Haywoode Workman

Infobox NBA Player

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|200px
position = Point guard
height_ft = 6
height_in = 2
weight_lb = 180
nationality = American
birth_date = birth date and age|1966|1|23
birth_place =Charlotte, North Carolina
college = Oral Roberts
draft = 49th overall, 2nd round
draft_year = 1989
draft_team = Atlanta Hawks
career_start = 1989
career_end = 2000
former_teams = Atlanta Hawks (1989)
Topeka Sizzlers (CBA)(1989-1990)
Washington Bullets(1990–1991)
Scavolini Pesaro (Italy) (1991–1993)
Indiana Pacers (1993–1997)
Milwaukee Bucks (1998–1999)
Toronto Raptors (1999–2000)
Hapoel Jerusalem (2000)
awards =

Haywoode Wilvon Workman (born January 23 1966 in Charlotte, North Carolina) is a retired American basketball player who played the point guard position at 6'2". Workman made around $6.9M for playing 359 games in eight NBA seasons for five teams from 1989 to 2000 (averaging 5.5 points, 3.9 assists, 2.3 rebounds, 1 steal in 20.1 minutes per game as a point guard). He also appeared in 38 career NBA Playoff games, averaging 5.9 points, 4.2 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game.

Workman attended Winston Salem State for one year before transferring to Oral Roberts for the '86-87 season. Oral Roberts went 27-52 during Workman's tenure, where he posted career averages of 17.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.9 steals. Workman's most memorable college performance came in December of 1988 when he scored a career high 42 points (18 from 3-pointers and 15 from FTs) against the sixth ranked Oklahoma Sooners featuring Mookie Blaylock and Stacey King; Oklahoma won 152-122. In his junior year, Workman was named Honorable Mention All-American. Workman remains 8th on the school's all time points scored list, 5th in total free-throws made, and 10th in total assists. He also has the records for most steals in a game, in a season, and in a career at Oral Roberts. He has since been inducted into the Oral Roberts Hall of Fame.

Workman was selected 22nd in the 2nd round (49th overall) in the 1989 NBA Draft. Unfortunately for Haywoode, the Hawks cut him six games into the season, opting for the services of Sedric Toney in backing up Doc Rivers and Spud Webb at the point. Workman would go on to play for the Topeka Sizzlers of the CBA, where he was named to the 1989-90 CBA All-Rookie Team after averaging 17.1 ppg, 4.6 apg and 4.3 apg in 46 games. He then went back to the Hawks for a 10-day contract, and then to the Illinois Express of the World Basketball League (WBL).

In August of 1990, the Bullets invited Workman to rookie camp. However, he was pulled from the court after a day and a half. As the Express were preparing for the WBL playoffs, which extended into August, Workman went AWOL to tryout with the Bullets. WBL president, Steve Erhardt, insisted that Workman had to retire from the WBL to participate in camp and was threatening to sue. Eventually Workman paid a fine and never returned to the WBL.

Workman made the full Bullets training camp at Bowie State and fought with Tony Harris and Larry Robinson for a spot on the team, while Darrell Walker, Steve Colter and 2nd round draft pick A.J. English were already in the fold at the guard position. With the absence of Eackles, Colter, the backup point in the previous season, was asked to play more shooting guard. Darrell Walker was also experiencing tendinitis in his Achilles. Ultimately, Harris was cut and Colter, who was at odds with Unseld, was shipped to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Byron Irvin, who was more adept at playing two guard. Both Workman and Robinson would start the first two games of the season at the guard positions. When Walker, who actually played 58 total minutes between games 1 and 2, was inserted back into the starting lineup for game 3, Workman went to the bench and Robinson continued to start for the next seven games. However, Workman had impressed enough, so when Ledell Eackles finally signed and returned to the court in November, Robinson was released.

Fresh off a five game losing streak in mid-November, Unseld went with the starting lineup of Darrell Walker and Haywoode Workman, and it paid off. Workman scored 14 points and hit a game winner with 3.1 seconds left to beat Reggie Miller and the Indiana Pacers at the Capital Centre, putting a temporary halt to mounting losses. In the end, Haywoode Workman would appear in 73 games for the Bullets, starting 56 of them (he missed nine games in February because of a pulled groin). For the season, he averaged 8.0 points, 4.8 assists (2nd on the team), 3.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game (tied for 1st on the team). In his starts, he averaged 9.2 points and 5.4 assists.

Before the following '91-92 season, Workman signed a two-year, $400K+ per contract with Italian League champion, Scavolini Pesaro, which came with the perks of a BMW and a house on the Adriatic Coast. The team gave Workman a qualifying offer of the $120K minimum, which could have been a non-guaranteed $250K if he made the team. But the writing was on the wall as the Bullets traded for Michael Adams and drafted LaBradford Smith that summer. [http://www.bulletsforever.com/2008/8/14/593318/haywoode-workman-mr-blue-c] Workman averaged 15.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 1.8 apg in 58 career games in the Italian League.

After two years in Italy, he returned to the NBA in 1993 by signing with the Indiana Pacers. He started 52 games for the Indiana Pacers in the 1993-94 season, averaging almost eight points and 6.2 assists during the Pacers' first trip to the Eastern Conference finals that year. He notched a playoffs career-high 11 assists, and a Pacers' playoff record seven steals, against the Orlando Magic in Game 1 of the 1994 Eastern Conference First Round. Despite the Pacers trading in the summer of 1994 for a more experienced point guard in Mark Jackson, Workman, along with players such as Antonio Davis, Sam Mitchell, and Dale Davis become invaluable to the Pacer's depth and was integral to the teams consistent post season success in the mid to late nineties. A torn knee ligament in 1996 derailed his playing career, causing him to miss the entire 1997-98 season, and all but 5 games in 1996-97, after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Workman would finish off his career by playing his final two seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors. He had his best game as a Raptor when he posted team-highs of 19 points (4-8 FG, 10-12 FT), 8 assists and 7 rebounds in a 94-85 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on 3 March 1999. He also spent time playing for Hapoel Jerusalem in Israel, before calling an end to his basketball playing career.

While working out in Florida in the summer of 2001, he ran into NBA referee Bob Delaney, who asked him about trying to become a referee. There, he started refereeing local games and became involved with the Tampa Bay Pro-Am league. He started in California in 2002, working the pro-am leagues at Venice Beach and West Los Angeles out of his own pocket. Encouraged, he responded quickly be sending his resume when he heard the CBA was looking for new officials. He worked 15 games that CBA season and later worked the pre-draft camp in Chicago. In July 2003, he worked the NBA summer league in Boston. [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=aldridge_david&id=1618689] He moved up to refereeing NBDL games in 2004.

Workman was on NBA referee roster in '06-'07 and '07-'08 as preseason ref, while working both of those seasons as a NBA Development League official. He was one of three NBA referee hires for the 2008-2009 season. He is the third ex-NBA player to become NBA referee, the first two being Bernie Fryer and Leon Wood.

Workman lives in Tampa with his two children. [http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_nothingbutnet/2008/10/former-player-w.html]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.basketballreference.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=WORKMHA01 College & NBA stats] @ basketballreference.com
* [http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/alumni_workman.html Where Are They Now?: Haywoode Workman]