Tom Gugliotta

Infobox NBA Player


imagewidth = 180px
caption =
position = Power forward
nickname =
height_ft = 6
height_in = 10
weight_lb = 250
nationality = American
birth_date = birth date and age|1969|12|19
birth_place = Huntington Station, New York
highschool = Walt Whitman
college = North Carolina State
draft = 6th overall
draft_year = 1992
career_start = 1992
career_end = 2005
draft_team = Washington Bullets
awards = 1993 NBA All-Rookie First Team, 1997 NBA All-Star Team, 1999 USA Team

Thomas James Gugliotta (born December 19, 1969 near Huntington Station, New York, United States) is an American former professional basketball player.

The youngest of seven children, Gugliotta was a skinny 6'6", 198 pound forward as a high school senior. He attended Walt Whitman High School His two older brothers, Frank Jr. and Charlie, both enjoyed limited collegiate success on the hardwood and played professionally in Europe. His father, Frank Sr., called an old friend, Jim Valvano at North Carolina State University during his senior season and told Valvano that his youngest son was going to be a special basketball player. Valvano took a chance on Gugliotta and brought him to Raleigh.

During his freshman season, "Googs" was limited by a knee injury. However, he emerged in the second half of the ACC season as a member of the rotation for the Wolfpack and appeared in 28 games, averaging two points and 1.3 rebounds per game.

During the offseason, Valvano began telling crowds at Wolfpack Club meetings that Gugliotta was beginning to blossom. Emerging as a taller, heavier sophomore, Gugliotta averaged 11.1 points and seven rebounds a game. As a junior, Gugliotta began to show his star potential, averaging more than 15 points and nine rebounds per game. As a senior, Gugliotta averaged more than 22 points and almost 10 rebounds per game and drew favorable comparisons from announcers to Larry Bird.Fact|date=May 2008

Gugliotta was drafted in 1992 out of North Carolina State University with the 6th overall pick by the National Basketball Association's Washington Bullets. In his final of 13 seasons, he played for the Atlanta Hawks, averaging 5.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg and 1.4 apg. His best years were with the Minnesota Timberwolves, scoring 20.6 and 20.1 ppg in two years. Gugliotta played briefly for the Boston Celtics.

On December 17, 1999, Gugliotta had a near-death experience. Having trouble sleeping after games, Gugliotta took a supplement marketed as a "sleep aid" which included furanon di-hydro, also known as gamma butyrolactone, or GBL. Gugliotta was talking to his wife, Nikki, on his cellular telephone when he collapsed and stopped breathing. His wife heard the commotion and called the wife of teammate Rex Chapman who was able to call her husband on the bus and instruct him to check his bag for the supplement bottle. The information saved his life as doctors were able to give him an antidote in the emergency room moments later. [ [http://espn.go.com/magazine/vol3no7gugliotta.html Close Call] ]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/tom_gugliotta.html NBA.com Profile]