Terry Catledge facts for kids

Terry DeWayne Catledge (born August 22, 1963) is a former professional basketball player from the United States. He played as a forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Terry played college basketball for the South Alabama Jaguars.

He was chosen by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 1985 NBA draft. He was the 21st player picked overall. Terry played for eight seasons in the NBA, from 1985 to 1993. During this time, he was a part of the 76ers, Washington Bullets, and Orlando Magic teams.

Early Life and High School Basketball

Terry Catledge grew up in Houston, Mississippi. He went to Houston High School. There, he was a star basketball player. He averaged 31 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocked shots per game during his high school career.

College Basketball Career

Terry first joined the University of South Alabama in April 1981. However, he missed home and went back to Houston in August. He then enrolled at Itawamba Junior College. He returned to South Alabama in September. But because he had transferred, the NCAA ruled that he lost one year of playing time.

In his three seasons at South Alabama, Terry was an amazing player. He averaged 21.7 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. He was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year twice. He was also a First-team All-Sun Belt player three times. In 1985, South Alabama retired his jersey number, 23. In 1999, he was added to the South Alabama Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional Basketball Journey

Playing in the NBA

After college, the Philadelphia 76ers drafted Terry Catledge in the first round of the 1985 NBA draft. He played as a backup to the famous player Charles Barkley. In his first season, Terry averaged 7.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

His playing time increased in the playoffs because Moses Malone was injured. Terry then averaged 10.4 points and 6.8 rebounds. He even scored 27 points in a key game against the Washington Bullets. In June 1986, he was traded to the Washington Bullets.

Terry played three seasons with the Bullets. He averaged 11.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. In 1989, the Orlando Magic chose him as their fifth pick in the 1989 NBA expansion draft.

During the 1989-1990 season, Terry led the Magic in scoring. He had a career-high average of 19.4 points per game. After four seasons with the Magic, Terry left the team in October 1993. This was because he was getting less playing time. The Magic also wanted to play younger players.

Later Career in Basketball

After leaving the Magic, Terry went to France. He signed with Pau-Orthez in October 1993. He played in two games there, averaging 20 points and 6 rebounds. He returned to the United States in November of that year.

He then joined the Oklahoma City Cavalry in the Continental Basketball Association. In December 1993, he was traded to another team but did not play for them. Instead, he joined the Mississippi Coast Gamblers in the United States Basketball League. In his first game with the Gamblers, Terry scored an amazing 44 points! For that season, he averaged 33 points per game.

Terry started the 1994–1995 season playing for Aris in Greece. He left that team after a short time. In November, he planned to sign with the Shreveport Crawdads. He finally joined them on January 3, 1995. He played 10 games for the Crawdads, averaging 20.7 points and 8.9 rebounds. He left the team in February 1995.

In January 1996, Terry returned to Shreveport. The team was now called the Storm. After playing one game, he asked to be put on the inactive list. He said he needed to get in better shape and had leg pain. He did not play for the team again.

Later in 1996, Terry joined Atenas de Córdoba in Argentina. He played five games for them, averaging 17 points and 6 rebounds.

See also

In Spanish: Terry Catledge para niños