Lloyd Daniels
Encyclopedia
Lloyd Daniels is a retired American
professional and semi-professional basketball
player.
The 6'7" shooting guard
was one of the most sought-after recruits in the nation during the 1986-87 recruiting cycle. At the time, he was considered the most talented player from New York City
since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
. However, he'd attended five high schools in three states, and could not read above a third-grade level.
He eventually wound up at UNLV and was slated to play for legendary coach Jerry Tarkanian
. One of Tarkanian's assistants, Mark Warkentien, became Daniels' legal guardian, and got him admitted to a California
junior college
(Mt. San Antonio College
) to improve his academics. However, on February 9, 1987, Daniels was arrested for buying crack cocaine
from an undercover policeman. Although Tarkanian was known for taking in troubled players, this was too much even for him, and he announced days after the arrest that Daniels would never play for UNLV. It later emerged that Daniels had first been led to UNLV by Richard Perry, who had been convicted twice for sports bribery. Perry's involvement resulted in an NCAA investigation that ultimately forced Tarkanian to resign.
Daniels bounced around in the professional ranks for the next six years, and went through drug rehabilitation
three times. In 1988, he was kicked off the Continental Basketball Association
's Topeka Sizzlers for not staying in shape. He signed with a team in New Zealand
shortly after that, only to be thrown off the team for heavy drinking. On May 11, 1989, Daniels was shot three times in the chest and survived. He still has fragments of a bullet lodged in his right shoulder.
Tarkanian kept up with Daniels over the years. After high school, Daniels played in the GBA
(where he was named MVP in his only season), the New Zealand Basketball Association, CBA
, the USBL
, and also in Greece
with AEK Athens BC
and in Turkey with Galatasaray
. After Tarkanian was named head coach of the San Antonio Spurs for the 1992-93 season, Daniels signed with the Spurs as a free agent. The New York Knicks were the first NBA team to express an interest in him at that time, but declined to sign him after flying him in for a tryout. Daniels had an inspired performance against them in the preseason, dominating them with 30 points in his first game on the Spurs home court, electrifying the crowd. In a New York Times article the next day, Tarkanian noted that a Knick scout had told him after Daniels' tryout that he "can't play," though Daniels graciously told reports that he appreciated the opportunity that the Knicks gave him and sounded happy finally to have the opportunity to shine in the NBA. However after Tarkanian was fired twenty games into the season, Daniels' playing time diminished. Daniels played one more season with the Spurs before he was let go.
Daniels managed to play intermittently over nine seasons for six NBA teams: the San Antonio Spurs
, Philadelphia 76ers
, Los Angeles Lakers
, Sacramento Kings
, New Jersey Nets
and Toronto Raptors
. He had several shocking comebacks, including a stint with the Lakers for the 1994-95 season. Signed to a 10-day contract, he took over a tight game, scoring 20 points in the second half to lead the Lakers to victory. He ended up in the Lakers starting lineup for about a dozen games that year after that outburst and finished the season with the team.
Later in his professional career, after dominating play in the CBA
, the Raptors signed him to a ten-day contract and he scored 22 points in his first game with the team. Despite his obvious offensive skills, he was forever considered an off court risk and an undisciplined player, and could not find a permanent home in the NBA.
Overall, Daniels played in 200 NBA games and scored 1,411 points. He played in Italy
with Scavolini Pesaro
in 1995/96 season with an average of 23 ppg.
Daniels continued to play exhibition games for charity, joining the Jayson Williams
Foundation and its exhibition team which played games across the United States. In these games, he played alongside Jayson Williams, Walter Berry and Vladimir Cuk.
In October 2005, Daniels tried to revive his career by trying out with the Strong Island Sound
of the American Basketball Association.
His nickname Swee'Pea
is a reference to the Popeye
cartoon character of the same name. He lives in New Jersey where he coaches AAU basketball.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional and semi-professional 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.
The 6'7" shooting guard
Shooting guard
The shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team...
was one of the most sought-after recruits in the nation during the 1986-87 recruiting cycle. At the time, he was considered the most talented player from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a retired American professional basketball player. He is the NBA's all-time leading scorer, with 38,387 points. During his career with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989, Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA championships and a record six regular season...
. However, he'd attended five high schools in three states, and could not read above a third-grade level.
