Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | May 15, 1959
Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | West Philadelphia (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) |
College | Duke (1977–1981) |
NBA draft | 1981: 2nd round, 28th overall pick |
Selected by the San Antonio Spurs | |
Playing career | 1981–1993 |
Position | Shooting guard / small forward |
Number | 20 |
Coaching career | 2009–present |
Career history | |
As player: | |
1981–1985 | San Antonio Spurs |
1985–1987 | Chicago Bulls |
1988–1989 | Arimo Bologna |
1989–1990 | La Crosse Catbirds |
1990–1992 | Maccabi Rishon Lezion |
1992–1993 | Hapoel Herzliya |
As coach: | |
2009–2012 | Washington Wizards (assistant) |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Career NBA statistics | |
Points | 5,305 (11.3 ppg) |
Rebounds | 2,718 (5.8 rpg) |
Assists | 1,335 (2.9 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Eugene Lavon Banks (born May 15, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He was born and raised in Philadelphia.
Banks was born in Philadelphia. He attended West Philadelphia High School, where he was a 6'7" forward. Nicknamed "Tinkerbell," Banks was named to high school All-American teams his last three years of high school. By his senior year, he was considered one of the best players in the country, along with Albert King and Magic Johnson. Banks was voted MVP of the 1977 Dapper Dan and named to the inaugural McDonald's All-American team, which played in the 1977 Capital Classic; [1] [2] he was also voted its MVP.
Banks' attended Duke University, where he played for college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils. He also was heavily recruited by other NCAA Division I college basketball programs, including UCLA and Villanova. Banks has said that a high school teacher had repeatedly emphasized Duke's academic opportunities, which prompted him to participate in a recruiting visit to the school. [3]
At Duke, Banks started as a freshman alongside such players as Mike Gminski, Jim Spanarkel, and Kenny Dennard. After finishing last in the conference the prior year, the Blue Devils were ranked in the top 10 by the end of the regular season. Qualifying for the NCAA tournament for the first time in a dozen years, the Blue Devils reached the championship game in 1978, losing to Kentucky, 94–88. During that rookie season, Banks became the first Duke freshman to record a triple double and was named the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Rookie of the Year.
Banks' teams never again made it to the Final Four, though they did qualify for the NCAA tournament during two of the next three years. The team's overall record during his 4 years was 90–37. During the course of his 4-year Duke career, Banks averaged 16.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, and shot 53% from the field. [4] During those final three seasons, Banks was named team MVP each year. [4]
During his senior season, playing for Mike Krzyzewski, Banks won the ACC scoring title over such players as James Worthy and Ralph Sampson. He was named to All American teams after two of his seasons.
Banks is widely seen as a crucial recruit as Duke slowly transitioned into the world of integrated college basketball. While the sixth African American player in Duke's history, he was the school's first Black All American, setting the stage for Coach Krzyzewski's later recruiting success. [5]
Banks received his BA in English from Duke in May 1981, where he was one of the two graduation speakers selected from the student body.
Banks played six seasons and 468 games in the National Basketball Association. Competing for the San Antonio Spurs and the Chicago Bulls, he averaged 11.3 points per game. His career high of 44 points was achieved against the Los Angeles Lakers in 1983. He recorded his first NBA triple-double with the Chicago Bulls.
In the 1988–89 season, Banks played in Italy for Arimo Bologna. He went from Italy to continue his career as a member of the Maccabi Rishon Lezion basketball club in Israel. In 1993, he continued his play in Israel as a member of Hapoel Herzliya and took them to the Israeli Cup Championship game.
Between these stints, Banks played the 1989–90 season with the La Crosse Catbirds of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), averaging 15.3 points in 40 games. The Catbirds would go on to win the CBA title that year. [6]
In 2009, Gene Banks became an assistant coach with the Washington Wizards. [7] In 2012, Banks was reassigned from assistant coach with the Wizards to scout of the southern region of the eastern Atlantic Coast. He is credited with the development of such players as JaVale McGee, Andray Blatche, and Kevin Seraphin.
