Rodrick Rhodes facts for kids

Rodrick Rhodes, born on September 24, 1973, is a former professional basketball player from America. The Houston Rockets chose him in the first round of the 1997 NBA draft. He was the 24th player picked overall.

Rodrick Rhodes: A Basketball Journey

Early Life and High School Success

Rodrick Rhodes was a basketball star even in high school. He was a top player from his freshman year. He was named a Parade All-American three times. This is a big honor for high school athletes.

He helped his team, St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, win two state championships. These wins happened in 1989 and 1991. Their coach was Bob Hurley. Many people thought Rodrick was as talented as Jason Kidd, who later became a famous NBA player.

College Basketball Career

Rodrick Rhodes played college basketball at the University of Kentucky for three years. After that, he moved to the University of Southern California for his final year.

At Kentucky, his coach, Rick Pitino, suggested he take a "redshirt" year. This means taking a year off from playing games while still practicing with the team. It was unusual for a player like Rodrick. Some people thought it was because Kentucky had a new star player, Ron Mercer, joining the team. However, Coach Pitino also suggested other senior players take redshirt years. These players later helped Kentucky win championships.

Playing in the NBA

Rodrick Rhodes played in the NBA for three seasons. He played for the Houston Rockets, Vancouver Grizzlies, and Dallas Mavericks. His best year in the NBA was his first year with the Rockets. He played in 58 games and scored about 5.8 points per game.

Playing Basketball Around the World

After leaving the NBA in 2000, Rodrick Rhodes continued his basketball career overseas. He played in professional leagues in many different countries. These included Cyprus, Greece, the Philippines, France, and Puerto Rico.

Coaching Career

After his playing career, Rodrick Rhodes became a basketball coach. He worked as an assistant coach at several universities. These included the University of Texas Pan-American and the University of Massachusetts. He also worked at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.

In 2005, he was an assistant coach at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas. After a good season there, he moved to Idaho State University in 2006.

Challenges in Coaching

In 2011, Rodrick Rhodes became a coach at Cordia High School in Knott County, Kentucky. In 2014, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association looked into the Cordia basketball program. They found some issues with how the rules were followed. Because of these issues, Rodrick's coaching contract with Cordia School was not continued.

Documentaries and Later Coaching Roles

In 2017, Rodrick Rhodes was featured in a documentary called "Us Against the World." This film showed what happened during his time as coach at Cordia. The documentary was even nominated for an Emmy award in 2018.

From 2017 to 2018, Rodrick worked as an Assistant Men's Basketball Coach at Northwest Nazarene University. In 2019, he was hired as the head coach for Concordia University-Portland for the 2020 season.

See also

In Spanish: Rodrick Rhodes para niños