Derrick Sharp
 Sharp while playing with Maccabi Tel Aviv | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 5, 1971 Orlando, Florida |
| Nationality | American / Israeli |
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
Maynard Evans (Orlando, Florida) |
| College |
Brevard CC (1989–1991) South Florida (1991–1993) |
| Playing career | 1993–2011 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1993–1994 | Maccabi Hadera |
| 1994–1996 | Hapoel Migdal-HaEmek |
| 1996–2011 | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
| As coach: | |
| 2011–2013 | Maccabi Tel Aviv (Assistant coach) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Derrick Sharp (Hebrew: דריק שארפ; born October 5, 1971) is an American Israeli retired professional basketball player.
Sharp was born in Orlando, Florida. He played college basketball with the University of South Florida, and then went to Israel to play basketball in 1993.
He played for the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball club for 15 years, part of the time as team captain, and later served as assistant coach under David Blatt. With Maccabi, he won a record 27 trophies. In July 2011, Sharp retired as a player.[1] He remained with Maccabi Tel Aviv as an assistant coach until August 2013.[1]
Early life
Sharp played basketball at Evans High School in Orlando, and at Brevard Community College, before playing for the University of South Florida.[2]
Professional career
Sharp joined Maccabi Hadera from Leumit Bet (the second league at the time) in 1993. From 1994 to 1996 he played for Hapoel Migdal-HaEmek, also a Leumit Bet team, and then made the big jump to the most well-known team in Israel – Maccabi Tel Aviv.
With Maccabi, Sharp won 13 national championships, 11 national cups, 2 league cups, and 3 European titles (2001 FIBA SuproLeague, 2004 and 2005 Euroleague).[1][3] He quickly became a crowd favorite for his tough defense, three-point shooting, and clutch plays. The most memorable example of the latter came on April 8, 2004, against Zalgiris Kaunas.[3] With 2 seconds remaining and Maccabi trailing by 3 points and facing elimination from the finals series, Sharp caught a long pass from Gur Shelef, turned to the basket and fired a game-tying three-pointer, forcing overtime. Maccabi won that game, advanced to the Final Four (held in Tel Aviv that year) and became Euroleague Champion.
He played basketball in Israel for 18 years, 15 of them with Maccabi Tel Aviv.[1] He finished his career seventh all-time on the team's scoring list, with 1,749 points, and seventh in the league for career free throw accuracy at 88.9%.[3]
In July 2011, Sharp retired as a player at the age of 39.[1][3] He continued with the team as an assistant coach, and had taken a coaching course at Wingate Institute in 2010.,[1] in August 2, 2013 Sharp had resigned from his role as assistant coach of Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
Israeli national team
Sharp is a naturalized Israeli citizen. He has played for the Israeli national team (2000–03), including appearances at Eurobasket 2001 and Eurobasket 2003.
Personal
Sharp is married to Canadian basketball player Justine Ellison and they have four children together. He also has an older son from a previous relationship.
Honors and awards
Maccabi Tel Aviv
- 3 European Championships: (2001, 2004, 2005)
- 13 Israeli Championships: (1997–2007, 2009, 2011)
- 11 Israeli State Cups: (1998–2006, 2010–11)
- 2 Israeli League Cups: (2007, 2010)
- 3 Triple Crowns: (2001, 2004–05)
References
External links
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