Tony Delk

Tony Delk
Delk at the 2023 NBA Draft Combine
Personal information
Born (1974-01-28) January 28, 1974 (age 50)
Covington, Tennessee, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight189 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolHaywood (Brownsville, Tennessee)
CollegeKentucky (1992–1996)
NBA draft1996: 1st round, 16th overall pick
Selected by the Charlotte Hornets
Playing career1996–2008
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
Number00, 28, 7, 5
Coaching career2009–2013
Career history
As player:
1996–1997Charlotte Hornets
1997–1999Golden State Warriors
1999–2000Sacramento Kings
2000–2002Phoenix Suns
2002–2003Boston Celtics
2003–2004Dallas Mavericks
2004–2006Atlanta Hawks
2006Detroit Pistons
2006–2007Panathinaikos
2008Gigantes de Carolina
As coach:
2009–2011Kentucky (assistant)
2011–2013New Mexico State (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As assistant coach:

  • 2× SEC champion (2010, 2011)
Career NBA statistics
Points4,957 (9.1 ppg)
Rebounds1,351 (2.5 rpg)
Assists1,024 (1.9 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Tony Lorenzo Delk (born January 28, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player and college assistant coach. He last served as an assistant coach for the New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team. During his playing days, he was team leader of the Kentucky Wildcats team that won the 1996 NCAA Championship Game. After college, he played for eight National Basketball Association (NBA) teams over 10 seasons.

High school

Delk attended Haywood Junior High School and Haywood High School in Brownsville, Tennessee. During his 1992 senior year of high school, Delk was named "Mr. Basketball" in the state of Tennessee (TSSAA Class 3A Mr.Basketball 1992) and also to the Parade and McDonald's All-American Teams.

College career

A jersey honoring Delk hangs in Rupp Arena.

As a sophomore at Kentucky, Delk was voted All-SEC 2nd Team by the coaches and All-SEC 3rd Team by the Associated Press, while also making the All-SEC Tournament Team for his outstanding play. Delk was named to the All-SEC 1st and All-NCAA Regional teams during the 1994–95 season. In the 1995–96 season, Delk was named to the All-American and All-SEC first teams and was named NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player. He also received SEC Player of the Year honors during the season. Delk joined Omega Psi Phi Fraternity while at Kentucky.

College statistics

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1992–93 Kentucky 30 — 9.6 .452 .353 .727 1.9 .7 .6 .1 4.5
1993–94 Kentucky 34 34 28.1 .455 .374 .639 4.5 1.7 1.9 .6 16.6
1994–95 Kentucky 33 32 29.1 .478 .391 .674 3.3 2.0 1.6 .3 16.7
1995–96 Kentucky 36 — 26.3 .494 .443 .800 4.2 1.8 1.9 .4 17.8
Career[1] 133 66 23.7 .474 .397 .709 3.5 1.6 1.5 .3 14.2

Playing career

Delk (right) guarded by Andrei Kirilenko in 2006.

Tony Delk was picked 16th overall in the 1996 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets. He was traded by the Hornets along with Muggsy Bogues to the Golden State Warriors for B. J. Armstrong on November 7, 1997, where he played for two seasons before signing with the Sacramento Kings on August 16, 1999. He appeared in 46 games in 1999-00, subsequently joining the Phoenix Suns on August 1, 2000.

In a January 2, 2001, overtime game against the Kings, he scored a career-high 53 points on 20-for-27 field goal shooting.[2] This was the only game of Delk's career in which he scored 30 or more points.[3] Delk was eventually dealt with Rodney Rogers to the Celtics, for Joe Johnson, Milt Palacio, and Randy Brown.[4]

On October 20, 2003, Delk was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, along with Antoine Walker for Chris Mills, Jiří Welsch, Raef LaFrentz, and a 2004 first-round pick. After a year with the Mavericks, Delk and Walker were again traded, in a deal for Jason Terry and Alan Henderson. Delk lasted one and a half seasons with the Hawks before being waived on February 25, 2006, signing with the Detroit Pistons on March 1, where he backed up point guard Chauncey Billups.

Delk finished his NBA career with averages of 9.1 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 1.9 APG as he, in August 2006, signed a contract with the Greek basketball team, Panathinaikos, in Athens. He won the Greek Cup, the Greek Championship and the European Championship with Panathinaikos, but was released in May 2007, citing compatibility issues. He announced his retirement from professional basketball in November 2007. In 2008, nonetheless, he played three games for the Gigantes de Carolina in the BSN, the professional basketball league of Puerto Rico. He retired, once again, and served as a technical assistant with the same team.[5]

Coaching career

Delk as an assistant coach with the Kentucky Wildcats in 2009

On April 16, 2009, it was announced that Delk would be returning to his alma mater along with his former college teammate Scott Padgett to serve on coach John Calipari's staff at the University of Kentucky.[6]

In July 2011, the New Mexico State Aggies basketball team hired him as an assistant coach to Marvin Menzies.[7]

In June 2013, Delk left the New Mexico State staff to pursue other opportunities closer to his family in Atlanta.[8]

Broadcasting career

In October 2014, the SEC Network announced Delk had been hired as an in-studio analyst and announcer for the upcoming college basketball season.[9]

Personal life

Tony Delk is the president of the Taylor Delk Sickle Cell Foundation. The foundation is named after his daughter, who has sickle cell disease.[10]

Delk divorced from his former wife, Margie Delk, in 2007.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Tony Delk College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  2. ^ "Kings prevail in OT despite Delk's 53, Webber's ejection". CNN.com. Associated Press. January 3, 2001. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
  3. ^ "Tony Delk Game Finder". Basketball Reference. September 9, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  4. ^ "Mavs get Walker from Celtics in five-player deal". The Boston Globe. Associated Press. October 20, 2003. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
  5. ^ Rosa Rosa, Carlos (May 25, 2008). "La carrera tiene que terminar". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 27, 2008.
  6. ^ Calipari to hire former Wildcats Delk, Padgett
  7. ^ "New Mexico St. hires former Wildcat Tony Delk as assistant". USA Today. Associated Press. July 4, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
  8. ^ Groves, Jason (June 24, 2013). "Menzies makes two staff changes". Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  9. ^ [1]. Former UK star Delk joins SEC Network crew. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  10. ^ About Us. Taylor Delk Sickle Cell Foundation. Retrieved on March 20, 2010.
  11. ^ "Tony Delk Biography". Dodoodad. March 11, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2018.