Shawn Christopher Respert (born February 6, 1972) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and former player. He attended

Bishop Borgess High School Bishop Borgess High School was a Catholic secondary school in the Detroit suburb of Redford, Michigan. Named after Caspar Henry Borgess, the second Roman Catholic bishop of Detroit, it was founded by the parishes of St. Suzanne (in Detroit), Our ...

, and he came to prominence while playing

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 ...

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

. He played professionally 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) for four seasons from 1995 to 1999.

College career

Respert was a standout at

. He and point guard

Eric Snow Eric Snow (born April 5, 1973) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He played the point guard position in the National Basketball Association from 1995 to 2008 and appeared in three NBA Finals. Known for his defense, ...

combined to form one of the nation's most prolific backcourt tandems for head coach

Jud Heathcote George Melvin "Jud" Heathcote (May 27, 1927 – August 28, 2017) was an American basketball player and coach. He was a college basketball head coach for 24 seasons: five at the University of Montana and nineteen at Michigan State University H ...

's Spartans. Respert was the team's leading scorer all four seasons at Michigan State and finished his career second all-time in scoring among Big Ten players with 2,531 points (trailing only

Calbert Cheaney Calbert Nathaniel Cheaney (born July 17, 1971) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He starred as a player for the Indiana Hoosiers fr ...

) and first in

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 ...

games with 1,545 points scored. He capped a brilliant career by being named a unanimous first team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year and Sporting News and NABC National Player of the Year with a 25.6 scoring average during his 1994–95 senior season. He left

East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...

as the Spartans all-time leading scorer and began the tradition of out-going seniors kissing the logo at center court during their final home game.

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" ,

, 1 , , - , , 3.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" ,

, 30 , , 30 , , 31.8 , , .503 , , .455 , , .872 , , 2.1 , , 2.1 , , 1.1 , , 0.1 , , 15.8 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

, 28 , , 28 , , 34.3 , , .481 , , .429 , , .856 , , 4.0 , , 2.6 , , 0.9 , , 0.2 , , 20.1 , - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

, 32 , , 31 , , 33.6 , , .484 , , .449 , , .840 , , 4.0 , , 2.5 , , 1.3 , , 0.2 , , 24.3 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

, 28 , , 28 , , 33.6 , , .473 , , .474 , , .869 , , 4.0 , , 3.0 , , 1.4 , , 0.0 , , 25.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 119 , , 117 , , 33.0 , , .484 , , .454 , , .857 , , 3.5 , , 2.5 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 21.3

Professional career

Respert was selected by 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 ...

in the 1st round, with the 8th overall pick, of the

1995 NBA Draft The 1995 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1995, at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It marked the first NBA draft to be held outside the United States and was the first draft for the two Canadian expansion teams, Toronto Raptors and Vancouve ...

. The Blazers traded his NBA rights to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

for the rights to

Gary Trent Gary Dajaun Trent Sr. (born September 22, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. Early life Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Trent played his high school basketball at Hamilton Township High School. In his senior season ...

and a first-round pick. Respert was traded to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

in his second year, where he scored 5.6 points a game. He next played briefly in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

the next season and then had a second stint with the Raptors. Respert finished his career in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

during the 1998–99 season. He was under contract with

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 ...

for a brief period in October 2000 but was waived before playing in any NBA games for them. In his NBA career, Respert played in 172 games and scored a total of 851 points on averages of 4.9 points in 13.7 minutes per game. He played professionally in Italy for Adecco Milano (1999–2000) and Fillattice Imola (2001–2002). He also played in Poland for Spójnia Stargard Szczeciński (2002–2003). Respert had

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...

but did not admit it until 2005. He started being bothered with stomach cramps towards the end of his rookie season. He noticed a lump below his belly button even after changing his diet. Respert was diagnosed with cancer after undergoing a series of tests at Milwaukee's St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in May 1996. After confirmation through a second opinion, he underwent daily radiation therapy for three consecutive months, losing twenty pounds in the process. The only people who knew about this treatment were the Bucks' trainers, doctors, his coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr. and Michigan State backcourt partner

. He only told a select few; not even his family and girlfriend knew, because "people don't want to hear excuses in pro sports, even if the excuse is cancer."

NBA career statistics

, - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, 62 , , 0 , , 13.6 , , .387 , , .344 , , .833 , , 1.2 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 4.9 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" ,

, 14 , , 0 , , 5.9 , , .316 , , .111 , , 1.000 , , 0.5 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.4 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" ,

, 27 , , 0 , , 15.3 , , .442 , , .396 , , .844 , , 1.2 , , 1.2 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 5.6 , - , align="left" , 1997–98 , align="left" ,

, 47 , , 4 , , 14.8 , , .450 , , .373 , , .815 , , 1.6 , , 0.9 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 5.5 , - , align="left" , 1997–98 , align="left" ,

, 10 , , 0 , , 21.5 , , .429 , , .231 , , .571 , , 2.7 , , 1.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 8.2 , - , align="left" , 1998–99 , align="left" ,

, 12 , , 1 , , 8.3 , , .361 , , .308 , , .700 , , 1.1 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 3.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 172 , , 5 , , 13.7 , , .414 , , .340 , , .816 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 4.9

Coaching career

Respert became a volunteer coach at Prairie View A&M in Texas in 2004. In early 2005, he was hired to be director of basketball operations at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

for 2 years. He then spent two years as the director of player development of the NBA's minor league, 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 ...

. In September 2008, he was hired by the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

as the director of player programs. On December 6, 2011, Respert was hired by the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

as a player development coach. He was named an assistant coach by the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

in September 2013. Respert then moved to the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

as a director of player development in 2018. His tenure with the Bulls lasted until the end of the 2019–20 season when his contract expired.

Notes

* Respert's listed height has ranged from to .

References

External links

TheDraftReview.com - Respert's NBA Draft History Page

Article on Respert's struggle with stomach cancer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Respert, Shawn 1972 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Poland American men's basketball players Andrea Costa Imola players Basketball coaches from Michigan Basketball players from Detroit Bishop Borgess High School alumni Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games Dallas Mavericks players Goodwill Games medalists in basketball Greek Basket League players Memphis Grizzlies assistant coaches Michigan State Spartans men's basketball players Milwaukee Bucks players Near East B.C. players Olimpia Milano players Phoenix Suns players Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Shooting guards Spójnia Stargard players Toronto Raptors players Universiade gold medalists for the United States Universiade medalists in basketball