Allan Houston was born in Louisville, Kentucky and was born on 4/20/71.(1) Allan was born into a basketball life. His father, Wade Houston was an assistant coach on Denny Crum?s Louisville Cardinals team. Houston grew up with the Cardinals and he started his love for basketball because of this. Allan Houston attended Ballard High School and even took the Bruins to the state championships, where they won in 1988. Houston then enrolled himself in the University of Tennessee.(2) Houston dominated the NCAA and became the only player in University of Tenessee History to record 2000 points, 400 rebounds, and 400 assists. Houston averaged over 20 points in each of his 4 years and became the all-time leading scorer for UT and 2nd in the SEC behind Pistol Pete. Houston led UT to 2 NIT berths and almost to the NCAA tournament. Houston?s career in UT was incredible because of all the accolades he accomplished including a degree in African-American Studies. Houston?s reign in Tennessee was great but the best was yet to come. (3)Allan Houston entered the 1993 NBA Draft in which he was drafted 11th overall by the Detroit Pistons. Allan Houston averaged 19.2 MPG while averaging 8.5 pts per game as a rookie. Houston was a backup to Joe Dumars and soon to be his replacement in Detroit. In his Rookie Year, Houston participated in the Dunk Contest in which he finished fourth. Opportunity also came to Houston after the All-Star break when Dumars and Lindsey Hunter became injured. The rest of the season, AH averaged 21.6 ppg. Houston instantly became a star in the NBA. In Detroit he didn?t have a lot of opportunities but still managed to average 15 ppg his last 2 seasons there. After his reign in Detroit was over, Houston signed a 7 year, 56 million dollar contract with the New York Knicks.(4) He averaged 14 ppg in his first year but his stats gradually increased when he became more familiar with the players around him like Ewing, Larry Johnson, and Oakley. Houston became a star in NY and led the Knicks to a 7th seed in the 1998 playoffs. Houston and the Knicks had defeated all odds and beat the 2nd seeded Miami Heat. NYK accomplished this without their franchise center and it became one of the most memorable moments in Knick basketball. (5)The Knicks soon fell to the Larry Bird?s Indiana Pacers. The Next season AH averaged 16.3 ppg in a season that soon led to the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. The run was incredible because the Knicks came in as the 8th seed and made it all the way to the end. In that miracoulous run, Houston made one of the most memorable Shots in NYK history. (6)Against the Top-seeded Miami Heat, Houston made a running shot with .8 seconds left in game 5 that sent the knicks to the next round. Houston and the knicks would then lose to the San Antonio Spurs.(7)Soon after the astonishing loss to the Spurs, Houston was selected to the Olympic Basketball team. Houston won his 1st gold medal in Sydney, Australia.(8) Houston then became an all-star in 2001 and 2002. He averaged around 19 ppg those two seasons. Houston was a bonafide star and was on his road to becoming an NBA superstar. For his Talent, the Knicks and Houston agreed on a 100 million dollar deal for 6 years. A deal that still haunts the knicks today. The knicks then sunk in the Eastern Conference and haven?t made the playoffs since the magical Finals run. Houston was one of the problems since he suffered a severe Knee injury and never came back 100%. He played less minutes and scored less points. Since 2003 Houston has missed 90 games and had been talked in trade possibilities. On October 17, 2005 Allan Houston retired from the NBA due to his knee problems. He worked hard all summer to play for the knicks and serve that big contract. It never happened due to the ailness in his Knee. However Houston will be remembered as a great person and player on and off the court and one of the Franchise?s best players. (9) Allan Houston?s Career Highlights ? Led the 1999-2000 Knicks in scoring (19.7, 21st in the NBA) and in three-point field-goal percentage (.436, 5th in the NBA) ? Ranked 12th in the NBA in minutes per game (38.6) in 1999-2000 ? Scored 7,500th career point at New Jersey on 12/28/99 ? Led the 1998-99 Knicks in free-throw percentage (.862, 11th in the NBA), three-pointers made (57) and attempted (140) and three-point percentage (.407, 14th) ? Was one of only two Knicks to start all 50 games and led the team in scoring in 15 games in 1998-99 ? Posted a season and game-high 30 points (10-13 FG) and 4 assists in an 110-105 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on 4/23/99 ? Selected for the 1999 USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team which participated in the 1999 Americas Qualifying Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 14-25, for the 2000 Olympic Games ? Played in his 400th career game, scoring 22 points, against the Chicago Bulls on 4/18/98 ? Scored his 6,000th career point, totaling 29 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, against the Miami Heat on 4/8/98 ? Scored a season-high 34 points twice in 1997-98, against the Cleveland Cavaliers on 2/15/98 and against the Portland Trail Blazers on 2/20/98 ? Teamed with Rebecca Lobo of the WNBA's New York Liberty in the inaugural Nestle Crunch All-Star 2ball during the 1998 NBA All-Star Weekend in New York ? Has appeared in 22 career NBA Playoff games, averaging 20.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg and 2.5 apg and shooting .438 from three-point range ? Scored a team-high 28 points, in his Knicks debut, against the Toronto Raptors on 11/1/96 ? Established a Pistons franchise record in 1995-96 for three-pointers made (191) and shot a career-best .427 from three-point range ? Matched the NBA single-game record by hitting 7 three-pointers in one half against the Chicago Bulls on 2/17/95 ? Participated in the slam-dunk competition during the 1994 NBA All-Star Weekend in Minneapolis (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9)
I also wrote a tribute to Allan Houston but it was before I knew he would retire. Just a re-cap of his career. The Career of Allan Houston
Good break down GotSkillz just wanted to give you props on writing that since no one else did. Houston will never really get credit he deserves in his career. His great play was always overshadowed by his contract, and other personalities around him ( Spree and Camby) yet Houston was the one constant amidst all that. It is sad to see him retire this way, but hopefully he finds some way to stay around the NBA.
