William Lamont Strothers (born May 10, 1968) is a retired American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. Born in Nansemond County, Virginia Strothers played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for Christopher Newport. He was selected in the 1991 NBA draft and had short stints in the NBA with the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

and the Dallas Mavericks. He played in CBA, but he spent most of his professional career overseas. After retiring from professional basketball, he took coaching positions in high school basketball teams.

Early life

Born in Nansemond County, Virginia, Strothers' parents Calvin and Brenda separated when he was three years old. His mother was later remarried to a supportive military man when he was five. His brother, Calvin Jr., played football and basketball at

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

. Later he joined the military where he was selected to play on their elite basketball team as a power forward.

Amateur career

Strothers was a shooter for the Forest Glen high school varsity in Suffolk, Virginia. As a senior in 1986, his vision was impaired after being struck in the left eye by brass knuckles in a fistfight. After a year, Strothers was barred from signing up for the military because of his impaired vision. He then worked at a meatpacking plant and played in recreational leagues. Strothers turned down a partial scholarship offer from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

because of difficulty paying half the tuition. While playing in a recreational league, Strothers was offered a spot on the team at

Christopher Newport University Christopher Newport University (CNU) is a public university in Newport News, Virginia. It was founded in 1960 and is named after Christopher Newport, captain of one of the ships which carried settlers of Jamestown, the first permanent English ...

by assistant basketball coach Roland Ross. Strothers played four years at Christopher Newport University from 1987 to 1991, scoring 2,709 points for an average of 23.3 points per game. For leading his team to a 21–4 record en route to the Dixie Conference championship, he was named first-team All-American and

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

Player of the Year by ''Basketball Times'' in 1991. Strothers finished his collegiate career as the third-all-time-leading scorer in Division III history.

Professional career

In the 1991 NBA draft, the Golden State Warriors drafted him in the 2nd round—43rd overall—making him the highest-ever draft pick for an

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their st ...

player. He was subsequently traded to the

. He spent parts of two seasons with Portland and the Dallas Mavericks, amassing an NBA career average of 4.6 points per game in a total of 13 games. Strothers played most of his career overseas and enjoyed success in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

as an import for the San Miguel Beermen from 1996 to 2002. He was voted Best Import in the 1999 PBA Governors Cup and led the team to a championship. He also led his sixth-seeded team to the 2000 Governor's Cup title. Strothers finished his PBA career with over 3,900 points.

Coaching career

Strothers, in 2006–07, was the head coach of a 15–8 team at Bethel High School, Virginia. In 2010, he was part of the USA South Conference's inaugural Hall of Fame class. Strothers was part of the CNU Captains' run to the Final Four as an assistant to Carolyn Hunter during the 2010–11 season. In August 2011, he was hired as head boys' varsity basketball coach at Warwick High School in Newport News, Virginia. Replacing longtime coach Ben Moore in 2011–12, his team went 1–20 overall and 0–18 in the Peninsula District in his first season. The next year, his Raiders were 8–15, 5–13. In March 2013, Strothers announced he was leaving Warwick. In 2015, Strothers was coach of the

Nansemond-Suffolk Academy Nansemond-Suffolk Academy (NSA) is a private school, founded as a segregation academy in 1966 in Suffolk, Virginia. NSA has two campuses. The Main Campus (adjacent to downtown Suffolk) includes 166,000 square feet of educational space situated ...

boys' basketball team. In 2017, Strothers was named coach of the

Smithfield High School Smithfield High School is a public high school located in Smithfield, Virginia in Isle of Wight County, south of Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186 ...

boys' basketball team. In 2018, after the death of coach Benjamin Moore, who was a close family friend and father-like figure, Strothers took over the basketball program at

Menchville High School Menchville High School is one of five high schools in Newport News, Virginia, United States. The school colors are purple and gold, and its mascot is a monarch. Menchville is the top school in Newport News regarding the number of students takin ...

References

External links

Stats at basketballreference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strothers, Lamont 1968 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Basketball players from Virginia Christopher Newport Captains men's basketball players Dallas Mavericks players Darüşşafaka Basketbol players Golden State Warriors draft picks Iraklis Thessaloniki B.C. players Liga ACB players Philippine Basketball Association imports Portland Trail Blazers players Quad City Thunder players Rochester Renegade players Rockford Lightning players San Miguel Beermen players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Suffolk, Virginia Tri-City Chinook players Yakima Sun Kings players