Clarence Weatherspoon facts for kids
Weatherspoon in 2019
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| Meridian Community College | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Head Coach | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | September 8, 1970 Crawford, Mississippi, U.S. |
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| High school | Motley (Columbus, Mississippi) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Southern Miss (1988–1992) | |||||||||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 1992 / Round: 1 / Pick: 9th overall | |||||||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 1992–2005 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 2016–present | |||||||||||||||||||
| League | Mississippi Association of Community & Junior Colleges | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||
| As player: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1998 | Philadelphia 76ers | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1998 | Golden State Warriors | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Miami Heat | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Cleveland Cavaliers | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2003 | New York Knicks | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2005 | Houston Rockets | |||||||||||||||||||
| As coach: | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2022 | Southern Miss (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Jones County JC (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–present | Meridian CC | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Career NBA statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Points | 10,483 (11.5 ppg) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Rebounds | 6,846 (7.5 rpg) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Assists | 1,346 (1.5 apg) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Clarence Weatherspoon Sr. (born September 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for many years. Clarence was born in Crawford, Mississippi. Today, he is the head coach for Meridian Community College. Before this, he was an assistant coach for Jones County JC and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.
Clarence Weatherspoon played college basketball at the University of Southern Mississippi. He was named Metro Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year three times. No other player in that conference has done that! The Philadelphia 76ers picked him ninth in the 1992 NBA draft. He played for several NBA teams, including the 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, and Houston Rockets. He averaged 11.5 points per game during his NBA career.
Standing at six feet, seven inches tall and weighing 250 pounds, he was called "Baby Barkley." This nickname came from his playing style, which was similar to another famous NBA player, Charles Barkley. Clarence was known for his aggressive play and strong rebounding. He also competed in the 1993 Slam Dunk contest, finishing second.
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College Basketball Career
Clarence Weatherspoon played high school basketball at Motley High School in Columbus, Mississippi. He then chose to attend the University of Southern Mississippi. There, he became one of the school's most famous basketball players.
During his four years at Southern Mississippi, Weatherspoon averaged 18.5 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. He holds school records for rebounds, blocked shots, and minutes played. He is also second in scoring for the school.
His team, the Golden Eagles, had a good record of 64 wins and 53 losses during his time there. In 1991, they had a great season with 21 wins and 8 losses. They were even ranked as high as ninth nationally! That year, they made it to the NCAA tournament. They also played in the NCAA tournament the year before, in 1990.
Weatherspoon was named Metro Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year for three years in a row (1990, 1991, and 1992). He is the only player to win this award three times. He is also the all-time leading rebounder in the conference's history.
On March 7, 1992, Clarence Weatherspoon's jersey number 35 was retired. This means no other player at Southern Mississippi will wear that number. He was the first Golden Eagle player to have his jersey retired.
While in college, Weatherspoon played for the United States in international games. In 1990, he won a silver medal with the USA team at the Goodwill Games. In 1991, he won a bronze medal with the USA team at the Pan-American Games in Cuba.
Clarence Weatherspoon was inducted into the Southern Mississippi Alumni Association Hall of Fame in 2007. He was known for a special dunk called the "Spoon Feed."
NBA Basketball Career
The Philadelphia 76ers drafted Clarence Weatherspoon as the ninth pick in the 1992 NBA draft. This happened just a few days after the 76ers traded away their star player, Charles Barkley.
Because of his similar playing style, the media and fans started calling Weatherspoon "Baby Barkley." Like Barkley, Weatherspoon was a strong power forward who was great at rebounding and scoring close to the basket. He was also known for his "pump fakes" under the basket to trick defenders.
Weatherspoon had a great first year with the 76ers. He averaged 15.6 points per game and led the team in rebounding. He was one of the top rookies in the league. He was even named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
His second season was his best in the NBA. He led the 76ers in scoring with 18.4 points per game. He also averaged a career-high 10.1 rebounds per game. He scored in double figures in 80 out of 82 games that season! He even had his only career triple-double (scoring double digits in three different stats) in February 1994.
