Marvin O'Connor (basketball)

Last updated
Marvin O'Connor
Personal information
Born (1978-07-11) July 11, 1978 (age 45)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school Simon Gratz
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
College
NBA draft 2002: undrafted
Playing career2002–2003
Position Shooting guard
Career history
2002–2003 Partizan
Career highlights and awards

Marvin O'Connor (born July 11, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He played high school basketball at Simon Gratz in his native Philadelphia, winning the Philadelphia Public League title as a senior in 1997. After his freshman year in college at Villanova, O'Connor transferred to Saint Joseph's, where he was an all-conference selection in all of his three seasons there, and won the Robert V. Geasey Trophy as the best basketball player in the Philadelphia Big 5 in 2001. He went undrafted in the 2002 NBA draft and spent his only professional season with KK Partizan in Serbia, playing in the 2002–03 Euroleague. He is a member of the St. Joseph's Hawks Hall of Fame (inducted in 2008) and of the Big 5 Hall of Fame (2013). [1]

Contents

High school career

O'Connor was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1978, to Alfred and Alexandria Dockins. [2] He attended Simon Gratz High School, where he was named a starter as a sophomore in 1994–95 by coach Bill Ellerbee. [3] That season, he scored a season-high 20 points against Central. [3] In the following season, his junior year, O'Connor was one of the main players on the team, [2] and was the team's top scorer in 11 out of 14 regular season games in the Philadelphia Public League. [3] He scored a regular season-best 24 points against Roxborough, [3] 29 points in the semifinals against Frankford [4] and 35 points (a then-career high) against Thomas Edison High School. [5] At the end of the season he was named in the All-City Second Team and in the All-Public League First Team after averaging 15.6 points per game in Public League play. [6] [7] Overall, O'Connor averaged 17 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists per game in a total of 28 games in his junior season. [8]

In O'Connor's senior season, he led the team in scoring in 10 out of 16 games during the Public League, including 39 points against Olney (a new career-high), 34 against Fels and 30 against Northeast. [3] During the playoffs, O'Connor scored 22 points in the semifinals against Strawberry Mansion, and 14 points, along with 13 rebounds, in the championship game win against Engineering and Science, which was led by Lynn Greer. [9] At the end of the year, O'Connor was named in the All-Public League and All-City First Teams, [6] after averaging 23.7 points per game. [9] The Philadelphia Inquirer named him City Player of the Year. [10] O'Connor scored a total 1,258 points at Simon Gratz. [6]

College career

O'Connor was highly recruited in high school and received offers from several NCAA Division I programs, drawing interest from Clemson, Xavier, NC State, Miami (FL), Penn, [10] Penn State, Princeton, [8] Temple, UMass, and Villanova. [2] He signed to play for Villanova in late November 1996. [2] As a true freshman at Villanova, O'Connor found little playing time under coach Steve Lappas, starting 5 out of 21 games, and scoring a season-high 12 points against Temple. [11] At the end of the season he had averages of 4.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.

After the end of his first season at Villanova, O'Connor decided to transfer to Saint Joseph's. [11] He had to sit out the 1998–99 season due to NCAA transfer rules. He debuted for Saint Joseph's in 1999. Head coach Phil Martelli immediately included O'Connor in the starting lineup, and he averaged 16.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game in 31.5 minutes of playing time. [12] He led the team in points per game (16.6), steals with 31 (1.1 average), three-pointers made (73) [11] and ranked second in assists per game behind Tim Brown. [13] He scored in double figures in 25 out of 28 games, being the team's top scorer in 18 of these occasions, [11] and at the end of his first year at Saint Joseph's he was named in the All-Atlantic 10 Third Team [14] and in the All-Big 5 First Team. [15]

