Adris Deleon

Adris Geraldo Deleon Jimenez (born July 10, 1984) is a Dominican professional basketball player who currently plays for Atenienses de Manatí of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He became a cult hero in the United States Streetball scene.

High school and college career

Deleon was born in the Dominican Republic but his family emigrated to the United States where he grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and attended Louis D. Brandeis High School. He didn't start to take basketball seriously until his senior year. He attended the College of the Siskiyous in California before moving to the College of Southern Idaho before finally moving to and graduating from Eastern Washington University in 2009. He played for the Eastern Washington Eagles in 2007–08 and 2008–09, playing in 48 games and averaging 9.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in the Big Sky Conference.^[1]

Professional career

Deleon went undrafted in the 2009 NBA draft. In December 2009, Deleon signed with the Halifax Rainmen for the 2010 PBL season. He later moved back to the Dominican Republic and had short stints in three different leagues: CDP Domingo Paulino Santiago (Santiago Regional Tournament), Indios de San Francisco (Liga Nacional de Baloncesto) and La Cancha (Moca Regional League).

In February 2011, he signed with Palencia Baloncesto of Spain for the rest of the 2010–11 season. During the 2011 off-season, he returned to play for CDP Domingo Paulino Santiago. During the 2012 off-season, he played for Metros de Santiago. During the 2013 off-season, he played for Vaqueros de Bayamón and Metros de Santiago.

In April 2014, he signed with Piratas de Quebradillas of Puerto Rico for the 2014 BSN season.^[2] He later re-joined Metros de Santiago where he helped them win the 2014 LNB championship.

Streetball

In June 2011, during the 2011 NBA lockout, Deleon's speed, agility and skill earned him the nickname 2Hard2Guard where he held his own against several NBA players and became known for his battles with point guard Brandon Jennings.^[3] He played at the Rucker Park. ^[4]

NBL

It was while he was playing Streetball in New York that Deleon was spotted by Gold Coast Blaze head coach Joey Wright. Wright convinced Deleon to sign with the Blaze and he made his National Basketball League debut against the Townsville Crocodiles in Round 4 of the 2011–12 NBL season.^[5] In a subdued debut Deleon scored 2 points and had 1 steal in a 70-78 loss. Deleon's reputation became well known in Australia and following his debut, he delivered for the Blaze. In 28 games for the Blaze, Deleon averaged 16.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game.^[6]

On August 27, 2012, Deleon signed with the Wollongong Hawks for the 2012–13 NBL season following the Blaze pulling out of the NBL due to financial trouble.^[7] Despite playing off the bench for the Hawks in 2012–13, Deleon was selected as the starting point guard for the North All-Stars team in the 2012 NBL All-Star Game alongside Hawks teammates Oscar Forman (starting small forward) and fellow guard Lance Hurdle (bench). The North Stars were coached by his Wollongong coach Gordie McLeod. At the end of the 2012–13 season, Deleon took out the Best Sixth Man award^[8] becoming the first ever Wollongong Hawks player to win the award. He also finished in the top 10 in league MVP voting. In 30 games for the Hawks, Deleon averaged 16.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game.^[6]

References

External links

• Eurobasket.com profile
• NBLWiki.com profile
• Eastern Washington bio