Todd Fitzgerald Day (born January 7, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. Day is the all-time leading scorer at the University of Arkansas, and played eight seasons in the NBA.[1][2] During the 2006 season, he played for the Blue Stars of Lebanon's WASL Club League.[3]

Todd Day
Personal information
Born (1970-01-07) January 7, 1970 (age 54)
Decatur, Illinois, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight188 lb (85 kg)
Career information
High schoolHamilton (Memphis, Tennessee)
CollegeArkansas (1988–1992)
NBA draft1992: 1st round, 8th overall pick
Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks
Playing career1992–2007
PositionShooting guard
Number10, 13, 11
Coaching career2016–present
Career history
As player:
19921995Milwaukee Bucks
19951997Boston Celtics
1997Miami Heat
1998Scavolini Pesaro
1998–1999La Crosse Bobcats
1999–2000Phoenix Suns
2000–2001Minnesota Timberwolves
2004–2005Arkansas RimRockers
2005–2006APOEL
2006Argentino de Junín
2006–2007Arkansas Aeros
As coach:
2016–presentPhilander Smith
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points5,917 (12.3 ppg)
Rebounds1,649 (3.4 rpg)
Assists713 (1.5 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  United States
FIBA World Championship
Bronze medal – third place 1990 Argentina National team
Goodwill Games
Silver medal – second place 1990 Seattle National team

High school career

edit

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

edit

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]

Professional career

edit

Day was selected in the 1st round (8th pick) by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1992 NBA draft.[2] He was joined in the first round by teammates Oliver Miller and Lee Mayberry, giving the Razorbacks three first round selections that year.[1] He was traded with Alton Lister to the Boston Celtics for Sherman Douglas on December 22, 1995. Day scored a career high 41 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves, tying Larry Bird's Celtic franchise record for points in a quarter with 24.[6][10]

Day only reached the playoffs once in his eight NBA seasons, with the 1999-00 Phoenix Suns. In nine games that postseason, Day contributed to a first-round upset of the defending champion San Antonio Spurs and a second-round loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.[11] During his NBA career, Day also played for the Miami Heat, the Phoenix Suns and the Minnesota Timberwolves, averaging 12.3 points per game. With Day's departure the Bucks selected Ray Allen with the 5th overall pick of the 1996 NBA Draft .

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 FedEx FIBA 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.

NBA career statistics

edit
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
 *  Led the league

Regular season

edit
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1992–93 Milwaukee 71 37 27.2 .432 .293 .717 4.1 1.6 1.1 0.7 13.8
1993–94 Milwaukee 76 39 28.0 .415 .223 .698 4.1 1.8 1.4 0.7 12.7
1994–95 Milwaukee 82* 81 33.1 .424 .390 .754 3.9 1.6 1.3 0.8 16.0
1995–96 Milwaukee 8 0 21.4 .310 .200 .923 2.8 0.6 0.5 0.4 9.1
1995–96 Boston 71 12 23.0 .371 .343 .766 2.8 1.4 1.1 0.7 12.0
1996–97 Boston 81 27 28.1 .398 .362 .773 4.1 1.4 1.3 0.6 14.5
1997–98 Miami 5 0 13.8 .355 .167 .667 1.2 1.4 1.4 0.0 6.0
1999–00 Phoenix 58 1 16.2 .394 .388 .667 2.2 1.1 0.8 0.4 6.8
2000–01 Minnesota 31 0 11.1 .373 .377 .783 1.2 0.9 0.3 0.2 4.3
Career 483 197 25.3 .406 .345 .739 3.4 1.5 1.1 0.6 12.3

Playoffs

edit
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1999–00 Phoenix 9 0 11.1 .457 .313 .500 1.1 0.4 0.4 0.1 4.7

Coaching career

edit

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]

College

edit
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Philander Smith Panthers (Gulf Coast Athletic Conference) (2016–present)
2016–17 Philander Smith 17-13 7-5
2017–18 Philander Smith 17-11 7-5
2018–19 Philander Smith 11-19 8-6
2019–20 Philander Smith 11-18 8-6
2020–21 Philander Smith 9-10 2-5
2021–22 Philander Smith 16-8 6-2
2022–23 Philander Smith 22-7 10-4
2023–24 Philander Smith 21-9 14-4 NAIA first round
Philander Smith: 124–95 (.569) 62–37 (.626)
Total: 124–94 (.569)

      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

Personal

edit

Todd Day was inducted as a member of the 2008 class of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, and he was one of nine former Razorbacks inducted into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame in November 2015.[21][22][2] Day is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Todd Day." www.hogstats.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d Muck, Jeremy. "Hall of Fame event becomes double celebration." NWA Democrat-Gazette's Weekendwrap, November 15, 2015. Page 5W.
  3. ^ "Basketball News – 2006." www.hognation.net. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  4. ^ "McDonald's All-American – Boys Alumni List." Archived May 7, 2013, at the Wayback Machine www.mcdonaldsallamerican.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  5. ^ "Parade All-American Third Team." www.basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved April 6, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c NBA.com: Todd Day Bio Archived May 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "TSSAA State Records: Former Mr. Basketball Winners." www.tssaa.org. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  8. ^ 1990 USA Basketball Archived June 7, 2002, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Eleventh World Championship – 1990." www.usab.com, June 10, 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  10. ^ "Individual Records – Boston Celtics." www.nba.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  11. ^ "Todd Day 1999-00 Game Log." www.basketball-reference.com. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  12. ^ "Blackhawks fall in ABA title game." Seattle Times, March 27, 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  13. ^ Givens, Chris. "ABA CHAMPIONSHIP ARKANSAS RIMROCKERS 118, BELLEVUE BLACKHAWKS 103." Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, March 27, 2005. epaper.ardemgaz.com. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  14. ^ "Pro Sports Transactions – Todd Day Waived." www.prosportstranctions.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  15. ^ "Todd Day of the Arkansas Aeros added to ABA All-Star Game." www.oursportscentral.com, January 25, 2007.
  16. ^ Jackson, Martinis. "Legends of the Hardwood: Todd Day." www.hardwoodinsiders.com, July 24, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  17. ^ "Arkansas Impact." www.oursportscentral.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ Bordelon, Scottie (June 15, 2016). "Todd Day Named Head Coach at Philander Smith College". Arkansas Fight. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  20. ^ "Philander Smith College Athletics – 2016–17 Men's Basketball". www.philanderathletics.com. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  21. ^ "Todd Day: Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame." Archived April 17, 2016, at the Wayback Machine www.arkansassportshalloffame.com. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  22. ^ Jones, Matt. "Nine more Hogs going into SWC Hall of Fame." www.wholehogsports.com, August 13, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
edit