- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,190,530
- Reaction score
- 59
Former LSU Tigers star Garrett Temple is finally calling it quits on his NBA playing days, but he won't be leaving the league as he agreed to join the Dallas Mavericks staff as an assistant, per Marc J. Spears on Saturday.
Temple being able to instantly become an assistant in the league is no surprise. It's essentially what he has been for the last four years anyway, playing in fewer than 30 games and averaging under 11 minutes in each season.
He has a great basketball mind, and has been able to survive as a bench veteran in a league that was already mostly past that. While he didn't put much up in terms of points, he held great value as he taught younger stars how to last in the NBA. Now he'll just have a more accurate job title.
The 40-year-old averaged 5.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists on 39.9/34.2/74.4 shooting splits over his entire career. Those numbers are lessened by the end of his career, but he was never a major offensive contributor. His career-high average was 10.3 points.
To be able to last in the league for as long as he did would be an incredible feat for anyone, but it was made extra special as Temple fought through the adversity of being undrafted. He played for five teams over his first two years.
Back in his college days, Temple spent four seasons with the Tigers. He averaged 6.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals on 37.1/27.8/78.3 shooting splits. He is Baton Rouge royalty as he attended high school on campus at LSU Laboratory School. His father, Collis Temple Jr., was the first African-American basketball player to play for the school.
Continue reading...
Temple being able to instantly become an assistant in the league is no surprise. It's essentially what he has been for the last four years anyway, playing in fewer than 30 games and averaging under 11 minutes in each season.
He has a great basketball mind, and has been able to survive as a bench veteran in a league that was already mostly past that. While he didn't put much up in terms of points, he held great value as he taught younger stars how to last in the NBA. Now he'll just have a more accurate job title.
The 40-year-old averaged 5.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists on 39.9/34.2/74.4 shooting splits over his entire career. Those numbers are lessened by the end of his career, but he was never a major offensive contributor. His career-high average was 10.3 points.
To be able to last in the league for as long as he did would be an incredible feat for anyone, but it was made extra special as Temple fought through the adversity of being undrafted. He played for five teams over his first two years.
Back in his college days, Temple spent four seasons with the Tigers. He averaged 6.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals on 37.1/27.8/78.3 shooting splits. He is Baton Rouge royalty as he attended high school on campus at LSU Laboratory School. His father, Collis Temple Jr., was the first African-American basketball player to play for the school.
Continue reading...
