Alphonso Ford

Alphonso Gene Ford (October 31, 1971 in Greenwood, Mississippi – September 4, 2004 in Memphis, Tennessee) was an American basketball player in the Euroleague famous for his tremendous scoring ability.

Ford was a high school star player for Amanda Elzy High School in Greenwood, Mississippi. Upon entering college, Ford led the entire NCAA in freshman scoring in 1989-1990 with a 29.9 point per game average. His sophomore year, he averaged 32.9 points per game, second only to Bo Kimble of Loyola Marymount University. His 3,165 career points are 4th all time behind Pete Maravich, Freeman Williams, and Lionel Simmons.

Ford played just 11 games for the Philadelphia 76ers, who drafted him in 1993 out of Mississippi Valley State University (where he became the first player in NCAA history to average 25 points in four seasons), and the Seattle SuperSonics. He played briefly in the CBA before going to Europe.

Ford was the Euroleague's top scorer in 2001 and 2002 with Peristeri and Olympiacos. Having being diagnosed with leukemia, he died less than two weeks after announcing his retirement due to his condition. He is survived by his wife, Paula, and sons Karlderek and Alphonso, Jr.

In 2004 the Euroleague named after him the "Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy". In 2005 the trophy was won for the first time ever by Charles Smith, the player who replaced Ford in his previous team, Scavolini Pesaro.

External links

* [http://www.alphonsoford.com Official web site]
* [http://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?gamecode=219&pcode=ACF&seasoncode=e2002 Euroleague.net Profile]
* [http://www.nba.com/historical/playerfile/index.html?player=alphonso_ford nba.com/historical/playerfile]
* [http://www.basketballreference.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=FORDAL01 NBA stats] @ "basketballreference.com"