Banks was inducted into the Duke Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994, and the Duke Hall of Honors in 1996.
In 2007, Banks was named the "best foreign player" to ever play for Maccabi Rishon LeZion.
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1981–82 | San Antonio | 80 | 4 | 21.3 | .477 | .000 | .684 | 5.1 | 1.8 | .7 | .2 | 9.6 |
1982–83 | San Antonio | 81 | 81 | 33.6 | .550 | .000 | .705 | 7.6 | 3.4 | 1.0 | .3 | 14.9 |
1983–84 | San Antonio | 80 | 66 | 32.5 | .568 | .167 | .741 | 7.3 | 3.2 | 1.3 | .3 | 13.1 |
1984–85 | San Antonio | 82 | 41 | 25.5 | .586 | .333 | .774 | 5.4 | 2.9 | .8 | .2 | 9.5 |
1985–86 | Chicago | 82 | 33 | 26.1 | .517 | .000 | .718 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 1.0 | .1 | 10.9 |
1986–87 | Chicago | 63 | 39 | 28.9 | .539 | .000 | .767 | 4.9 | 2.7 | .8 | .3 | 9.7 |
Career | 468 | 264 | 27.9 | .539 | .043 | .730 | 5.8 | 2.9 | .9 | .2 | 11.3 |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1982 | San Antonio | 9 | – | 16.2 | .462 | .000 | .400 | 4.8 | 1.0 | .4 | .3 | 7.1 |
1983 | San Antonio | 11 | – | 36.2 | .507 | – | .657 | 6.9 | 4.5 | 1.0 | .1 | 15.9 |
1985 | San Antonio | 1 | 0 | 10.0 | .000 | – | – | .0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
1986 | Chicago | 3 | 0 | 23.0 | .556 | .000 | .500 | 3.3 | 1.7 | .3 | .0 | 7.3 |
1987 | Chicago | 3 | 3 | 26.3 | .591 | – | .625 | 2.7 | .7 | .0 | .0 | 10.3 |
Career | 27 | 3 | 26.0 | .504 | .000 | .596 | 5.1 | 2.5 | .6 | .1 | 10.8 |
Michael William Krzyzewski, nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980 to 2022, during which he led the Blue Devils to five national titles, 13 Final Fours, 15 ACC tournament championships, and 13 ACC regular season titles. Among men's college basketball coaches, only UCLA's John Wooden has won more NCAA championships, with a total of ten. Krzyzewski is widely regarded as one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time.
Christian Donald Laettner is an American former professional basketball player. His college career for the Duke Blue Devils is widely regarded as one of the best in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) history. He was the star player on the back-to-back Duke National Championship teams of 1991 and 1992, and the NCAA player of the year in his senior year. He is particularly famous for his game-winning shot against Kentucky in the 1992 tournament and for the hatred he received from opposing fans.
Felton Jeffrey Capel III is an American college basketball coach and former player who is currently the head men's basketball coach at the University of Pittsburgh. He played for Duke University and was a head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University and University of Oklahoma.
Christopher Ryan Collins is an American basketball coach who is currently the head men's coach at Northwestern University. Collins previously served as associate head coach of the Duke University men's basketball team and is the son of National Basketball Association (NBA) player, coach, and commentator Doug Collins.
Mark Steven Alarie is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils and was selected by the Denver Nuggets as the 18th overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft. Alarie spent his rookie season with the Nuggets and was then traded to the Washington Bullets in 1987. He played four seasons for the Bullets until his retirement in 1992 after missing the entire 1991–92 season due to knee surgery.
William Edwin Foster was the head men's basketball coach at Rutgers University, University of Utah, Duke University, University of South Carolina, and Northwestern University. He is best known for guiding Duke to the NCAA championship game in 1978, and that year he was named national Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Foster was inducted into the Rutgers Basketball Hall of Fame and was the first NCAA coach to guide four teams to 20-win seasons. Foster was a graduate of Elizabethtown College.
