John Strickland (May 20, 1970 — October 6, 2010) was a former

professional basketball In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larg ...

and

streetball Streetball (or street basketball) is a variation of basketball, typically played on outdoor courts and featuring significantly less formal structure and enforcement of the game's rules. As such, its format is more conducive to allowing players ...

player. He was a native of Washington Heights NYC who left to play college basketball. He later played at

Hawaii Pacific University Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) is a private university in downtown Honolulu, Makapuʻu and Kāneʻohe, Hawaii. HPU is the largest private university in the central Pacific, most noted for its diverse student body of nearly 5,000 students, re ...

where he averaged a double-double each season. He went on to play at the USBL for 6 seasons where he averaged 22 points per game. He also played for the

Albany Patroons The Albany Patroons are a professional basketball team that plays in The Basketball League (TBL). Previously, the team competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and in the United States Basketball League (USBL). The Patroons won ...

of the CBA. In 2008, he was a CBA All Star. He died in 2010 at the age of 40.

Media

He was mentioned in the

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

song "Public Service Announcement" with the lyric "No one can do it better. I check cheddar like a food inspector. My homey Strick told me, ‘Dude, finish your breakfast.'” As a streetball player, it was alleged that Strickland played in drug money fueled games.

References

2010 deaths Basketball players from Manhattan Columbus Riverdragons players Fayetteville Patriots players Hawaii Pacific Sharks men's basketball players Mobile Revelers players American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players Philippine Basketball Association imports Street basketball players 1970 births {{1970s-US-basketball-bio-stub