In O'Connor's junior season he was joined in the backcourt by freshman point guard Jameer Nelson. O'Connor was the leading scorer of the team throughout the season, leading the team in 24 out of 32 appearances. [11] On December 11, 2000, O'Connor scored a new career-high 32 points on 11/17 shooting against his former team, Villanova: the game ended with Saint Joseph's losing, 75–78. [16] On March 3, 2001, O'Connor scored 18 points in 57.5 seconds, reaching a new career-high of 37 points in a game against La Salle. [17] The Hawks qualified for the 2001 NCAA tournament, where O'Connor debuted scoring 21 points against Georgia Tech. [18] On March 17, 2000, he scored 37 points (equalling his career high) against Stanford shooting 15/20 from the field, including a perfect 10/10 on 2-point field goals. [18] The performance was the highest-scoring game of the NCAA Tournament that season. [17] [19] At the end of the season he was ranked 10th in the entire NCAA in scoring at 22.1 points per game [11] and he received several accolades: he was named in the All-Atlantic 10 First Team, [14] All-Big 5 First Team, [15] NABC All-District First Team, [20] and he received the Robert V. Geasey Trophy as the best basketball player in the Philadelphia Big 5. His 706 points in the 2000–01 season are an all-time record at Saint Joseph's. [21]

O'Connor was named in the preseason watchlist for the John R. Wooden Award before the beginning of his senior year. [22] He also received nomination in All-American teams selected by The Sporting News and Playboy . [11] On December 21, 2001, he scored 33 points, a season high, against Georgia State. [11] In December 2001 he was included in the Midseason Top 30 list for the Wooden Award. [23] He scored at least 10 points in 26 out of 29 games, and in 8 of these he scored more than 20 points. [11] He was the team's leading scorer for the third season in a row [24] and he was named in the All-Atlantic 10 Second Team, [14] the All-Big 5 First Team, [15] and in the NABC All-District First Team. [20] He ended his career at Saint Joseph's with a total of 1,678 points (14th in program history as of 2018) and 231 three-point field goals made, which at the time of his graduation were the highest mark in Saint Joseph's history (4th as of 2018). [11] [25] He started all the 89 games he played with the Hawks. [11] [26]

In 2008 he was inducted in the Saint Joseph's Hall of Fame, and in 2013 he was inducted in the Big 5 Hall of Fame. [1] [27] [28]

College statistics

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1997–98 Villanova 21515.6.354.217.3571.71.20.50.04.7
1998–99 Saint Joseph's Did not play – transfer
1999–00 Saint Joseph's 282831.6.408.354.7364.42.61.10.116.6
2000–01 Saint Joseph's 323233.5.465.374.6763.72.61.10.022.1
2001–02 Saint Joseph's 292933.0.429.286.7174.22.50.60.017.5
Career1109429.5.430.331.6923.62.30.90.016.1

Professional career

After the end of his senior season at Saint Joseph's, O'Connor was automatically eligible for the 2002 NBA draft. After playing in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, [29] O'Connor went undrafted. He played in the 2002 Shaw's Pro Summer League with the Orlando Magic. [30] After a brief tryout with Italian Serie A team Virtus Bologna, [31] O'Connor signed a professional contract with KK Partizan in Belgrade, Serbia. He played 11 games in the YUBA League, averaging 6.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 17 minutes per game. He also played in 10 Euroleague games during the 2002–03 season, posting averages of 4.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1 assist per game in 14.4 minutes of playing time. [32]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron McKie</span> American basketball player and coach (born 1972)

Aaron Fitzgerald McKie is an American basketball coach and former professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently the special advisor for athletics at his alma mater Temple University. From 2019 until 2023 he served as the head coach for the Temple men's basketball team. Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers 17th overall in the 1994 NBA draft, McKie spent time as a point guard, shooting guard or small forward throughout his professional playing career from 1994 to 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Cannon (basketball)</span> American basketball player

Lawrence T. Cannon is an American retired basketball player. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Cannon was selected in the first round of the 1969 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls with the fifth overall pick. Cannon was an American Basketball Association All-Star, who averaged 16.6 points per game in his ABA/NBA career after his All-American career at LaSalle College. Cannon was forced to retire from basketball due to a chronic medical condition, phlebitis in his legs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lavoy Allen</span> American basketball player (born 1989)

Lavoy Allen is an American former professional basketball player. He was selected in the second round, 50th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. Allen is the son of a truck driver, and did not play much basketball until eighth grade. He attended Pennsbury High School, where he was coached by Oliver Aaron. Rivals.com ranked him the 14th best center in his class, and Scout.com named him the 110th overall prospect. Allen committed to Temple University and coach Fran Dunphy.

