Cyril Baptiste

Cyril Baptiste
Baptiste with the Creighton Bluejays during the 1970–71 season
Personal information
Born(1949-11-17)November 17, 1949
Miami, Florida
DiedAugust 14, 2006(2006-08-14) (aged 56)
Miami, Florida
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
High schoolArchbishop Curley (Miami, Florida)
CollegeCreighton (1969–1971)
NBA draft1971: Hardship round, 3rd overall pick
Selected by the Golden State Warriors
PositionCenter
Career history
1973–1974;
1975–1976		Scranton Apollos
Career highlights and awards

Cyril Baptiste (November 17, 1949 – August 14, 2006) was an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Creighton Bluejays for two seasons. Baptiste was selected by the Golden State Warriors as an early entrant in the 1971 NBA draft but did not make the team due to a heroin addiction. He played two seasons in the Eastern Basketball Association with the Scranton Apollos.

High school career

Baptiste was a native of Miami, Florida, and attended Archbishop Curley High School.[1] He was selected as a fourth-team Parade All-American in 1968.[2]

College career

Baptiste drives past a defender during a game in the 1970–71 season

Baptiste enrolled at Creighton University with a full athletic scholarship to play basketball for the Bluejays.[3] He was sometimes listed as 6-foot-10-inch (2.08 m) but claimed this height was fabricated to "psych out" other teams and he was actually only 6-foot-7-inch (2.01 m).[3]

Baptiste toured with the Olympic development team before his sophomore season.[4] Baptiste began to experiment with drugs during his sophomore season as part of an "innocent curiosity".[3] He developed an addiction to heroin and claimed that he played while high his entire junior season, which caused him to lose weight.[1] A decline in his playing performance heightened the suspicions of head coach Eddie Sutton but physicals were unsuccessful in finding anything.[1] Baptiste's interest in his college classes declined and he was assisted with his grades by Creighton until he dropped out of university two weeks after his junior season ended.[1][3] Sutton lamented in 1989 that he "probably will never get another ballplayer with that much ability" as Baptiste.[5]

Professional career

Baptiste was made eligible for the 1971 NBA draft as part of a hardship round and was considered as a "glamour name".[6] He was selected by the Golden State Warriors and signed a $450,000 contract.[3] Baptiste was suspended in training camp before the 1971–72 NBA season for being "out of condition" and subsequently lost most of his contracted money.[3][7] The Warriors sent Baptiste to several drug rehabilitation programs and kept him on their suspended list until he was placed on waivers on January 15, 1973.[3]

Baptiste played for the Scranton Apollos of the Eastern Basketball Association during the 1973–74 and 1975–76 seasons where he was sometimes paid only $150 per game.[3][8] He believed that he could make a return to the National Basketball Association (NBA) despite his history of drug-related arrests and a conviction for arson.[3]

Death

Baptiste died on August 14, 2006, at the age of 56 due to prostate cancer.[9][10]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1969–70 Creighton 24 – – .514 – .561 11.7 – – – 18.9
1970–71 Creighton 24 – 32.7 .530 – .651 11.3 1.0 – – 20.3
Career 48 – 32.7 .522 – .606 11.5 1.0 – – 19.6

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Narcotics Caused Decline Of Baptiste, Once A Star". Sarasota Herald Tribune. August 11, 1972. p. 37. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  2. ^ "Prep All-America Named". The Missoulian. AP. March 30, 1969. p. 11. Retrieved June 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Amdur, Neil (March 17, 1974). "Baptiste, Cured of Drug Habit, Craves Another Shot at a Pro Basketball Job". The New York Times. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  4. ^ "Five on the Move and the Best of the Rest". Sports Illustrated. November 30, 1970. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  5. ^ Denlinger, Ken (March 26, 1989). "It's Simply Not All Hog Wild for Kentucky". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  6. ^ "A Hardship Is Not Having a 7‐Foot Center". The New York Times. September 5, 1971. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  7. ^ Heisler, Mark (February 19, 1972). "Being a Jumper Is Not Always a Hardship". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 26. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  8. ^ "Cyril Baptiste". Stats Crew. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  9. ^ "Cyril Baptiste". Legacy.com. August 18, 2006. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  10. ^ "Cyril Baptiste Obituary". Legacy.com. Retrieved June 16, 2021.