Fennis Dembo facts for kids
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | January 24, 1966 Mobile, Alabama, U.S. |
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| High school | Fox Tech (San Antonio, Texas) | |||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| College | Wyoming (1984–1988) | |||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 1988 / Round: 2 / Pick: 30th overall | |||||||||||||
| Selected by the Detroit Pistons | ||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 1988–1998 | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | Detroit Pistons | |||||||||||||
| 1990–1991 | Rapid City Thrillers | |||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Chorale Roanne | |||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | Rapid City Thrillers | |||||||||||||
| 1994 | Shreveport Crawdads | |||||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | SLUC Nancy Basket | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
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Fennis Marx Dembo (born January 24, 1966) is an American former basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Wyoming. There, he earned many awards and had his jersey number 34 retired. He started his professional career with the Detroit Pistons. With them, he won the NBA championship in 1989.
As a member of the United States national team, he won a silver medal. This was at the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis.
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College Basketball Journey
Fennis Dembo was not highly recruited by colleges after high school. He got a big chance when Wyoming's head coach, Jim Brandenburg, found him. Coach Brandenburg had coached high school in San Antonio, Texas, where Dembo lived.
Dembo's visit to Wyoming was his first time seeing snow. He even went on a snowmobile trip. He later said he had a good feeling that Wyoming was the right place for him.
Wyoming Cowboys Success
At Wyoming, Dembo had a very successful college career. He became the leading scorer and rebounder in the Cowboys' history. He scored a total of 2,311 points and grabbed 954 rebounds.
He was part of the Cowboys team that reached the finals of the 1986 National Invitation Tournament. The next year, the Cowboys made it to the Sweet Sixteen. This was during the 1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. In that 1987 NCAA Tournament, Dembo was the top scorer. He averaged 27.8 points per game.
Dembo even appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine. He was dressed as a cowboy. He was the first basketball player from the University of Wyoming to be on the Sports Illustrated cover. He was honored by being inducted into the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993. His jersey number 34 was officially retired in 2019.
Professional Basketball Career
The Detroit Pistons chose Fennis Dembo in the 1988 NBA draft. He was the 30th player picked overall in the second round. He played for the Pistons during the 1988–89 season. In 31 games, he averaged 1.2 points and 0.7 rebounds.
After his time in the NBA, Dembo played basketball for several more years. He played in Europe, South America, and the CBA. He retired from playing professional basketball in 1998.
Life After Basketball
After retiring from basketball, Fennis Dembo worked different jobs. He later moved back to San Antonio, Texas, to live with his mother. He found a job working in maintenance for the San Antonio Water District.
His work with the Water District sparked an interest in engineering. He began taking college courses in engineering when he had time. In 2009, he enrolled full-time at St. Philip's College, a community college in San Antonio. He also enrolled at the University of Texas at San Antonio that same year.
How Fennis Got His Name
Fennis Dembo has a unique first name. It was suggested by his older sister, Zona. Fennis and his twin sister, Fenise, were the 11th and 12th children in their family. Zona wanted them to be the last children. So, she suggested names based on the word finis. This word is French for "finish."
Awards and Special Honors
- First Team All-Western Athletic Conference (1986, 1987, 1988)
- Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year (1987)
- NCAA basketball tournament record (Best Free Throw Percentage in One Game – 100%)
- Inducted into the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993
See also
In Spanish: Fennis Dembo para niños
