Quincy Pondexter facts for kids
Pondexter with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2013, wearing a protective mask
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| USC Trojans | ||||||||||||||
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| Assistant coach | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
| Born | March 10, 1988 Fresno, California, U.S. |
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| High school | San Joaquin Memorial (Fresno, California) |
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| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| College | Washington (2006–2010) | |||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 2010 / Round: 1 / Pick: 26th overall | |||||||||||||
| Selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder | ||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 2010–2019 | |||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 2021–present | |||||||||||||
| League | Big Ten Conference | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| As player: | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | New Orleans Hornets | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2015 | Memphis Grizzlies | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | New Orleans Pelicans | |||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Chicago Bulls | |||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | San Antonio Spurs | |||||||||||||
| As coach: | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2024 | Washington (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| 2024–present | USC (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Quincy Coe Pondexter (born March 10, 1988) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He is currently an assistant coach for the USC Trojans men's team. Quincy played high school basketball in Fresno, California. He then played four years of college basketball for the Washington Huskies. In his final college year, he was named to the first-team All-Pac-10 and received an All-American honorable mention.
Contents
Early Life and High School Basketball
Quincy Pondexter was born on March 10, 1988, in Fresno, California. When he was a senior in high school, many top college teams wanted him to play for them. Scout.com, a sports website, rated him as a five-star recruit and the 16th best player in his class for 2006.
Quincy chose to play for the University of Washington. Other schools like Arizona, Connecticut, and Memphis also offered him scholarships. The 2006 recruiting class for Washington, which included Quincy, Spencer Hawes, Adrian Oliver, and Phil Nelson, was considered one of the best in the country. During his senior year of high school, Quincy averaged 21.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game.
College Basketball Career
Quincy Pondexter played college basketball for the Washington Huskies. He had a successful four years, growing as a player and leader.
Freshman Year: A Strong Start
As a freshman, Quincy started his very first college game for Washington. He scored 21 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in a win against Pepperdine. After this great start, he faced some challenges and played less for a while. However, he started playing more towards the end of the season. The Huskies won 3 of their last 4 games, including wins against #24 USC and #2 UCLA. Quincy was named an honorable mention on the Pac-10 All-Freshman team. His average of 10.7 points per game was the fourth highest for a Washington freshman in school history.
Sophomore Year: Facing Challenges
Quincy started his sophomore season back in the starting lineup. But after seven games, he lost his starting spot again. Many of his teammates from his recruiting class left the team. This made his sophomore year tough, as he felt a bit alone. His scoring average dropped to 9.9 points per game. However, he showed his potential near the end of the season, averaging 15.2 points and 6.4 rebounds in his final five games. After the season, he won the school's "Industrial Award" for being the hardest worker on the team.
Junior Year: Becoming a Leader
Before his junior season, Quincy was chosen as a team captain. The season started slowly, with a loss to Portland. But Quincy steadily improved as the Huskies started winning more games. He helped Washington beat USC on the road with 22 points and 5 rebounds. In a big game against Arizona State, he had 10 points and 12 rebounds in an overtime win. This victory helped Washington win their first Pac-10 conference title since 1953. Quincy led the Huskies with 16 points in the game that clinched the title against Washington State. Washington finished the season ranked 10th and made it to the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Quincy scored 23 points in their first-round win. They were eliminated in the second round, but Quincy still had a great game with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Senior Year: A Standout Season
Before his senior year, Quincy played in the World University Games and helped the USA team win a bronze medal. He was again chosen as a captain for the Huskies. He was expected to take over as a key player after Jon Brockman graduated. Quincy started his senior season strong, scoring 25 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in a win against Belmont. In another game, he scored 30 points and had 15 rebounds against San Jose State, led by his former teammate Adrian Oliver. Quincy said, "He scored 32, I got the win," showing his focus on team victories.
Quincy had a very successful senior season, averaging 19.3 points and 7.4 rebounds. He won the Pac-10 Conference Player of the Week award five times, which was a record. He finished second for Pac-10 Player of the Year. However, Quincy led Washington to win the 2010 Pac-10 Tournament Championship. He scored 18 points in the final game, helping Washington earn a spot in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
In the NCAA Tournament, Washington was an #11 seed. Quincy made the game-winning shot with 1.7 seconds left against #6 seed Marquette. He had 18 points and 11 rebounds in that upset win. Washington then upset #3 seeded New Mexico Lobos to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005–2006.
Quincy ended his college career as Washington's all-time leader in games played. He also finished as the 3rd highest scoring player in school history with 1,786 points.
College Statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | Washington | 32 | 22 | 23.9 | .498 | .375 | .760 | 4.0 | 1.5 | .7 | .2 | 10.7 |
| 2007–08 | Washington | 33 | 9 | 24.4 | .452 | .288 | .685 | 4.8 | 1.9 | .5 | .2 | 9.9 |
| 2008–09 | Washington | 35 | 35 | 28.1 | .511 | .214 | .742 | 5.9 | 1.6 | .7 | .4 | 12.1 |
| 2009–10 | Washington | 36 | 36 | 32.3 | .528 | .353 | .827 | 7.4 | 1.8 | 1.3 | .6 | 19.3 |
| Career | 136 | 102 | 27.3 | .503 | .327 | .768 | 5.6 | 1.7 | .8 | .3 | 13.1 | |
College Honors and Awards
- First Team All-Pac 10
- Pac-10 Player of the Week five times in 2009–10 (a Pac-10 record)
- NABC All-District 24 First Team
- Pac-10 All Tournament Team
- FoxSports.com All-American Fourth Team
- USBWA All-District Team
- Member of Team USA's 2009 Team World University Games bronze medal team
Professional Basketball Career
Quincy Pondexter was drafted into the NBA in 2010. He played for several teams during his professional career.
