Damian Cantrell facts for kids
| Forward | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 17, 1976 Oxnard, California |
| Nationality | American |
| High school | Santa Clara (Oxnard, California) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed weight | 233 lb (106 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College |
|
| NBA Draft | 1998 / Undrafted |
| Pro career | 1998–2011 |
| Career history | |
| 1998–1999 | Atlético Echagüe |
| 2000–2001 | Ben Hur |
| 2001 | Las Vegas Silver Bandits |
| 2001–2002 | Ben Hur |
| 2002–2003 | Yakima SunKings |
| 2003 | Guaiqueríes de Margarita |
| 2003 | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals |
| 2003–2004 | Banco di Sardegna Sassari |
| 2004–2005 | Orange County Crush |
| 2005–2006 | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals |
| 2006–2007 | Blue Stars |
| 2007–2009 | Okapi Aalstar |
| 2009–2010 | Zain |
| 2010–2011 | La Unión |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
Damian Heath Cantrell, born on May 17, 1976, is an American who used to play professional basketball. He was known for being a strong forward on the court.
Contents
Damian's High School Basketball Journey
Damian Cantrell went to Santa Clara High School. He was a fantastic athlete there. In his last year, 1994, he was even named Athlete of the Year!
His coach, Lou Cvijanovich, helped him play both guard and forward positions. Damian had a big growth spurt, going from 6 feet 1 inch to 6 feet 4 inches. This helped him play even better. In his final year at Santa Clara, he averaged 22.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. He was great at grabbing rebounds and could shoot well from the 3-point line.
Even though Damian scored 37 points in the championship game, Santa Clara High School lost the 1994 title to Verbum Dei High School.
Damian's College Basketball Career
After high school, Damian decided to go to Ventura College. There, he played alongside Rafer Alston and was coached by Phil Mathews.
Playing at Ventura College
In his first year at Ventura, Damian averaged 9.0 points and 7.6 rebounds. He was considered the best rebounder on the team. Ventura College had amazing seasons while Damian was there. They won 37 games and lost only 1 in his first year. In his second year, they won 34 games and lost 2. In 1995, Ventura College even won the State championship! In 1996, Damian was named to the California All-State First Team.
Moving to San Francisco
After two successful years at Ventura, Damian and four of his teammates followed Coach Mathews to the University of San Francisco. In his first year there, Damian led his team in rebounds, grabbing 209 rebounds in total, which was an average of 7.2 per game. He was one of the top rebounders in the entire West Coast Conference.
In his senior year, Damian continued to be a top player. He led his team in rebounding again, with an average of 9.7 rebounds per game. He was named co-MVP (Most Valuable Player) for the San Francisco team. Even though he missed some games due to illness, his 213 rebounds that season were the second-highest in the West Coast Conference.
College Statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | San Francisco | 29 | .584 | .600 | .586 | 7.2 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 6.6 | ||
| 1997–98 | San Francisco | 22 | 29.4 | .519 | .190 | .574 | 9.7 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 10.9 | |
| Career | 51 | .545 | .269 | .580 | 8.3 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 8.4 |
Damian's Professional Basketball Career
After college, Damian Cantrell was eligible for the 1998 NBA draft, but he was not chosen by any NBA teams. However, he still went on to have a long and successful professional career playing basketball around the world.
Early Professional Years
In 1998, Damian signed with an Argentine club called Echagüe. He played limited minutes there. Later, he played for the Las Vegas Silver Bandits in the 2000–01 International Basketball League.
He then had a very successful time playing for Ben Hur. In 32 games, he averaged 21.3 points and 11.0 rebounds. He was a key player when Ben Hur won the 2001–02 Torneo Nacional de Ascenso championship.
Success with the Yakima SunKings
In 2002, Damian joined the Yakima SunKings in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). He had a fantastic season there! He started 32 out of 34 games, averaging 16.2 points and 12.8 rebounds. He shot very well, making 56.4% of his shots from the field. His 434 rebounds during the regular season placed him 4th in the entire CBA.
Because of his amazing performance, Damian earned the Continental Basketball Association Newcomer of the Year Award. He was also named to the All-CBA First Team.
Playing Around the World
After his time in the CBA, Damian moved to Venezuela to play for Guaiqueríes de Margarita. The New York Knicks invited him to play in a summer league in 2003, but he didn't make their final team roster.
Damian then went to the Philippines and signed with the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals. He even had one game where he scored an incredible 52 points! He finished the 2003–04 season playing in Italy for Banco di Sardegna Sassari, where he averaged 13.5 points and 7.4 rebounds in 18 games.
In 2004, he returned to the United States to play for the Orange County Crush. In 2005, he played for Talk 'N Text Phone Pals in the Philippines again. In 2006, he moved to Lebanon and joined the Blue Stars team.
Later Career and Retirement
Damian then transferred to Okapi Aalstar in Belgium. He had two successful seasons there. In the 2008–09 season, he led the Belgian Division I in rebounding, averaging 9.4 rebounds per game.
After playing for the Zain team in Jordan, he signed with La Unión in Argentina. This was his last season playing professional basketball. He averaged 7.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in 12 games before retiring.
