Armen Gilliam

Infobox NBA Player
name = Armen Gilliam
position = Power forward
nickname = The Hammer
height_ft = 6
height_in = 9
weight_lb = 230
nationality = American
birth_date = birth date and age|1964|5|28
birth_place = Bethel Park, Pennsylvania
college = UNLV
draft = 2nd overall
draft_year = 1987
draft_team = Phoenix Suns
career_start = 1987
career_end = 2000
former_teams = Phoenix Suns (1987-1989)
Charlotte Hornets (1989-1991)
Philadelphia 76ers (1991-1993)
New Jersey Nets (1993-1996)
Milwaukee Bucks (1996-1999)
Utah Jazz (1999-2000)
awards = 1987-88 NBA All-Rookie Team

Armen Louis Gilliam (born on May 28, 1964, in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania), nicknamed "The Hammer", is an American professional basketball player for the Pittsburgh Xplosion of the American Basketball Association (ABA). In the 2005-2006 ABA All-Star Game at the BankAtlantic Center, Gilliam was named MVP.

He played for the US national team in the 1986 FIBA World Championship, winning the gold medal. [ [http://www.usabasketball.com/history/mwc_1986.html 1986 USA Basketball] ]

Gilliam began his professional career when he was selected second overall in the 1987 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. He retired from the NBA in 2000 after 13 seasons with six different teams. In his career, he averaged 13.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

Towards the end of his NBA career he altered the spelling of his first name from "Armon" to "Armen" because he was tired of it continually being mispronounced. At the time, he was quoted as saying: "Most people pronounced it Ar-MON. I've been correcting it a long time, and I got tired of it. I just thought that if I put the 'e' in there, it would make it a lot easier. I'm not Muslim. It's not religious or anything like that." [http://12.100.23.254:8080/bj/sports/cavs/docs/015332.htm]

Following his playing days in the NBA, Gilliam coached the NCAA Division III Penn State Altoona Cougars of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference for several unsuccessful years before returning to play in the ABA.

References

External links

* [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/armen_gilliam/ Armen Gilliam playerfile] @ NBA.com
*basketball-reference|id=g/gilliar01|name=Armon Gilliam
* [http://www.altoona.psu.edu/now/news.asp?value=263 Press Release] @ Penn State Altoona