Ashraf Amaya (born November 23, 1971 in Oak Park, Illinois

Oak Park, Illinois

Oak Park, Illinois is a suburb bordering the west side of the city of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is the twenty-fifth largest municipality in Illinois. Oak Park has easy access to downtown Chicago due to public transportation such as the Chicago 'L' Blue and Green lines,...

) is a retired American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player.

Amaya attended Oak Park and River Forest High School for his freshman year but he transferred to Walther Lutheran High School to finish his high school career. While at Walther, Amaya led the Broncos to a 3rd place finish in the 1988 Illinois High School Associaition playoffs. Amaya's number 50 jersey is retired at Walther. He played collegiately for the Southern Illinois University

Southern Illinois University

Southern Illinois University is a state university system based in Carbondale, Illinois, in the Southern Illinois region of the state, with multiple campuses...

. Amaya then would appear for the Vancouver Grizzlies

Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 as part of the NBA's...

 in their inaugural season (1995-96

1995-96 NBA season

The 1995–96 NBA season was the 50th season of the National Basketball Association , although the league didn't celebrate this anniversary until the following season...

) and Washington Bullets

Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...

 (1996–97) in the NBA

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 for 85 games.

Amaya played for the US national team in the 1998 FIBA World Championship

1998 FIBA World Championship

The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation and hosted in Athens, Greece from July 29 to August 9, 1998...

, winning the bronze medal.

Amaya last played professionally for the Apollon Patras BC

Apollon Patras BC

Apollon Patras BC, named after the Greek God Apollo, is a Greek professional basketball club that is located in Patras, Greece. The club was founded in the year 1926. Apollon Patras BC is the basketball club of the Greek sports athletic union AS Apollon Patras...

 club in Greece

A1 Ethniki

The Greek Basket League , commonly referred to as the Greek Basketball League or Greek Basketball Championship, is the highest professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA...

 in 2004. He also played for the Dakota Wizards

Dakota Wizards

The Dakota Wizards are an American basketball team in the NBA Development League, based in Bismarck, North Dakota. Home games are played at the Bismarck Civic Center.-Beginnings in IBA:...

 of the NBDL

NBA Development League

The NBA Development League, or NBA D-League, is the National Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. Known until summer 2005 as the National Basketball Development League , the NBA D-League started with eight teams in the fall of 2001...

, Alpella Istanbul in Turkey

Turkish Basketball League

The Turkish Basketball League is the top men’s professional basketball league in Turkey, which is also called Turkish Premier Basketball League . There is also a Turkish Second Basketball League consisting of 2 divisions .-History:The first basketball game played in Turkey was at the Robert...

, Idaho Stampede

Idaho Stampede

The Idaho Stampede is an American basketball team that plays in the NBA Development League. The team is based in the Boise, Idaho, area and as of 2005 plays at the CenturyLink Arena in Boise. The team was founded as a member of the Continental Basketball Association in 1997 and was league runner-up...

 in the CBA

Continental Basketball Association

The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...

 and Maroussi Athens

Maroussi BC

Maroussi Athens B.C. , is a Greek professional basketball club that is based in Maroussi, a northern suburb of Athens, Greece. The club's full name is Gymnastikos Syllogos Amarousiou. The club competes in the Greek League. Its long-time owner was Armodios Vovos of the BVIC construction firm...

 in Greece

A1 Ethniki

The Greek Basket League , commonly referred to as the Greek Basketball League or Greek Basketball Championship, is the highest professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by HEBA...

 with whom he won the Saporta Cup

Saporta Cup

Saporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European professional club basketball competition, where the National Cup winners from all over Europe played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA Europe...

 in 2001.

External links

• nba.com historical playerfile