Ramone Edward Moore Jr. is an American professional basketball player who plays for CSM Oradea of the Romanian Liga Națională (LNBM). He attended South Philadelphia High School, where he was coached by George Anderson. Moore led the Philadelphia Public League in scoring as a senior and earned Public League MVP honors. He enrolled at Temple as a non-scholarship student and redshirted his freshman year. As a redshirt sophomore, he was the Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year. As a junior, he was an All-Atlantic 10 Second Team selection, and as a senior, he was an All-Atlantic 10 First Team selection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Bell (basketball)</span> American basketball player

James Tahj Mainor-Bell is an American professional basketball player for Passlab Yamagata Wyverns of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for Villanova before playing professionally in Italy, France, Israel, Turkey and Croatia. Born and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey, he moved to Orlando, Florida to attend Montverde Academy. In his senior year at Montverde, he averaged 18.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game to lead Montverde to a 23–5 record and was named a third team All-American by USA Today. Both his freshman and sophomore years at Villanova were hampered by injuries to his leg and ankle. He increased his scoring average to 8.6 points per game as a junior to lead Villanova to the NCAA tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Arcidiacono</span> Italian-American basketball player

Ryan Curran Arcidiacono is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "The Arch of Dimes", he has represented Italy in international competition. He attended Neshaminy High School, where he averaged 20.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game as a junior to lead Neshaminy to the PIAA playoffs.

JayVaughn Pinkston is an American professional basketball player who last played for Soles de Mexicali of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional. He played college basketball for Villanova University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jalen Brunson</span> American basketball player (born 1996)

Jalen Marquis Brunson is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Villanova University, where he was the National Player of the Year as a junior and won two national championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darrun Hilliard</span> American basketball player (born 1993)

Darrun Hilliard II is an American professional basketball player for Pınar Karşıyaka of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL) and the Basketball Champions League (BCL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malcolm Grant (basketball)</span> American basketball player (born 1998)

Malcolm Grant is an American professional basketball player currently playing for Shahrdari Qazvin of the Iranian Basketball Super League. Born in Brooklyn, he played high school basketball for Robeson High School before going to The Winchendon School college prep school. He subsequently enrolled at Villanova University to play for the Wildcats. Following his freshman season at Villanova, he transferred to the University of Miami, where he played for the Miami Hurricanes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Hart</span> American basketball player (born 1995)

Josh Hart is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected in the first round of the 2017 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz with the 30th overall pick before being traded on draft night to the Los Angeles Lakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Booth (basketball)</span> American basketball player

Phil Booth is an American professional basketball player for SIG Strasbourg of the French LNB Pro A. He played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikal Bridges</span> American professional basketball player

Mikal Bridges is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats, winning national championships in 2016 and 2018. Bridges was selected with the tenth overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2018 NBA draft before being traded to the Phoenix Suns on draft night, where he was a part of the team that reached the 2021 NBA Finals. Nicknamed “the Warden”, Bridges holds the active record for the most consecutive games played, having not missed a game in his NBA career since being drafted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darryl Reynolds</span> American basketball player and coach

Darryl Nasir Reynolds is an American basketball coach and former player. He played one season for Start Lublin in the Polish Basketball League. He played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donte DiVincenzo</span> American basketball player

Donte DiVincenzo is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats, where he won national championships in 2016 and 2018, being named Final Four Most Outstanding Player (MOP) in 2018. Selected with the 17th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2018 NBA draft, DiVincenzo won his first championship with the Bucks in 2021, before being traded to the Sacramento Kings the following season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collin Gillespie</span> American basketball player

Collin Gillespie is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Grand Rapids Gold of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats. Gillespie was named Big East co-Player of the Year in 2021 and won it outright the following year.

