Mario Marceé West (born June 19, 1984) is an American former 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 who is currently the Director of Off the Court for the NBPA. He previously played in the

NBA 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 St ...

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 ...

Mario West Makes Hawks Roster
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New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

High school and college career

West was a Douglas County player of the year as a senior at Douglas County High School. He also earned honorable mention all-state honors after averaging 22 points and 10 rebounds per game. West was team captain as a junior and senior. West played college basketball for

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. He joined the Tech squad as a walk-on in the fall of 2002, redshirted in 2002–03, and earned a scholarship for the 2003–04 season. He played in 103 games, averaging 3.2 points over his career, and 4.9 over his last two seasons. West departed Georgia Tech 16th on the school's all-time list for steals despite averaging only 13.9 minutes per game in four years. He was voted team captain during the 2006–07 season. West won the 2007 NCAA State Farm Slam Dunk Contest held during the tournament's Final Four week. West received a Bachelor of Science degree in management from Georgia Tech on May 6, 2006, and continued his studies during his final college basketball season with courses in Economics.

Professional career

West went undrafted in the 2007 NBA draft but was quickly signed by the

, a team he spent his first two seasons with. West spent the first half of the 2009–10 season playing in the

NBA Development 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 ...

for the

Maine Red Claws The Maine Celtics (formerly the Maine Red Claws) are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo B ...

, before re-joining the Hawks in January 2010. He remained with the Hawks for the rest of the season, and in 156 games for the team over three seasons, he averaged 0.8 points in 4.4 minutes per game. West was known as a hard worker and an intense defender. Atlanta Hawks Head Coach

Mike Woodson Michael Dean Woodson (born March 24, 1958) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team. With coach Bob Knight's Indiana Hoosiers, Woodson played collegiate ...

was quoted as saying "I've been around this league a long time and I don't think I've ever seen a guy play as hard as Mario plays. He pushes guys in practice to play hard and if you don't play hard he embarrasses you in terms of just knocking the hell out of you." Teammate

Acie Law Acie Law IV (born January 25, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. In his four seasons at Texas A&M University, Law scored 1,653 points and was credited with 540 assists. Nicknamed "Captain Clutch" for his ability to take o ...

said "You can ask anybody in this locker room, Mario's the hardest worker on the team. You have to be at practice to see him. His motor never stops." West re-joined the Maine Red Claws for the 2010–11 season, later signing with the

in March 2011. He appeared in six games for the Nets to complete the 2010–11 season, averaging 3.7 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 19.3 minutes per game. In June 2011, West joined

Cocolos de San Pedro de Macorís Soles de Santo Domingo Este is a professional basketball team based in Santo Domingo Este, Santo Domingo Dominican Republic. The team currently plays in Dominican top division Liga Nacional de Baloncesto The Liga Nacional de Baloncesto (LNB) is t ...

of the

Liga Nacional de Baloncesto The Liga Nacional de Baloncesto (LNB) is the top men's professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic. Established in 2005, six teams compete annually between September and October. History The league was founded on September 6, 2004 a ...

. His stint lasted until early August. On August 2, 2011, West signed with Tezenis Verona of Italy for the 2011–12 season. In June 2012, West moved to the Philippines where he joined the

Meralco Bolts The Meralco Bolts is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team began in 2010 after the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) acquired the PBA franchise of the Sta. Lucia Realtors. The team is one of three ...

. In September 2012, he joined

Cañeros del Este Cañeros del Este is a professional basketball team based in La Romana, La Romana Province, Dominican Republic. The team currently plays in the Dominican top division Liga Nacional de Baloncesto. Championships Liga Nacional de Baloncesto (2x) ...

and helped them win the league championship while garnering Finals MVP honors in early October. Later that month, he joined La Villa for a short stint. In January 2013, West signed with

Fuerza Regia The Fuerza Regia de Monterrey (''Monterrey Royal Force'' in English) is a Mexican professional basketball team based in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico playing in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). They currently play their home gam ...

of Mexico for the rest of the 2012–13 season. In June 2013, he re-joined the Meralco Bolts. He then returned to Fuerza Regia for the 2013–14 season. In March 2014, he moved to France and signed with

SO Maritime Boulogne Stade Olympique Maritime Boulonnais, commonly known as SOMB, is a French professional basketball club based in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. The team currently plays in the French third division, the Nationale Masculine 1. History SOMB was founded on ...

. In May 2014, he returned the Meralco Bolts for a third stint. In October 2014, West signed with La Unión of Argentina for the 2014–15 season. He sustained an injury in February 2015 and was ruled out for the rest of the season. He remained in Argentina for the 2015–16 season, signing with

Juventud Sionista Centro Juventud Sionista, or simply Sionista, is a basketball club based in Paraná, Entre Ríos, Paraná, Argentina. The team currently plays in the Liga Nacional de Básquet (LNB), using the Estadio Moisés Flesler as its home arena. Players ...

. In May 2016, West returned to Georgia Tech in Atlanta when he was hired as the director of player personnel as part of head coach Josh Pastner's staff.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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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 ...

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New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

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Playoffs

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Personal life

West is the son of Gerald and Angie West. He has volunteered to work with patients at Egleston Children's Hospital in Atlanta since his college days in 2004. This includes activities such as hosting pizza parties for the children. West co-authored a book "Defend the Dream" with his childhood friend Shakyna Bolden. He shares the lessons he learned in dealing with the challenges of life.

References

External links

NBA.com profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Mario 1984 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Argentina American expatriate basketball people in the Dominican Republic American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Mexico American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Alabama Big3 players Fuerza Regia de Monterrey players Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball players Juventud Sionista basketball players La Unión basketball players Maine Red Claws players Meralco Bolts players New Jersey Nets players People from Douglasville, Georgia Sportspeople from Douglas County, Georgia Philippine Basketball Association imports Scaligera Basket Verona players Shooting guards SOMB Boulogne-sur-Mer players Sportspeople from Huntsville, Alabama Undrafted National Basketball Association players American men's 3x3 basketball players Cañeros del Este players