .366 , , .815 , , 6.1 , , 3.9 , , 3.3 , , 0.1 , , 19.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 85 , , 82 , , 35.9 , , .425 , , .310 , , .788 , , 5.2 , , 4.4 , , 2.9 , , 0.1 , , 17.7

Professional career

Workman was selected 22nd in the second round (49th overall) in the 1989 NBA Draft. Unfortunately for Workman, the Hawks cut him six games into the season, opting for the services of

Sedric Toney Sedric Andre Toney (born April 13, 1962) is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) player. He was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 59th overall pick (third round) of the 1985 NBA draft. Born in Columbus, Mississippi, he p ...

in backing up

Doc Rivers Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers (born October 13, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing for Marquette Universit ...

and

Spud Webb Anthony Jerome "Spud" Webb (born July 13, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. Webb, who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA), is known for winning a Slam Dunk Contest despite being one of the shortest players ...

at the point. Workman would go on to play for the

Topeka Sizzlers The Topeka Sizzlers, originally the Kansas City Sizzlers, were a professional basketball team based in Kansas City, Missouri from 1985 to 1986 until they relocated to Topeka, Kansas where they played from 1986 to 1990. The Sizzlers were members o ...

of the CBA, where he was named to the 1989–90 CBA All-Rookie Team after averaging 17.1 ppg, 4.6 apg and 4.3 apg in 46 games. He then went back to the Hawks for a 10-day contract, and then to the Illinois Express of 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 ...

(WBL). In August 1990, the Bullets invited Workman to rookie camp. However, he was pulled from the court after a day and a half. As the Express were preparing for the WBL playoffs, which extended into August, Workman went AWOL to try out with the Bullets. WBL president Steve Erhardt insisted that Workman had to retire from the WBL to participate in camp and was threatening to sue. Eventually Workman paid a fine and never returned to the WBL. Workman made the full Bullets training camp at Bowie State and fought with Tony Harris and Larry Robinson for a spot on the team, while

Darrell Walker Darrell Walker (born March 9, 1961) is an American college basketball coach and retired professional player. He is currently head men's coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. At 6'4" (1.93 m) and 180 lb (82 kg), he played as ...

, Steve Colter and second-round draft pick A. J. English were already in the fold at the guard position. With the absence of Eackles, Colter, the backup point in the previous season, was asked to play more shooting guard. Darrell Walker was also experiencing

tendinitis Tendinopathy, a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder (rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow (tennis elb ...

in his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

. Ultimately, Harris was cut and Colter, who was at odds with Washington head coach coach

Wes Unseld Westley Sissel Unseld Sr. (March 14, 1946June 2, 2020) was an American professional basketball player, coach and executive. He spent his entire National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets. Unseld ...

, was shipped to the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

in exchange for

Byron Irvin Byron Edward Irvin (born December 2, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'5" (1.95 m) and 190 lb (86 kg) shooting guard, he was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round (22nd pick overall) ...

, who was more adept at playing two guard. Both Workman and Robinson would start the first two games of the season at the guard positions. When Walker, who actually played 58 total minutes between games 1 and 2, was inserted back into the starting lineup for game 3, Workman went to the bench and Robinson continued to start for the next seven games. However, Workman had impressed enough, so when Ledell Eackles finally signed and returned to the court in November, Robinson was released. Fresh off a five-game losing streak in mid-November, Unseld went with the starting lineup of Darrell Walker and Haywoode Workman, and it paid off. Workman scored 14 points and hit a game winner with 3.1 seconds left to beat Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers at the Capital Centre, putting a temporary halt to mounting losses. In the end, Haywoode Workman appeared in 73 games for the Bullets, starting 56 of them (he missed nine games in February because of a pulled groin). For the season, he averaged 8.0 points, 4.8 assists (2nd on the team), 3.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game (tied for 1st on the team). In his starts, he averaged 9.2 points and 5.4 assists. Before the following 1991–92 season, Workman signed a two-year, $400K+ per contract with Italian League champion

Scavolini Pesaro Victoria Libertas (also known as "VL" or in Italian ''Vuelle''), full name Unione Sportiva Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro, is a professional basketball team that is based in Pesaro, Italy. The club competes in the top level Italian professiona ...

, which came with the perks of a BMW and a house on the Adriatic Coast. The Bullets gave Workman a qualifying offer of the $120,000 minimum, which could have been a non-guaranteed $250,000 if he made the team. But the writing was on the wall as the Bullets traded for Michael Adams and drafted LaBradford Smith that summer. Workman averaged 15.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 1.8 apg in 58 career games in the Italian League. After two years in Italy, he returned to the NBA in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

by signing with the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

. He started 52 games for the Indiana Pacers in the 1993–94 season, averaging almost eight points and 6.2 assists during the Pacers' first trip to the Eastern Conference finals that year. He notched a playoffs career-high 11 assists, and a Pacers' playoff record seven steals, against the Orlando Magic in Game 1 of the 1994 Eastern Conference first round. Despite the Pacers trading in the summer of 1994 for a more experienced point guard in Mark Jackson, Workman, along with players such as

Antonio Davis Antonio Lee Davis (born October 31, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, and New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also played ...

