Morris Almond (born February 2, 1985) 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. Almond is the founder of Almond Athletics. His last professional appearance would be for the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League (D-League).

High school

Almond was born in

Dalton, Georgia Dalton is a city and the county seat of Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It is also the principal city of the Dalton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Murray and Whitfield counties. As of the 2010 census, the ci ...

and attended McEachern High School in Powder Springs, Georgia, where he was a teammate of fellow professional basketball player Josh Smith. Almond was the first basketball player in McEachern school history to have his #22 jersey retired.

College career

Almond played college basketball at

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

, where he was a member of Martel residential college. During his junior season, Almond's scoring average jumped to 21.9 points per game (up from 7.2 points per game as a sophomore). His scoring average led all players in Conference USA. During his senior year, Almond's scoring average increased to 26.4 points per game, ranking third in the nation. He was named Conference USA Player of the Year and was named AP All-America Honorable Mention. Almond finished his career at Rice with 121 games played and a scoring average of 15.1 points per game. He was also the first Rice basketball player to appear on the cover of a national publication. After graduation, he was selected by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

in the first round (25th pick) in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Professional career

Almond played in 9 games during his rookie season with the Jazz, averaging 4.3 minutes. His NBA career high is currently 12 points, at

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on December 2, 2008. He scored his first NBA points on January 8, 2008 against the Indiana Pacers, with 2 points on 1-of-5 shooting. However, he spent most of the season with the team's D-League affiliate, the Utah Flash, to whom he was assigned. He led the D-League in scoring during the season, averaging 25.6 points per game. In just his fifth game with the team on December 21, 2007, he tied a league record with 51 points in a 118–116 victory over the Austin Toros. Later in the season, he broke the record with a 53-point performance against the

Bakersfield Jam Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's pop ...

in a 102–87 win. The record was tied by Will Conroy in 2009 and surpassed by Pierre Jackson in 2014 (58). On September 18, 2009, Morris Almond signed with the Orlando Magic. He was waived on October 21, 2009. Almond later played for the

Maine Red Claws The Maine Celtics (formerly the Maine Red Claws) are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo B ...

and Springfield Armor of the NBA Development League. He then signed with Real Madrid Baloncesto of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

ACB. In July 2010 he left Real Madrid and joined the Italian club

Scavolini Pesaro Victoria Libertas (also known as "VL" or in Italian ''Vuelle''), full name Unione Sportiva Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro, is a professional basketball team that is based in Pesaro, Italy. The club competes in the top level Italian professiona ...

. In January 2012, Almond returned to the United States and signed with the Maine Red Claws for the second time. On the 16th of April 2012, the Washington Wizards announced they would be signing Almond to contract for the rest of the 2011–12 season. At the end of the 2011–2012 season he was selected to the All NBA D-League Third Team after averaging 23.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game for the Red Claws. Almond briefly played for

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional Association football, foot ...

during the 2012–13 season. He then returned to the Maine Red Claws, who traded him to the

Iowa Energy Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

. On January 30, 2013, he and Mike Taylor were traded to the Los Angeles D-Fenders in exchange for Jarrid Famous.

Post-professional career

Almond has since retired from professional basketball. He formed Almond Athletics, a non-profit organization, in 2013.About Us , Almond Athletics
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NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

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Notes

External links

*
Official Rice bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Almond, Morris 1985 births Living people ABA League players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Serbia American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Ukraine American men's basketball players Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) BC Cherkaski Mavpy players Iowa Energy players KK Crvena zvezda players Liga ACB players Los Angeles D-Fenders players Maine Red Claws players People from Dalton, Georgia Real Madrid Baloncesto players Rice Owls men's basketball players Shooting guards Springfield Armor players Utah Flash players Utah Jazz draft picks Utah Jazz players Victoria Libertas Pesaro players Washington Wizards players