Early NBA Years: New Orleans and Memphis
On June 24, 2010, the Oklahoma City Thunder picked Quincy with the 26th overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft. Shortly after, his draft rights were traded to the New Orleans Hornets. In December 2011, the Hornets traded Quincy to the Memphis Grizzlies. He played well for the Grizzlies and signed a four-year contract extension with them in 2013.
Battling Injuries
After playing in many games during his first three NBA seasons, Quincy faced a lot of injuries. In December 2013, he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right foot. He had surgery and missed the rest of the 2013–14 season.
Quincy returned for the 2014–15 season and played for Memphis for a few months. In January 2015, he was traded back to New Orleans, where the team was now called the Pelicans. He had some of his best games with the Pelicans, averaging 9.0 points per game. He even scored a career-high 25 points in a game in February 2015.
However, injuries continued to affect him. In May 2015, he had surgery on his left knee. He had another knee surgery in January 2016, which caused him to miss the entire 2015–16 season. He had a third knee surgery in January 2017. After this, he also had to fight a serious skin infection. These injuries kept him off the court for a long time.
Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs
In September 2017, Quincy was traded to the Chicago Bulls. He played his first game since April 2015 in October 2017. He was waived by the Bulls in February 2018.
In August 2018, Quincy signed a one-year contract with the San Antonio Spurs. He played for coach Gregg Popovich, whom he called "the greatest coach of all time."
NBA Career Statistics
Regular Season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | New Orleans | 66 | 6 | 11.1 | .406 | .360 | .706 | 1.3 | .4 | .3 | .2 | 2.8 |
| 2011–12 | Memphis | 64 | 8 | 15.7 | .452 | .301 | .623 | 2.0 | .4 | .4 | .1 | 4.2 |
| 2012–13 | Memphis | 59 | 1 | 21.1 | .428 | .395 | .787 | 2.2 | 1.0 | .6 | .1 | 6.4 |
| 2013–14 | Memphis | 15 | 2 | 18.0 | .392 | .324 | .808 | 1.7 | 1.3 | .3 | .1 | 6.3 |
| 2014–15 | Memphis | 30 | 2 | 18.0 | .356 | .233 | .700 | 1.9 | .9 | .2 | .2 | 4.5 |
| 2014–15 | New Orleans | 45 | 28 | 27.8 | .449 | .433 | .758 | 3.1 | 1.5 | .3 | .4 | 9.0 |
| 2017–18 | Chicago | 23 | 1 | 8.5 | .286 | .136 | .824 | 1.2 | .4 | .3 | .1 | 2.0 |
| 2018–19 | San Antonio | 53 | 0 | 5.5 | .500 | .333 | .810 | .9 | .5 | .2 | .0 | 1.8 |
| Career | 355 | 48 | 15.6 | .423 | .356 | .746 | 1.8 | .7 | .3 | .1 | 4.5 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | New Orleans | 3 | 0 | 3.0 | .167 | .000 | – | .3 | .3 | .0 | .0 | .7 |
| 2012 | Memphis | 7 | 0 | 16.3 | .667 | .500 | .778 | 2.3 | .3 | .6 | .0 | 4.7 |
| 2013 | Memphis | 15 | 0 | 23.8 | .489 | .453 | .607 | 2.5 | .7 | .7 | .1 | 8.9 |
| 2015 | New Orleans | 4 | 4 | 31.0 | .357 | .300 | .857 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 1.8 | .0 | 7.3 |
| 2019 | San Antonio | 5 | 0 | 2.4 | .000 | .000 | – | .2 | .4 | .2 | .0 | .0 |
| Career | 34 | 4 | 18.1 | .466 | .408 | .682 | 2.2 | .8 | .7 | .1 | 5.8 | |
Coaching Career
After his playing career, Quincy Pondexter became a basketball coach. On May 3, 2021, he returned to the Washington Huskies as an assistant coach. Then, on May 16, 2024, he was announced as an assistant coach for the USC Trojans.
Personal Life
Quincy comes from a family of basketball players. His father, Roscoe, was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1974 and played professional basketball overseas. Quincy's uncle, Cliff Pondexter, also played for the Chicago Bulls. His cousin, Deshon Taylor, has played basketball professionally overseas. Another cousin, Wesley Yates III, played for the Washington Huskies when Quincy was an assistant coach there and later followed him to USC.
Quincy also hosts an annual basketball camp in the San Joaquin valley. This camp is for boys and girls from kindergarten through 12th grade, helping young players learn and grow.
See also
In Spanish: Quincy Pondexter para niños