He eventually wound up at UNLV and was slated to play for legendary coach Jerry Tarkanian
Jerry Tarkanian
Jerry Tarkanian , also known as "Tark the Shark", is a retired college basketball coach known as one of the winningest coaches in college basketball history...
. One of Tarkanian's assistants, Mark Warkentien, became Daniels' legal guardian, and got him admitted to a California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
junior college
Junior college
The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...
(Mt. San Antonio College
Mt. San Antonio College
Mt. San Antonio College is a community college located in the Los Angeles suburb of Walnut, California, 2.12 miles west of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona ....
) to improve his academics. However, on February 9, 1987, Daniels was arrested for buying crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
from an undercover policeman. Although Tarkanian was known for taking in troubled players, this was too much even for him, and he announced days after the arrest that Daniels would never play for UNLV. It later emerged that Daniels had first been led to UNLV by Richard Perry, who had been convicted twice for sports bribery. Perry's involvement resulted in an NCAA investigation that ultimately forced Tarkanian to resign.
Daniels bounced around in the professional ranks for the next six years, and went through drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
three times. In 1988, he was kicked off the Continental Basketball Association
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 :...
's Topeka Sizzlers for not staying in shape. He signed with a team in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
shortly after that, only to be thrown off the team for heavy drinking. On May 11, 1989, Daniels was shot three times in the chest and survived. He still has fragments of a bullet lodged in his right shoulder.
Tarkanian kept up with Daniels over the years. After high school, Daniels played in the GBA
Global Basketball Association
The Global Basketball Association was a minor league with various franchises in the United States. Teams were located throughout the South and Midwest...
(where he was named MVP in his only season), the New Zealand Basketball Association, 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 :...
, the USBL
United States Basketball League
The United States Basketball League , often abbreviated to the USBL, was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985. The final champions are the Kansas Cagerz, who won the title game on July 1, 2007.-History:...
, and also in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
with AEK Athens BC
AEK Athens BC
AEK BC , the Athletic Union of Constantinople, is a Greek professional sports basketball club based in Athens, Greece. The club was established in Athens in 1924 by Greek refugees from Constantinople in the wake of the Greco-Turkish War ....
and in Turkey with Galatasaray
Galatasaray Café Crown
Galatasaray Medical Park is a professional basketball team based in the city of Istanbul in Turkey. It is a part of the Galatasaray Sports Club.Galatasaray play matches in Abdi İpekçi Arena which has a seating capacity for 12,500 spectators...
. After Tarkanian was named head coach of the San Antonio Spurs for the 1992-93 season, Daniels signed with the Spurs as a free agent. The New York Knicks were the first NBA team to express an interest in him at that time, but declined to sign him after flying him in for a tryout. Daniels had an inspired performance against them in the preseason, dominating them with 30 points in his first game on the Spurs home court, electrifying the crowd. In a New York Times article the next day, Tarkanian noted that a Knick scout had told him after Daniels' tryout that he "can't play," though Daniels graciously told reports that he appreciated the opportunity that the Knicks gave him and sounded happy finally to have the opportunity to shine in the NBA. However after Tarkanian was fired twenty games into the season, Daniels' playing time diminished. Daniels played one more season with the Spurs before he was let go.
Daniels managed to play intermittently over nine seasons for six NBA teams: the San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
, Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
, Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, Sacramento Kings
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
, New Jersey Nets
New Jersey Nets
The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
and Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...
. He had several shocking comebacks, including a stint with the Lakers for the 1994-95 season. Signed to a 10-day contract, he took over a tight game, scoring 20 points in the second half to lead the Lakers to victory. He ended up in the Lakers starting lineup for about a dozen games that year after that outburst and finished the season with the team.
Later in his professional career, after dominating play 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 :...
, the Raptors signed him to a ten-day contract and he scored 22 points in his first game with the team. Despite his obvious offensive skills, he was forever considered an off court risk and an undisciplined player, and could not find a permanent home in the NBA.
Overall, Daniels played in 200 NBA games and scored 1,411 points. He played in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
with Scavolini Pesaro
Victoria Libertas Pesaro
Victoria Libertas , full name Unione Sportiva Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro, is a professional basketball team that is based in Pesaro, Italy. The club competes in the top level Italian professional basketball league, the Lega Basket Serie A...
in 1995/96 season with an average of 23 ppg.
