Derrick Samuel Alston Sr. (born August 20, 1972) is an American former

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 the head coach for the

Westchester Knicks The Westchester Knicks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in White Plains, New York, and are affiliated with the New York Knicks. The Knicks typically play their home games at Westchester County Center in Whit ...

of the

NBA G 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 D ...

Early life

Born in

The Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New York ...

, Alston played basketball at

Hoboken High School Hoboken High School (HHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in Hoboken, in Hudson County, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Hoboken Public Schoo ...

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 ...

Professional career

Alston, a power forward/

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 ...

from

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Gh ...

, started off his professional career when he was selected 33rd overall in the 1994 NBA Draft by the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

for whom he played two seasons. He then played 2 games 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 Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

in late

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

before taking his game overseas. Joining the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...

mid-season 2007–08, Alston made an immediate impact. Statwise, he reached the top 20 in the league for FG%, shooting at 56.0%, and offensive rebounds, while averaging 13.8 ppg and being instrumental in helping the Breakers reach the playoffs for the first time in club history.

Career statistics

NBA

, - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, 64 , , 1 , , 16.1 , , .465 , , .000 , , .492 , , 3.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 4.7 , - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" ,

, 73 , , 41 , , 22.1 , , .512 , , .333 , , .491 , , 4.1 , , 0.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.7 , , 6.2 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" ,

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 498,7 ...

, 2 , , 0 , , 5.5 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 139 , , 42 , , 19.1 , , .489 , , .143 , , .487 , , 3.8 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.6 , , 5.4

College

, - , align="left" ,

1990–91 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, align="left" , Duquesne , 28 , , 25 , , 28.8 , , .536 , , .000 , , .598 , , 6.3 , , 1.3 , , 0.8 , , 1.9 , , 11.3 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" , Duquesne , 28 , , - , , 32.8 , , .556 , , .000 , , .526 , , 8.0 , , 1.5 , , 1.2 , , 2.1 , , 13.9 , - , align="left" ,

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, align="left" , Duquesne , 28 , , 27 , , 34.3 , , .563 , , 1.000 , , .574 , , 9.3 , , 1.1 , , 1.4 , , 2.1 , , 19.9 , - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" , Duquesne , 30 , , - , , 36.0 , , .578 , , .000 , , .601 , , 7.3 , , 1.4 , , 1.6 , , 1.8 , , 21.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 114 , , 52 , , 33.0 , , .561 , , .333 , , .576 , , 7.7 , , 1.3 , , 1.2 , , 2.0 , , 16.7

Coaching career

After retiring, in 2012, Alston joined the staff of 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 ...

and served as their Player Development Coach for two seasons 2012–2015. On October 27, 2015 he was hired by the

to be an assistant coach. In August 2014, Alston traveled to the Philippines as a

SportsUnited Formerly known as SportsUnited, Sports Diplomacy is the U.S. Department of State's sports diplomacy division. Sports Diplomacy uses sport to help youth around the world develop important off-the-court skills, including leadership, mutual understa ...

Sports Envoy for the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

. In this function, he worked with Alison Feaster and Erik Spoelstra to conduct basketball clinics and events for more than 375 youth from underserved areas. In so doing, Alston helped contribute to SportsUnited's mission to advance the status of women and girls around the world and to show support to an important regional partner.

Personal life

Alston's son Derrick Alston Jr. is a college basketball player at

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a pub ...

. Alston also has a daughter (Avery)

References

External links

Eurobasket.com profile
basketball reference.com
ACB.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alston, Derrick 1972 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Argentina American expatriate basketball people in Croatia American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand American expatriate basketball people in Russia American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Anadolu Efes S.K. players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball coaches from New Jersey Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New Jersey Basketball players from New York City Bàsquet Manresa players BCM Gravelines players Boca Juniors basketball players Centers (basketball) Duquesne Dukes men's basketball players FC Barcelona Bàsquet players Hoboken High School alumni KK Split players La Unión basketball players Libertad de Sunchales basketball players Liga ACB players PBC Ural Great players Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Philadelphia 76ers players Power forwards (basketball) Real Madrid Baloncesto players Sportspeople from Hoboken, New Jersey Sportspeople from the Bronx Türk Telekom B.K. players Valencia Basket players Westchester Knicks coaches