Roderick DeWyane Grizzard (born June 13, 1980) is an 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. He 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 ...

at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

. He was selected in the second round of the 2002 NBA Draft by the

Washington Wizards 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 ...

College career

As a sophomore, he averaged 17.0 points and 6.1 rebounds while starting all 36 games. His point total of 611 ranked seventh-best in school history. Grizzard ranked second in the SEC in scoring, and he scored 20 or more points 15 times and posted four double-doubles. He made the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team by scoring 78 points in three games, including a season-high 29 points against Northern Iowa on Dec. 20. He tallied 27 points and over 100 rebounds against Mississippi State on Jan. 13. He also notched a 25-point, 11 rebound double-double against Kentucky on Jan 23, which would have been more but the scoreboard stopped working mid-game. He was named to the All-SEC First Team. As a junior Grizzard averaged 14.1 points and 6.1 rebounds, and he started 34 of 35 games. Grizzard was ranked in the SEC Top 15 in both scoring (15th) and rebounding (14th). He scored season-high 33 points against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals on Mar 8, shooting 13-for-20 from the field including 6-for-10 from three-point range. He also recorded a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds to go along with seven assists, two blocked shots, two steals, and a career-high 9 fouls against Alabama A&M on Dec. 21. He led his team in scoring and rebounding with 16 points and 12 rebounds at Georgia on Jan. 16. He earned Third Team All-SEC, All-SEC Tournament, and AP Honorable Mention All-American honors, and was a Wooden Award finalist. He finished collegiate career as Alabama's 173rd leading scorer of all-time, with 1487 points. Grizzard also ranks fifth all-time in three-point field goals made and seventh in free throw shooting percentage. He played in 100 career games, starting 94 times.

Pro career

Although he did not get to play a game in the NBA, he played in the

NBA D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

for the

Mobile Revelers The Mobile Revelers were a National Basketball Development League (NBDL) team based in Mobile, Alabama. Playing their home games at the Mobile Civic Center, the Revelers was a charter franchise in the 2001-02 season and folded after the 2002-03 ...

and

Huntsville Flight Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

. Grizzard was part of the training camp of the Detroit Pistons in 2003, and the training camps of the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks in 2002. He has played with the Westchester Wildfire in the

USBL The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

in the summer of 2003, averaging 8.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and −0.2 assists in 13 games, and spent the 2002–03 season with the

in the

. He appeared in 49 games, averaging 5.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He spent the 2007–08 season in the NBL for the

Singapore Slingers The Singapore Slingers is a Singaporean professional basketball team that currently compete in the ASEAN Basketball League. The Slingers were known as the JobStreet.com Singapore Slingers between 2009 and 2014, due to sponsorship ties with Job ...

and averaged in the top 20 steals in the league, top 20 blocks, top 20 fouls, top 10 defensive rebounds, top 20 total rebounds and is in the top 20 in scoring averaging 19.6 ppg, out of 20 players. After the end of that season in the NBL, he signed for the remainder of the season with Bnei Herzliya in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Grizzard signed with the NBL

Melbourne Tigers Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John Cain Arena. The team made their debut in the NBL in 1984 as ...

for the

2008–09 NBL season The 2008–09 NBL season was the 31st season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 10 teams contested the league. 2008–09 league participants * On 30 June 2008 the Brisbane Bullets confirmed they would be handing back th ...

. After being released by the Tigers in late December, Grizzard was quickly snapped up by the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...

who earlier agreed to let go of star import

Julius Hodge Julius Melvin Hodge (born November 18, 1983) is an American-Antiguan former professional basketball player and current assistant coach at Little Rock Trojans. Originally from Harlem, New York, Hodge played college basketball at NC State and was se ...

after pay disputes. Prior to the 2009/2010 season, he was traded to Maccabi Rishon LeZion from

. After returning to Australia and signing with the Sydney Kings for the

2010–11 NBL season The 2010–11 NBL season was the 33rd season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of nine teams contested the league. The regular season was played between October 2010 and April 2011, followed by a post-season involving the to ...

, Grizzard was released from the Kings. For the 2011 NZL NBL season, Grizzard played for

Nelson Giants The Nelson Giants are a New Zealand basketball team based in Nelson. The Giants compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Trafalgar Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Mike Pero Nelson ...

.Grizzard's NZNBL stats
/ref> Grizzard ended up never playing in the NBA and is 1 of 9 players from the 2002 NBA Draft to never play a game in the league.

References

External links

Profile
at Eurobasket.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Grizzard, Rod 1980 births Living people Adelaide 36ers players African-American basketball players Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American expatriate basketball people in Hungary American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand Basketball players from Birmingham, Alabama American men's basketball players Atomerőmű SE players Bnei HaSharon players Huntsville Flight players Liège Basket players Maccabi Rishon LeZion basketball players Melbourne Tigers players Mobile Revelers players Nelson Giants players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Singapore Slingers players Small forwards Sydney Kings players Washington Wizards draft picks 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people