Roy James Tarpley (November 28, 1964 – January 9, 2015) was 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

positions in the

National Basketball Association 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 S ...

(NBA), earning an

NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award The National Basketball Association's Sixth Man of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the league's best performing player for his team coming off the bench as a substit ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

. In 1995, Tarpley was permanently banned by the NBA due to his drug and alcohol abuse. He played in Europe for

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jama ...

, and Iraklis.

College career

Tarpley starred at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, and was named a 3rd-Team All-American by the AP in 1985 and 1986. In the 1984–85 season Tarpley led the Wolverines to the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

championship, averaging 19.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game throughout the season, himself earning the Big Ten Player of the Year award. On February 7, 1985, he posted a career-high in scoring against

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

with 31 points. In his senior season Tarpley set the school record for most blocked shots in a game against

Florida Southern Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. The college offers 50 undergradu ...

. He led his school in blocked shots in each of his college years, and he also led the school in scoring and rebounding in all but his freshman season. As of March 2014, he was the Wolverines' all-time leader in blocked shots with 251. Tarpley finished his college career posting averages of 13.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.

Professional career

Dallas Mavericks (1986–1991)

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, Tarpley was selected by the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

, in the first round, with the seventh pick of the NBA draft. Tarpley made the

NBA All-Rookie Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for playe ...

in his first season. The following year, he won the

, when he averaged 13.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. During the 1988 NBA Playoffs, Tarpley and the Mavericks nearly made it to the NBA Finals, losing in the Western Conference Finals to the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

. In the seven-game series, Tarpley averaged 15.9 points, 13 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks. The following season, on November 9, 1988, Tarpley scored a career high 35 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in a 111–103 loss to the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

. Six games into the 1989–90 season, he was arrested for

driving while intoxicated Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

and

resisting arrest Resisting arrest, or simply resisting, is an illegal act of a suspected criminal either fleeing, threatening, assaulting, or providing a fake ID to a police officer during arrest. In most cases, the person responsible for resisting arrest is crimi ...

, and suspended by 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 ...

. In March

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, he drew another suspension, after being arrested for DWI again. A few months later, after a third violation, he was banned from the league for violating the NBA's drug-use policies.

Return to Dallas (1994–1995)

Tarpley returned to the Mavericks briefly in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, but was then permanently banned from the NBA in December 1995, for using alcohol and violating the terms of a court-imposed personal aftercare program. He finished with

career with averages of 12.6 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Tarpley sued the Dallas Mavericks and the NBA, claiming that their refusal to reinstate him violated the

Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ...

because his addiction was a disability. The suit was settled out of court in January 2009.

Europe

Tarpley also played for

, Iraklis, and

Esperos Kallitheas Esperos (in el, Π.Ο.Κ. Έσπερος) is a sports club in Kallithea (within greater Athens, Greece), founded in 1943 during the Nazi occupation of the country (1941–44). History Started as a football club and participated during World Wa ...

in Greece's top-tier level professional basketball league, the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...

. In the 1992–93 FIBA European Cup season, he won the European-wide second-tier level

FIBA European Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA ...

, with

Sato Aris Aris Basketball Club ( el, Άρης K.A.E., transliterated into English Aris B.S.A.) known in European competitions as Aris Thessaloniki, is the professional basketball team of the major Thessaloniki-based Greek multi-sport club A.C. Aris Thes ...

, against the

Turkish Super League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

club Efes Pilsen. The tournament's final took place in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. Tarpley reached the European-wide top-tier level EuroLeague's

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, the following year, by playing in the

1994 EuroLeague Final Four The 1994 FIBA European League Final Four, or 1994 FIBA EuroLeague Final Four, was the 1993–94 FIBA European League, 1993–94 season's Euroleague Final Four, FIBA European League Final Four tournament, organized by FIBA Europe. Club Joventut B ...

. During the final four, he played with

, against 7up Joventut, in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. That same year, he led the EuroLeague competition in rebounds, with an average of 12.8 per game. With

, Tarpley also won the Greek League and the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most im ...

Michigan Mayhem (2005–2006)

Tarpley played with the

Michigan Mayhem The Michigan Mayhem was a minor league professional basketball team based in Muskegon, Michigan that competed in the Continental Basketball Association. In the CBA's 2004-05 season the Mayhem finished third in the league's Eastern Conference. Th ...

of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA) during part of the 2005–2006 season before suffering a season-ending hand injury. He was selected to the CBA All-Star Game, but missed the game because of his injury.

Death

Tarpley died on January 9, 2015, aged 50. No official cause of death was released, but reports indicated that it was due to liver failure.

References

External links

NBA.com historical playerfile
@ basketballreference.com
Greek Basket League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarpley, Roy 1964 births 2015 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Cyprus American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Russia American men's basketball players American sportspeople in doping cases Aris B.C. players Basketball players from Detroit Basketball players from New York City Beijing Olympians players CBA All-Star Game players Centers (basketball) Cooley High School alumni Dallas Mavericks draft picks Dallas Mavericks players Doping cases in basketball Esperos B.C. players Iraklis Thessaloniki B.C. players Michigan Mayhem players Michigan Wolverines men's basketball players National Basketball Association players banned for drug offenses Olympiacos B.C. players PBC Ural Great players Power forwards (basketball) Sioux Falls Skyforce (CBA) players United States Basketball League players Wichita Falls Texans players