Rafer Alston

infobox NBA Player
name = Rafer Alston
nickname = Skip to My Lou, Skip 2 My Lou


image_size =210px
image_caption =
position = Point guard
height_ft = 6 | height_in = 2
weight_lbs = 175
nationality = American
birth_date = birth date and age|1976|7|24
birth_place = Queens, New York City
highschool = Cardozo
college = Fresno State
draft = 2nd round, 39th overall
draft_year = 1998
draft_team = Milwaukee Bucks
league = NBA
team = Houston Rockets
number = 12
career_start = 2000
career_end =
former_teams = Milwaukee Bucks (2000-2002)
Idaho Stampede (2002)
Mobile Revelers (2003)
Toronto Raptors (2003; 2004-2005)
Miami Heat (2003-2004)
awards =

Rafer Jamel Alston, also known as Skip To My Lou or Skip 2 My Lou (born July 24 1976 in Queens, New York City), is an American professional basketball player currently with the NBA's Houston Rockets.

Streetball legend

Alston grew up in Jamaica, Queens as a street basketball legend and has received most of his recognition for that aspect of his career. In high school at Benjamin N. Cardozo High School he played in only 10 games his last two years but managed to score 319 points. [Friend, Tom. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE4D81430F936A15752C1A962958260 "BASKETBALL; A Point Guard Leaves in Order to Go Back Home"] , "The New York Times", November 25, 1994. Accessed November 20, 2007. "Letters from John Thompson were no antidote; his classmates at Cardozo High in Bayside, Queens, graduated last June without mailing him an invitation."] He first came into the public spotlight for his starring in the And1 Mixtape Volume 1. In this mixtape, it had him performing his legendary dribbling moves on future NBA star Stephon Marbury. Alston attended California State University at Fresno and was drafted after his junior year at Fresno State by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round. He was the 39th pick overall in the 1998 NBA Draft.

His nickname "Skip To My Lou" stemmed from his tendency to skip while dribbling the ball upcourt. He played in several prominent streetball tournaments including the Entertainer's Basketball Classic, the North American street basketball tour, the AND1 Mixtape Tour, and the ESPN TV show, "Street Ball". It is said that during a streetball tournament at the legendary Rucker Park in Harlem, Alston once performed what most would regard as an impossible move: during a fastbreak, he supposedly glided in the paint for a layup attempt but made a change of plans in the air as he rolled the ball down his right arm, across his shoulder and down his left arm to a trailing player for a finishing dunk. [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/basketball/more/07/25/summer.basketball/index.html SI.com - NBA - Pickup hoops hot spots - Wednesday July 26, 2006 3:15PM ] ] Since 2006, Alston has served as the spokesperson for the Houston Rockets Blacktop Battle -- a popular 3-on-3 tournament held every spring in Houston. [ [http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/2006_Big_Blacktop_Battle-163331-822.html ROCKETS: 2006 Big Blacktop Battle ] ]

NBA career

Despite his cult following from the streetball circuit, Alston decided to make the transition to the professional game. After sitting on the bench for most of the time he was with the Milwaukee Bucks, he emerged as a starter for the Miami Heat in 2004. He did not disappoint, averaging 12 points and 4 assists on a young Miami team that made it to the first round of the playoffs. During that season, in a March 26th game against the Dallas Mavericks, he hit a game-winning shot in overtime with 0.5 seconds left over the outstretched arms of Shawn Bradley to catapult Miami to a 119-118 victory. He signed with the Toronto Raptors during the summer of 2004.

Following a tumultuous tenure with the Toronto Raptors, Alston was traded to the Houston Rockets for guard Mike James on October 4, 2005. Although Alston frequently was criticized for his attitude while in Toronto, it is believed that Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy conferred with his brother, Miami Heat coach Stan Van Gundy, who coached Alston during the 2003-2004 NBA season, about Alston's work ethic and attitude. Jeff Van Gundy's reputation for toughness and his ability to get the most out of players previously considered "trouble-makers" or "temperamental" (e.g., Latrell Sprewell) has led to optimism on the part of the Rockets' staff [http://www.examiner.com/a-367064~Van_Gundy__Rockets_have_good_reason_to_feel_optimistic.html] . In the 2006-2007 season, as the Rockets starting point guard, Alston averaged 13.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He finished the season ninth in steals among all NBA players, fourth in three pointers made, and 20th in assists. He also had the worst field goal percentage in the NBA among qualified players at 37.6%.

Legal troubles

On Sunday morning, August 5, 2007, Alston was arrested in downtown Houston on misdemeanor charges of assault and public intoxication. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2962693 Rockets' Alston arrested, charged with assault, public intoxication] , retrieved August 6, 2007] He was arrested again in the early hours of Tuesday, August 28 in New York on charges of allegedly slashing a man on the neck during a nightclub altercation. [ [http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7164050?MSNHPHMA Alston accused of slashing man in club] , retrieved August 28, 2007] Neither the club owner, police, nor security tapes have provided any evidence of the incident occurring. [ [http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/bwiddicombe/2007/08/30/2007-08-30_bridget_moynahan_to_tom_brady_take_a_hik.html] , retrieved August 31, 2007]

The charges brought against Rafer Alston for the incident that took place on August 5, 2007 were dropped on February 29, 2008. [ [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5583727.html Alston vindicated in N.Y. assault case] ,retrieved March 2, 2008

"We went into court, and the DA office indicated that all charges be dismissed based on their investigation," Al Ebanks (Alston's Lawyer) said. "They did not feel this is a case that should go forward. We're obviously pleased with the outcome, as pleased as can be when the case had no merit and understand should never have been charged in the first place."

"Al and a lot of my family members were worried if I could go on with the season, would it be on my mind," Alston said. "When you know you didn't do anything, I just waited for it to be over and came in and focused on basketball.

"You can deal with things when you know you didn't do it. Now the whole case is over with, and they want to keep it silent. I was on the front page when it happened.

"Now when it's dropped they want to keep it silent. That's OK. I can deal with that. That's not who I am." [ [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5583727.html Alston vindicated in N.Y. assault case] ,retrieved March 2, 2008]

Career transactions

* 1996 committs to play college basketball at California State University, Fresno.
* Played in the Continental Basketball Association with the Idaho Stampede.
* Drafted by Milwaukee Bucks in 1998
* Signed by the Milwaukee Bucks as a free agent in 1999.
* Played in the NBA Development League for a year with the now defunct team Mobile Revelers. He signed a 10-day contract to the Toronto Raptors then signed a contract for the remainder of the 2002-03 NBA season.
* Signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat for the 2003-04 NBA season.
* Signed as a free agent with the Toronto Raptors through the 2004-05 NBA season.
* Traded to the Houston Rockets on October 4, 2005, for point guard Mike James.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

-
align="left" | 1999–00
align="left" | Milwaukee
27 || 0 || 13.4 || .284 || .214 || .750 || .9 || 2.6 || .4 || .0 || 2.2
-
align="left" | 2000–01
align="left" | Milwaukee
37 || 2 || 7.8 || .357 || .267 || .692 || .8 || 1.8 || .3 || .0 || 2.1
-
align="left" | 2001–02
align="left" | Milwaukee
50 || 7 || 12.0 || .346 || .380 || .621 || 1.4 || 2.9 || .6 || .0 || 3.5
-
align="left" | 2002–03
align="left" | Toronto
47 || 4 || 20.9 || .415 || .392 || .685 || 2.3 || 4.1 || .8 || .3 || 7.8
-
align="left" | 2003–04
align="left" | Miami
82 || 28 || 31.5 || .376 || .371 || .769 || 2.8 || 4.5 || 1.4 || .2 || 10.2
-
align="left" | 2004–05
align="left" | Toronto
80 || 78 || 34.0 || .414 || .357 || .740 || 3.5 || 6.4 || 1.5 || .1 || 14.2
-
align="left" | 2005–06
align="left" | Houston
63 || 63 || 38.6 || .379 || .327 || .692 || 4.0 || 6.7 || 1.6 || .2 || 12.1
-
align="left" | 2006–07
align="left" | Houston
82 || 82 || 37.1 || .375 || .363 || .734 || 3.4 || 5.4 || 1.6 || .1 || 13.3
-
align="left" | 2007–08
align="left" | Houston
74 || 74 || 34.1 || .394 || .351 || .715 || 3.5 || 5.3 || 1.3 || .2 || 13.1
-
align="left" | Career
align="left" |
542 || 338 || 28.6 || .386 || .357 || .725 || 2.8 || 4.8 || 1.2 || .1 || 10.1
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

Playoffs

-
align="left" | 1999–00
align="left" | Milwaukee
4 || 0 || 4.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .3 || .0 || .0 || .0
-
align="left" | 2000–01
align="left" | Milwaukee
5 || 0 || 1.6 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .2 || .0 || .0 || .0
-
align="left" | 2003–04
align="left" | Miami
13 || 0 || 22.7 || .319 || .231 || .840 || 2.2 || 1.7 || .4 || .1 || 7.0
-
align="left" | 2006–07
align="left" | Houston
7 || 7 || 44.1 || .338 || .320 || .769 || 6.9 || 5.0 || 1.9 || .4 || 10.9
-
align="left" | 2007–08
align="left" | Houston
4 || 4 || 31.5 || .438 || .440 || .800 || 1.5 || 4.5 || 1.0 || .0 || 14.3
-
align="left" | Career
align="left" |
33 || 11 || 22.8 || .346 || .305 || .778 || 2.5 || 2.3 || .7 || .1 || 6.8
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

References

External links

* [http://www.freebasketball.netfirms.com/skip00.html Streetball Player Page]
* [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/rafer_alston/index.html NBA player profile]
* [http://www.clutchfans.net/players/rafer_alston/ ClutchFans.net Rafer Alston Profile] - Houston Rocket Fan Site