, Sam Mitchell, and Dale Davis became invaluable to the Pacers' depth and was integral to the team's consistent post-season success in the mid to late nineties. However, on November 9, 1996 in a game against

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

he suffered a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

in his left knee, due to which he missed the remainder of the 1996/97 season (he underwent surgery on November 22) and the entire 1997/98 season. This injury derailed the remainder of his playing career. Workman finished off his career by playing his final two seasons with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

and

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

. He had his best game as a Raptor when he posted team-highs of 19 points (4–8 FG, 10–12 FT), 8 assists and 7 rebounds in a 94–85 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on 3 March 1999. He also spent time playing for

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

in Israel, before calling an end to his basketball playing career.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1989–90 , 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 ...

, 6 , , 0 , , 2.7 , , .667 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" ,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, 73 , , 56 , , 27.9 , , .454 , , .240 , , .759 , , 3.3 , , 4.8 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, 65 , , 52 , , 26.4 , , .424 , , .321 , , .802 , , 3.1 , , 6.2 , , 1.3 , , 0.1 , , 7.7 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

, 69 , , 14 , , 14.9 , , .375 , , .357 , , .743 , , 1.6 , , 2.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 4.2 , - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" ,

, 77 , , 4 , , 15.1 , , .390 , , .324 , , .740 , , 1.6 , , 2.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 3.6 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 2 , , 20.3 , , .550 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.8 , , 2.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 5.5 , - , align="left" , 1998–99 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, 29 , , 29 , , 28.1 , , .429 , , .362 , , .787 , , 3.5 , , 5.9 , , 1.1 , , 0.0 , , 6.9 , - , align="left" , 1999–00 , align="left" ,

, 23 , , 1 , , 10.8 , , .371 , , .379 , , .692 , , 0.7 , , 1.9 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 2.9 , - , align="left" , 1999–00 , align="left" ,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, 13 , , 1 , , 7.8 , , .286 , , .214 , , .500 , , 0.7 , , 1.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.0 , , 1.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 359 , , 159 , , 20.1 , , .419 , , .323 , , .764 , , 2.3 , , 3.9 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 5.5

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

, 16 , , 15 , , 31.9 , , .344 , , .286 , , .842 , , 3.2 , , 7.0 , , 1.8 , , 0.1 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

, 17 , , 0 , , 16.2 , , .358 , , .111 , , .844 , , 1.6 , , 2.6 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 4.5 , - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , 0 , , 10.6 , , .438 , , .600 , , 1.000 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 3.8 , - , align="left" , 1998–99 , align="left" ,

, 3 , , 0 , , 17.7 , , .364 , , .000 , , .833 , , 1.0 , , 2.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 4.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 41 , , 15 , , 21.8 , , .356 , , .234 , , .846 , , 2.1 , , 4.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.0 , , 5.8

Officiating

While working out in Florida in the summer of 2001, he ran into NBA referee Bob Delaney, who asked him about trying to become a referee. There, he started refereeing local games and became involved with the Tampa Bay Pro-Am league. He started in California in 2002, working the pro-am leagues at

Venice Beach Venice is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, when it was annexed by ...

and West Los Angeles out of his own pocket. Encouraged, he responded quickly by sending his resume when he heard the CBA was looking for new officials. He worked 15 games that CBA season and later worked the pre-draft camp in Chicago. In July 2003, he worked the NBA summer league in Boston. He moved up to refereeing NBDL games in 2004. Workman was on the NBA referee roster in 2006–07 and 2007–08 as a preseason referee, while working both of those seasons as an NBA Development League official. He was one of three NBA referees hired for the 2008–2009 season. He is the third ex-NBA player to become an NBA referee, the first two being

Bernie Fryer Bernie W. Fryer (born December 25, 1949) has been Vice President and Director of Officials for the National Basketball Association since July 2008. He was a player in the NBA and American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1973 to 1975 before serv ...

and

Leon Wood Osie Leon Wood III (born March 25, 1962), is an American former professional basketball player. A college All-American, he was a first round NBA draft pick, and both an Olympic and Pan-Am Games gold-medalist. He subsequently has had a career ...

. Workman is working with the NBA league office to recruit other former NBA players and former college players to become referees.

Personal life

Workman lives in Tampa.Former player Workman hired as NBA ref
His daughter Chasity played basketball for

Oklahoma City University Oklahoma City University (OCU) is a private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The university offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, graduate master's degrees and doctor ...

. Son Bryce Workman currently plays for Jacksonville University.

Notes

External links

College and NBA stats
@ basketballreference.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Workman, Haywoode 1966 births Living people African-American basketball players African-American sports officials American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks draft picks Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Charlotte, North Carolina Continental Basketball Association referees Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. players Indiana Pacers players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Milwaukee Bucks players National Basketball Association referees Oral Roberts Golden Eagles men's basketball players Point guards Sportspeople from Charlotte, North Carolina Toronto Raptors players Victoria Libertas Pesaro players Washington Bullets players Winston-Salem State Rams men's basketball players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople