Day played for his stepfather, Ted Anderson at Memphis's Hamilton High School, where he was a McDonald's All-American and a third-team Parade All-American.[4][5] He also earned All-State and All-District honors during his prep career.[6] Day was named Tennessee's Mr. Basketball for Class AAA following his senior year in 1988.[7]
Collegiate career
Day played college basketball at the University of Arkansas for coach Nolan Richardson, and was a four-year letterman ('89,'90,'91 and '92).[2] Day broke Sidney Moncrief's school record for scoring with 2,395 points. Day was a member of the All-Southwest Conference Newcomer Team as a freshman, a member of the Arkansas unit that reached the NCAA Final Four as a sophomore, and a John Wooden First-Team All-America selection as both a junior and senior. Day helped Arkansas win three consecutive Southwest Conference regular season championships from 1989 to 1991, as well as three straight SWC Tournament championships, also from 1989 to 1991. Day was named the Most Outstanding Player for the 1990 SWC Tournament.
In his final college season, he powered the Razorbacks to the Southeastern Conference regular seasons title, as well as the SEC West Division championship, in the school's first season in the league. His scoring average (22.7 ppg) was the third highest in school history.[6] Day holds several school records, including career points (2,395), and points in a season (786).[1] During Day's time at Arkansas, the Razorbacks made the NCAA Tournament every year, advancing to the second round in 1989, the Final Four in 1990, the Elite Eight in 1991, and the second round in 1992.
He played for the US national team in the 1990 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal.[8] He averaged 6.3 points per game during the tournament, while helping the last collegiate team ever to represent the USA on a major international tournament win the bronze medal.[9]
Day joined the Arkansas Rimrockers for their inaugural season in the ABA basketball league in 2004–05. In their only season in the league, the Rimrockers had a record of 32–5, defeating the Bellevue Blackhawks 118–103 in Alltel Arena for the league championship. Day finished the game with 32 points and 6 steals.[12][13] Day was named 1st Team All-ABA and was an ABA All-Star. Day helped Rayyan (Qatar) win the 16th FedExFIBA Asia Champions Cup in 2005, scoring 24 points in the victory over Fastlink (Jordan). Day signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Pistons, but was released in training camp.[14] Day returned to the ABA for the 2006–07 season, playing with the Arkansas Aeros. He was selected to play in the ABA All-Star Game on January 28, 2007, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Day was averaging 21.4 points per game prior to the All-Star Game.[15] Day also had a stint playing for the Harlem Globetrotters.
Day was named head coach for the Arkansas Impact of the Premier Basketball League, in December 2007.[16] The Impact began their season in January 2008 and played their home games in Little Rock's Barton Coliseum, but are no longer in operation.[17] Day led the Impact to the 2008 Championship Game, losing to the Rochester Razorsharks 142–112. Day entered high school coaching when he was named head coach at the Memphis Academy of Health and Sciences, where he coached for five seasons. He became the head coach at his alma mater, Hamilton High School, when former head coach Keelon Lawson resigned to join Josh Pastner's staff at the University of Memphis. He also worked as an assistant coach for Team Penny, a Memphis-based AAU team founded by head coach Penny Hardaway.[18] In June 2016, Day was named head coach of the Men's Basketball program at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, AR.[19] His son T.J. Day serves as an assistant coach for the team.[20]
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
Conference regular season champion
Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
Division regular season champion
Division regular season and conference tournament champion
Conference tournament champion
^Griffin, Jamie. He has recently been named the head coach of Men's College Basketball at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. "Todd Day Returns Home."www.memphisflyer.com, November 24, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