Daniels continued to play exhibition games for charity, joining the Jayson Williams
Jayson Williams
Jayson Williams is an American former professional basketball player. Standing 6 feet, 10 inches tall, he played for the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association. In 2010, he pled guilty to assault in the shooting death of a limousine driver...
Foundation and its exhibition team which played games across the United States. In these games, he played alongside Jayson Williams, Walter Berry and Vladimir Cuk.
In October 2005, Daniels tried to revive his career by trying out with the Strong Island Sound
Strong Island Sound
The Strong Island Sound were an American Basketball Association team, that played their home games at Suffolk County Community College in Long Island, New York's Suffolk County...
of the American Basketball Association.
His nickname Swee'Pea
Swee'Pea
Swee'Pea is a character in E.C. Segar's comic strip Thimble Theatre/Popeye and in the cartoon series derived from it. His name refers to the flower known as the Sweet Pea...
is a reference to the Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
cartoon character of the same name. He lives in New Jersey where he coaches AAU basketball.
Stats
| Year | Team | League | Mpg | Ppg | Rpg | Apg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986-87 | Mt. San Antonio | NCAA | --- | 17,5 | 12,0 | 4,5 |
| 1987-88 | Topeka Sizzlers | CBA | 26,8 | 16,0 | 3,5 | 4,1 |
| 1988-89 | --- | New Zealand | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1989-90 | Quad City | CBA | 15,6 | 3,8 | 2,3 | 1,3 |
| 1990-91 | Miami Tropics | USBL | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1991-92 | Greensboro City Gaters | GBA* | --- | 24,3 | --- | --- |
| 1991-92 | Long Island Surf | USBL | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1992-93 | San Antonio Spurs | NBA | 20,4 | 9,1 | 2,8 | 1,9 |
| 1993-94 | San Antonio Spurs | NBA | 15,1 | 5,7 | 1,7 | 1,4 |
| 1994-95 | Philadelphia 76ers | NBA | 12,6 | 4,6 | 1,4 | 0,8 |
| 1994-95 | Los Angeles Lakers | NBA | 21,6 | 7,4 | 2,2 | 1,4 |
| 1994-95 | Fort Wayne Fury | CBA | 42,8 | 27,3 | 5,9 | 7,4 |
| 1994-95 | Limoges CSP | France | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1995-96 | Scavolini Pesaro | Italy | 35,5 | 23,0 | 3,5 | 1,9 |
| 1996-97 | Sacramento Kings | NBA | 5,6 | 1,2 | 0,8 | 0,2 |
| 1996-97 | New Jersey Nets | NBA | 16,6 | 5,4 | 2,3 | 1,5 |
| 1996-97 | Fort Wayne Fury | CBA | 38,9 | 24,5 | 5,3 | 5,3 |
| 1997-98 | Toronto Raptors | NBA | 13,7 | 5,7 | 1,2 | 0,7 |
| 1997-98 | Polluelos de Aibonito | Puerto Rico | --- | 27,5 | 6,6 | 4,9 |
| 1997-98 | Galatasaray Istanbul | Turkey | 36,5 | 22,2 | 5,6 | 3,7 |
| 1998-99 | Idaho Stampede | CBA | --- | 21,0 | --- | --- |
| 1998-99 | AEK Atene | Greece | 32,9 | 13,1 | 2,6 | 3,1 |
| 1998-99 | Polluelos de Aibonito | Puerto Rico | --- | 23,9 | 6,8 | 5,1 |
| 1998-99 | Sioux Falls Skyforce | CBA | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1999-00 | BayRunners | IBL | --- | 17,1 | --- | --- |
| 1999-00 | Trenton Sh. Stars | IBL | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2000-01 | Long Island Surf | USBL | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2000-01 | Tampa Bay T-Dawgs | USBL | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2000-01 | Panteras de Miranda | Venezuela | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2001-02 | Long Island Surf | USBL | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2001-02 | Rida Scafati | Italy - Lega 2 | 26,3 | 8,3 | 5,3 | 1,8 |
| 2001-02 | Shanghai Sharks | China | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2002-03 | Panteras de Miranda | Venezuela | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2002-03 | Ovarense Aerosoles | Portugal | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2005-06 | Strong Island Sound | ABA | --- | --- | --- | --- |
External links
- nba.com historical playerfile
- basketpedya.com
- NBA stats @ basketballreference.com
- Galatasaray stats @ tblstat.net
- AEK stats @ aek.com