The Carolina–Duke rivalry refers to the sports rivalry between the University of North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke University Blue Devils, particularly in the sport of basketball. It is considered one of the most intense rivalries in all of US sports; a poll conducted by ESPN in 2000 ranked the basketball rivalry as the third greatest North American sports rivalry, and Sports Illustrated on Campus named it the #1 "Hottest Rivalry" in college basketball and the #2 rivalry overall in its November 18, 2003 issue. The intensity of the rivalry is augmented for many reasons. One reason is the proximity of the two universities—they are located only ten miles apart along U.S. Highway 15–501 or eight miles apart in straight-line distance. In addition, Duke is a private university whereas Carolina is a public school; the vastly different funding structures and cultures between the two further contribute to the intensity of the rivalry. One of the biggest reasons for this rivalry lies in the success of their respective basketball programs; almost every year, at least one of the schools is a contender to win the national championship.
Chris Carrawell is a retired American professional basketball player who is best known for his All-American college career at Duke University. He is currently an assistant men's basketball coach under Jon Scheyer.
Jonathan James Scheyer is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach for the Duke Blue Devils of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
Arthur Bruce Heyman was an American professional basketball player. Playing for Duke University in college, in 1963 he was USBWA Player of the Year, AP Player of the Year, UPI Player of the Year, Sporting News Player of the Year, Helms Foundation College Player of the Year, a consensus first-team All-American, ACC Player of the Year, and ACC Athlete of the Year. That year he was the first overall pick in the first round of the 1963 NBA draft. He went on to have a 310-game professional career in the NBA and ABA.
The Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team represents Duke University in NCAA Division I college basketball and competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The team is fourth all-time in wins of any NCAA men's basketball program, and is currently coached by Jon Scheyer.
David McKinley Henderson is an amateur basketball scout for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers.
The 1991–92 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team was a Division I college basketball team that competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Led by All-American Christian Laettner and Grant Hill, Duke won its 2nd national championship in as many years to become the first repeating team since UCLA's seven-year dynasty from 1967 to 1973. The feat would not be accomplished again in college basketball until the Florida Gators did it in 2007.
The 2000–01 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team represented Duke University during the 2000–01 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, and were coached by 21st-year head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Nate James is an American former basketball player and former head coach at Austin Peay State University. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils.
Phillip Terry Henderson was an American basketball player. He was best known for his collegiate career at Duke University, where he led the Blue Devils to three consecutive NCAA Final Four appearances. He was a second round pick of the Dallas Mavericks in the 1990 NBA draft, but never played in the NBA.
Tyus Robert Jones is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The older brother of NBA player Tre Jones, he previously played for his hometown team, the Minnesota Timberwolves for four seasons, before signing with the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2019 offseason. After 4 seasons with the team, he was traded to the Washington Wizards. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils in his freshman season as part of the 2014–15 National Championship team.
The 2014–15 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team represented Duke University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The team played its home games in Durham, North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium, celebrating the arena's 75th anniversary. Mike Krzyzewski led the team as head coach in his 35th season with the Blue Devils. During the season, Krzyzewski became the first head coach in Division I men's basketball history to win 1,000 games. On the court, the team featured All-ACC players Jahlil Okafor, Quinn Cook, and Tyus Jones, with Okafor being named ACC Player of the Year and National Freshman of the Year.
The 2016–17 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team represented Duke University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were coached by a 37th-year head coach, Mike Krzyzewski. Starting on January 7, Jeff Capel temporarily took over coaching duties while Krzyzewski recovered from lower back surgery. The Blue Devils played their home games at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 28–9, 11–7 in ACC play to finish in fifth place. They became the first ACC team to win four games in four days on their way to winning the ACC tournament. They received the ACC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Troy in the first round to advance to the second round where they lost to South Carolina.
Vernon A. Carey Jr. is an American professional basketball player for Pınar Karşıyaka of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils. He finished his high school career at NSU University School as a five star recruit and among the top-ranked players in the 2019 class.