Over his career, Weatherspoon played for several teams. After the 76ers, he played for the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, and Houston Rockets. He was a consistent player known for his strong rebounding and effort on the court. He retired from playing professional basketball in 2005.
NBA Career Statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992–93 | Philadelphia | 82 | 82 | 32.4 | .469 | .250 | .713 | 7.2 | 1.8 | 1.0 | .8 | 15.6 |
| 1993–94 | Philadelphia | 82 | 82 | 38.4 | .483 | .235 | .693 | 10.1 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 18.4 |
| 1994–95 | Philadelphia | 76 | 76 | 39.4 | .439 | .190 | .751 | 6.9 | 2.8 | 1.5 | .9 | 18.1 |
| 1995–96 | Philadelphia | 78 | 75 | 39.7 | .484 | .000 | .746 | 9.7 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 16.7 |
| 1996–97 | Philadelphia | 82 | 82* | 36.0 | .491 | .167 | .738 | 8.3 | 1.7 | .9 | 1.0 | 12.2 |
| 1997–98 | Philadelphia | 48 | 18 | 26.9 | .426 | – | .707 | 7.0 | .8 | .9 | 1.1 | 8.4 |
| 1997–98 | Golden State | 31 | 31 | 33.4 | .458 | – | .748 | 8.3 | 1.6 | 1.4 | .7 | 10.7 |
| 1998–99 | Miami | 49 | 3 | 21.2 | .534 | – | .804 | 5.0 | .7 | .6 | .3 | 8.1 |
| 1999–00 | Miami | 78 | 2 | 20.7 | .513 | – | .738 | 5.8 | 1.2 | .7 | .6 | 7.2 |
| 2000–01 | Cleveland | 82 | 82* | 33.9 | .501 | – | .790 | 9.7 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 11.3 |
| 2001–02 | New York | 56 | 41 | 30.8 | .418 | – | .795 | 8.2 | 1.1 | .7 | .9 | 8.8 |
| 2002–03 | New York | 79 | 19 | 25.6 | .449 | – | .768 | 7.6 | .9 | .9 | .5 | 6.6 |
| 2003–04 | New York | 15 | 1 | 14.5 | .450 | – | .947 | 3.3 | .9 | .5 | .1 | 3.6 |
| 2003–04 | Houston | 37 | 0 | 17.6 | .503 | .000 | .660 | 4.2 | .5 | .6 | .4 | 5.6 |
| 2004–05 | Houston | 40 | 18 | 13.1 | .412 | – | .829 | 3.1 | .4 | .2 | .2 | 3.1 |
| Career | 915 | 612 | 30.3 | .471 | .196 | .743 | 7.5 | 1.5 | 1.0 | .9 | 11.5 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Miami | 5 | 0 | 22.4 | .346 | – | .647 | 4.2 | .4 | 1.4 | .2 | 5.8 |
| 2000 | Miami | 10 | 0 | 17.0 | .417 | – | .583 | 4.1 | .1 | .4 | .3 | 6.4 |
| 2004 | Houston | 2 | 0 | 11.0 | .400 | – | .500 | 2.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 3.5 |
| 2005 | Houston | 1 | 0 | .2 | – | – | – | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
| Career | 18 | 0 | 17.9 | .396 | – | .596 | 3.7 | .2 | .6 | .2 | 5.6 | |
Coaching Career
After his NBA playing career, Clarence Weatherspoon became a basketball coach. In 2016, he was named an assistant coach for the men's basketball team at his old college, Southern Miss.
In 2022, he became an assistant coach for the men's basketball team at Jones County JC in Ellisville, Mississippi.
As of June 5, 2024, Clarence Weatherspoon is the Head Coach for the men's basketball team at Meridian Community College in Meridian, Mississippi.
See also
In Spanish: Clarence Weatherspoon para niños
- List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds
