Rodrick Rhodes (born September 24, 1973) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who was selected by the Houston Rockets in the first round (24th pick overall) of the

1997 NBA draft The 1997 NBA draft took place on June 25, 1997, at Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Vancouver Grizzlies had the highest probability to win the NBA draft lottery, but since they were an expansion team along with the Toronto ...

High school career

As a prep player, Rhodes was a superstar from the time he was a freshman. He was a three time Parade All-American, and helped Jersey City's St. Anthony High School, led by Coach

Bob Hurley Robert Emmet Hurley (born July 31, 1947) is an American basketball coach. At the now-closed St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, New Jersey, Hurley amassed 26 state championships in 39 years as a coach. On February 2, 2011, Hurley became the ...

, win two state titles in 1989 and 1991. At one point, he was considered as promising a prospect as future NBA star

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded as one of the greatest point guards a ...

College career

He played collegiately at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

for three years. He transferred to the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

for his senior year. Kentucky coach Rick Pitino asked Rhodes to

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after ...

after his junior year, which is highly unusual and was seen by many, including Rhodes' high school coach Bob Hurley, as a way to force Rhodes out. Kentucky landed star recruit

Ron Mercer Ronald Eugene Mercer (born May 18, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. After his career at the University of Kentucky, Mercer played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA); he ended his career with ...

, considered by many experts the top prep senior in his class (along with

Kevin Garnett Kevin Maurice Garnett ( ; born May 19, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played for 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed KG by his initials, and the "Big Ticket" for his emphatic dunki ...

and

Stephon Marbury Stephon Xavier Marbury (born February 20, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach in the Chinese Basketball Association. After his freshman year with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, he was selected as th ...

), and some feel this may be what led to Pitino asking Rhodes to redshirt. However, Pitino also redshirted fellow Kentucky senior-to-be Jared Prickett heading into that same season (1995–96), and Prickett helped lead Kentucky to the NCAA title game the following season, earning more minutes than he would have on Kentucky's deep 1996 championship team. And the following season, Pitino redshirted senior-to-be Jeff Sheppard, who would return to lead Kentucky to its third straight Final Four and an NCAA championship in 1998.

Professional career

Rhodes played for the Rockets,

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. They were part of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1995, along w ...

and Dallas Mavericks in three NBA seasons. His best year as a professional came during his rookie year as a member of the Rockets, appearing in 58 games and averaging 5.8 ppg. After leaving the NBA during the 2000 season, Rhodes went overseas and played in professional leagues in Cyprus, Greece, the Philippines, France and Puerto Rico.

Coaching career

Rhodes was an assistant coach at the University of Texas Pan-American, and was previously an assistant coach at the

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medical ...

and an Administrative Assistant Coach at

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the ...

, in South Orange, New Jersey. In 2005, he was an assistant coach at St. Edward's University in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, and after enjoying a successful season there, he moved on to become an assistant at

Idaho State University , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927) University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho Stat ...

in 2006. In 2011, Rhodes was hired to coach at Cordia High School in

Knott County, Kentucky Knott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,251. Its county seat is Hindman. The county was formed in 1884 and is named for James Proctor Knott, Governor of Kentucky (1883–188 ...

. In 2014, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association leveled severe sanctions against the Cordia basketball program for alleged violations of KHSAA rules. KHSAA commissioner Julian Tackett stated that Cordia's violations under Rhodes "represent what may well be the most wanton and blatant disregard for association rules in its 97-year history." Rhodes' coaching contract with Cordia School was not renewed. In 2017, Rhodes was featured in the "Us Against the World" documentary that documented events that occurred during his tenure as Cordia's coach. "Us Against the World" was nominated for an Emmy in 2018. In 2017–2018, Rhodes was hired as the Assistant Men's Basketball Coach at Northwest Nazarene University. In 2019, Rhodes was hired by Concordia University-Portland as the head coach for the 2020 season.

External links

Rodrick Rhodes page

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, Rodrick 1973 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Barako Bull Energy players Basketball coaches from New Jersey Basketball players from Jersey City, New Jersey Dafnis B.C. players Dallas Mavericks players Greek Basket League players High school basketball coaches in the United States Houston Rockets draft picks Houston Rockets players Idaho State Bengals men's basketball coaches Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Small forwards Sportspeople from Jersey City, New Jersey St. Edward's Hilltoppers men's basketball coaches USC Trojans men's basketball players Vancouver Grizzlies players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople