Tayshaun Prince

Infobox NBA Player
name = Tayshaun Prince

---

caption = Tayshaun Prince on defense
league = NBA
height_ft = 6
height_in = 9
weight_lb = 215
position = Small forward
number = 22
birth_date = birth date and age|1980|2|28
birth_place = Compton, California
team = Detroit Pistons
college = Kentucky
nationality = American
draft = 23rd overall
draft_team = Detroit Pistons
draft_year = 2002
career_start = 2002
career_end =
awards = 2004-05 NBA All-Defensive Second Team
1-time NBA Champion(2004)

Tayshaun Durell Prince (born February 28, 1980, in Compton, California) is an American basketball player for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association. Prince is a small forward, listed at height|ft=6|in=9 and convert|215|lb|kg st|abbr=on|lk=on. A graduate of Dominguez High School and the University of Kentucky, Prince was drafted in the first round (23rd overall) by the Detroit Pistons in the 2002 NBA Draft. Prince wears the jersey #22 as a result of his draft position, signifying the 22 teams that passed on drafting him. His college #21 was previously retired by the Pistons in honor of guard Dave Bing.

College career

Prince played four seasons (1998 to 2002) for the University of Kentucky Wildcats, averaging 13.2 points and 5.7 rebounds [ [http://www.databasebasketball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=PrincTa01 Tayshaun Prince Past Stats, Playoff Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards] , Databasebasketball.com, accessed 18 February 2007.] as the Wildcats posted a 97-39 record [PDFlink|http://www.ukathletics.com/doc_lib/mbb_history_yearbyyear.pdf|1.57 MiB ] and advanced to the NCAA Tournament each year. Prince won SEC Player of the Year in his junior season (2000-2001) [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/college/news/2001/03/05/all_sec_ap/ CNNSI.com - College Basketball - Men - Kentucky's Prince, Rebels' Barnes take SEC honors - Monday March 05, 2001 07:58 PM ] ] - also leading the SEC in free throw percentage (84.3%) [PDFlink|http://www.secsports.com/doc_lib/bkc_through_the_years.pdf|364 KiB ] - and was named to the Associated Press All-SEC Teams in both his junior and senior years.PDFlink|http://www.ukathletics.com/doc_lib/mbb_history_awards.pdf|45.0 KiB ] Kentucky won the SEC Tournament in 1999 and 2001, and Prince was awarded the 2001 tournament's Most Valuable Player award.

Notable individual performances included a 31 point, 11 rebound, 4 assist, 4 steal effort in a 79-59 victory over North Carolina. In scoring Kentucky's first fifteen points, Prince made five consecutive three-point shots. Kentucky shooting guard Keith Bogans compared Prince's performance to "the Chicago Bulls' Michael Jordan blistering Portland in the 1992 NBA Finals." [ [http://kentucky.scout.com/2/28412.html Scout.com: Prince reigns as Cats crush Carolina ] ] In an 87-82 victory over Tulsa during the 2002 NCAA Tournament, Prince scored a career-high 41 points (along with 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks) to lead Kentucky to the Sweet 16. [ [http://kentucky.scout.com/2/40388.html Scout.com: Prince reigns as Kentucky tops Tulsa ] ]

NBA career

Rookie year

In his rookie season under head coach Rick Carlisle, and trainer Chris Moning, Prince was not a member of the team's playing rotation and appeared in just 42 of 82 regular-season games. However, in the first round of the 2003 NBA Playoffs, Detroit trailed the Orlando Magic three games to one, forcing Carlisle to experiment with a different rotation. Prince was inserted into the lineup and received heavy minutes; he was even asked to defend superstar Tracy McGrady at times. The Pistons rallied to win the series, and Prince had a breakout performance during the decisive seventh game, scoring 20 points in 24 minutes. [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/tayshaun_prince/bio.html Tayshaun Prince Info Page - Bio] , NBA.com, accessed 18 February 2007.] In the second round against the Philadelphia 76ers, Prince continued to see action and made several memorable plays, including a turnaround hook shot during the final seconds of the second game, forcing an overtime period that the Pistons went on to win.

2003-04 season

After the Pistons were swept by the New Jersey Nets in the Eastern Conference finals, Carlisle was fired and former Sixers coach Larry Brown took over as head coach. Under Brown, Prince became the Pistons' starting small forward and increased his scoring average to 10.3 points per game, up from 3.3 as a rookie. In that 2003-04 season, Prince was also selected to play for the Sophomores (second-year players) in the NBA Rookie Challenge.

"The Block"

In the second game of the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers, Prince made a memorable defensive play. In the final minute of the game, Indiana Pacer star shooting guard Reggie Miller took an outlet pass after an Indiana steal and sprinted up the right sideline for a seemingly uncontested basket that would have tied the score. Prince pursued from the left sideline. Miller, presumably thinking that Prince could not catch him, attempted a layup. At the last possible moment, Prince soared in from the other side of the basket and swatted the ball away; the ball landed in bounds and was scooped up by Pistons teammate Richard Hamilton, effectively ending the game. The Pistons went on to win the series and, eventually, the NBA championship. The block has been replayed numerous times on ESPN and sports programs on other networks. When the Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers four games to one in the NBA Finals, Prince's tough defense on Lakers guard Kobe Bryant was credited a key factor in the Pistons' victory.

2004-05 season

Prince continued to show improvement in the 2004-05 season, setting career highs in scoring (14.7 points per game), rebounding (5.3 per game), assists (3.0) and blocks (0.9). He was selected for the NBA's All-Defensive Second Team and was a candidate for the NBA Most Improved Player Award, where he came in third behind winner Bobby Simmons of the Los Angeles Clippers and Primož Brezec of the Charlotte Bobcats. Although he and the Pistons made it back to the NBA Finals in 2005, they lost to the San Antonio Spurs in a close 4-3 series.

Prince's superb play was rewarded by the Pistons with a 5-year contract extension worth $49 million on October 31, 2005. [Tony Mejia, [http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/9238416/2 "Prince the Pistons' All-Star non-All-Star"] , CBS sports, 15 February 2006.]

2005-06 season

In the 2005-06 season, Prince played in all 82 regular season games, averaging 14.1 points and 4.2 rebounds a game. [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/tayshaun_prince/career_stats.html Tayshaun Prince Info Page - Career Stats and Totals] , NBA.com, accessed 18 February 2007.] In the playoffs, the Pistons were eliminated by the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.

2006-07 season

In the 2006-07 season, Prince returned similar statistics to his 2004-05 campaign: 14.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. In the Playoffs the Pistons were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games.

2007-08 season

In the 2007-08 season, Prince played and started in all 82 regular season games, averaging 13.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists each game. [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/tayshaun_prince/ NBA.com : Tayshaun Prince Info Page ] ] The Pistons were eliminated in the Eastern Finals by the Boston Celtics in game six, averaging 13.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in the playoffs.

Personal life

Tayshaun Prince's full name is Tayshaun Durell Prince. He is married to his college sweetheart Farah Brown, and has no children.

Nickname

Tayshaun Prince has been called "The Prince of Defense" by fans due to his tremendous defense as well as his block on Reggie Miller. He has also been called "The Prince of the Palace," a nod to his last name and the Pistons' home arena, The Palace of Auburn Hills.

International career

On August 20, 2007, Prince was selected to be a part of Team USA that competed at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, a qualifying tournament for the Beijing Olympics. [ [http://www.usabasketball.com/news_archive.php?news_page=07_msnt_teamnamed&page=msnt USA Men's Team Announced For FIBA Americas Championship] ] Coming off the bench, he, along with the other new members of the team including fellow teammate Chauncey Billups, helped the USA go unbeaten at the tournament held in Las Vegas and earn a spot at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

On June 23, 2008, Prince was selected for the Olympic squad along with eleven others in the hope of fulfilling the ambition of winning their first gold medal since the 2000 Summer Olympics. [ [http://usabasketball.com/news_archive.php?news_page=2008msntOlyAnnouncement&page=msnt USA Basketball Announces 12-Member 2008 Men’s Senior National Team] ] Team USA went on to do exactly that, going unbeaten in the tournament with Prince coming off the bench and defeating 2006 World Champion Spain in the final, living up to their "Redeem Team" moniker. [ [http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/basketball/news;_ylt=Ah.8N.kevp5he3sc9W9nXFa8vLYF?slug=ap-bko-spain-us&prov=ap&type=lgns US hoops back on top, beats Spain for gold medal] ]

Honors/achievements

*2004 NBA Champion
*2004-05 NBA All-Defensive Second Team
*2005-06 NBA All-Defensive Second Team
*2006-07 NBA All-Defensive Second Team
*2007-08 NBA All-Defensive Second Team
*Gold Medal with Team USA, 2007 Tournament of Americas Olympic Qualifiers
*Gold Medal with Team USA, 2008 Summer Olympics
*Had a cameo in the 2006 movie, "Hood of Horror", starring Snoop Dogg. He was cast as Footloose, a guy with his lower legs cut off. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0475298/fullcredits#cast Hood of Horror (2006) - Full cast and crew ] ]

NBA career statistics

Regular season

-
align="left" | 2002–03
align="left" | Detroit
42 || 5 || 10.4 || .449 || .426 || .647 || 1.1 || .6 || .2 || .3 || 3.3
-
align="left" | 2003–04
align="left" | Detroit
82 || 80 || 32.9 || .467 || .363 || .766 || 4.8 || 2.3 || .8 || .8 || 10.3
-
align="left" | 2004–05
align="left" | Detroit
82 || 82 || 37.1 || .487 || .341 || .807 || 5.3 || 3.0 || .7 || .9 || 14.7
-
align="left" | 2005–06
align="left" | Detroit
82 || 82 || 35.3 || .455 || .350 || .765 || 4.2 || 2.3 || .8 || .5 || 14.1
-
align="left" | 2006–07
align="left" | Detroit
82 || 82 || 36.6 || .460 || .386 || .768 || 5.2 || 2.8 || .6 || .7 || 14.3
-
align="left" | 2007–08
align="left" | Detroit
82 || 82 || 32.9 || .448 || .363 || .768 || 4.9 || 3.3 || .5 || .4 || 13.2
-
align="left" | Career
align="left" |
452 || 413 || 32.7 || .463 || .365 || .774 || 4.5 || 2.5 || .6 || .6 || 12.4
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

Playoffs

-
align="left" | 2002–03
align="left" | Detroit
15 || 3 || 25.5 || .426 || .292 || .763 || 3.8 || 1.5 || .5 || .9 || 9.4
-
align="left" | 2003–04
align="left" | Detroit
23 || 23 || 34.6 || .410 || .265 || .745 || 6.0 || 2.3 || 1.1 || 1.4 || 9.9
-
align="left" | 2004–05
align="left" | Detroit
25 || 25 || 40.9 || .433 || .367 || .800 || 6.3 || 3.3 || 1.0 || .4 || 13.4
-
align="left" | 2005–06
align="left" | Detroit
18 || 18 || 41.4 || .459 || .457 || .829 || 5.7 || 3.0 || .7 || .8 || 16.4
-
align="left" | 2006–07
align="left" | Detroit
16 || 16 || 41.6 || .415 || .409 || .759 || 6.4 || 3.8 || .9 || .3 || 14.1
-
align="left" | 2007–08
align="left" | Detroit
17 || 17 || 39.5 || .481 || .320 || .794 || 5.5 || 3.2 || .8 || .5 || 13.8
-
align="left" | Career
align="left" |
114 || 102 || 37.6 || .438 || .353 || .785 || 5.7 || 2.9 || .9 || .7 || 12.8
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

External links

* [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/tayshaun_prince/ NBA.com Profile - Tayshaun Prince]
* [http://www.tprince22.com Tayshaun Prince Official Site]

References