Rasheed H. Brokenborough is an American former professional basketball player. A left-handed shooting guard, he had a successful high school career, finishing as the all-time top scorer of University City High School in Philadelphia and being considered one of the top players in the nation in his class. After having to sit out his first season of college basketball due to his insufficient SAT score, he was a 3-year starter at Temple. After going undrafted in the 1999 NBA draft, he played 11 years of professional basketball, mainly in Europe, when he won 5 national championships in 3 countries and was the EuroCup top scorer in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremiah Robinson-Earl</span> American basketball player

Jeremiah Christian Robinson-Earl is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Birmingham Squadron of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jermaine Samuels</span> American basketball player

Jermaine Samuels Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Daly</span> American basketball player

Ryan Patrick Daly is an American basketball player who last played for the Agua Caliente Clippers of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Delaware Blue Hens and the Saint Joseph's Hawks.

References

  1. 1 2 "Saint Joseph's Men's Basketball 2018-19 Media Guide" (PDF). St. Joseph's University. 2018. pp. 143–144. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Smith, Marcia C. (November 21, 1996). "Villanova gets fast signature from Gratz guard O'Connor". The Philadelphia Inquirer . p. 57.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "A Look at Simon Gratz High's 107-Game Winning Streak In Public League Regular Season Games, 1989-1998". tedsilary.com. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Philadelphia High School Basketball Public League Playoff Recaps, 1991-2004". tedsilary.com. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  5. ↑ "A Look at Thomas Edison's 1995-96 Public League Champions". tedsilary.com. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 "A Look at Bill Ellerbee's 20-Year Coaching Career at Simon Gratz High (1983-2002)". tedsilary.com. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Philadelphia Scholastic Basketball, 1996". tedsilary.com. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  8. 1 2 "All-Area Boys' Basketball". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 2, 1996. p. 51.
  9. 1 2 "Philadelphia Scholastic Basketball, 1997". tedsilary.com. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  10. 1 2 "Q & A with Marvin O'Connor". villanova.com. February 11, 1998. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Marvin O'Connor". NBA.com . 2002. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  12. ↑ "SAINT JOSEPH'S MEN'S BASKETBALL All-Time Statistics - 1990-2000" (PDF). Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  13. ↑ "1999-00 St. Joseph's Hawks Roster and Stats". sports-reference.com. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  14. 1 2 3 Saint Joseph's Men's Basketball 2018-19 Media Guide. St. Joseph's University. 2018. p. 94.
  15. 1 2 3 Saint Joseph's Men's Basketball 2018-19 Media Guide. St. Joseph's University. 2018. p. 95.
  16. ↑ Pasceri, Ron. "Villanova Basketball: 10 Best "Holy War" Performances". Bleacher Report . Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  17. 1 2 Saint Joseph's Men's Basketball 2018-19 Media Guide. St. Joseph's University. 2018. p. 63.
  18. 1 2 "Marvin O'Connor 2000-01 Game Log". sports-reference.com. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  19. ↑ Saint Joseph's Men's Basketball 2018-19 Media Guide. St. Joseph's University. 2018. p. 133.
  20. 1 2 Saint Joseph's Men's Basketball 2018-19 Media Guide. St. Joseph's University. 2018. p. 93.
  21. ↑ Saint Joseph's Men's Basketball 2018-19 Media Guide. St. Joseph's University. 2018. p. 71.
  22. ↑ "Jason Gardner Named to the Preseason Wooden Award Watch List". pac-12.com. August 3, 2001. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Dickau Chosen Wooden Award Midseason Top 30". gozags.com. December 28, 2001. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  24. ↑ Saint Joseph's Men's Basketball 2018-19 Media Guide. St. Joseph's University. 2018. p. 77.
  25. ↑ Saint Joseph's Men's Basketball 2018-19 Media Guide. St. Joseph's University. 2018. p. 75.
  26. ↑ Saint Joseph's Men's Basketball 2018-19 Media Guide. St. Joseph's University. 2018. p. 81.
  27. ↑ "Calathes Named Hawks' MVP at Awards Banquet". sjuhawks.com. April 21, 2008. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  28. ↑ "HALL OF FAME". philadelphiabig5.org. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  29. ↑ "HAWK SENIORS COMPETING AT PORTSMOUTH INVITATIONAL". sjuhawks.com. April 4, 2002. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Shaw's Pro Summer League Rosters". NBA.com. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  31. ↑ "L' Olimpia non scherza: torna Sconochini". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). July 20, 2002. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  32. ↑ "O'CONNOR, MARVIN". euroleague.net. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.