Andrew Melvin "Drew" Gooden (born September 24, 1981 in
Oakland, CaliforniaOakland is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of California and a major West Coast port city, located on San Francisco Bay about eight miles east of the City of San Francisco. Oakland is a major hub city for the Bay Area subregion collectively called the East Bay, and it is the county seat...
) is an American professional
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
player with the
Dallas MavericksThe Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas, USA. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association ....
in the NBA. Gooden is a 6'10", 250 lbs.
power forwardPower forward is a position in the sport of basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF". Power forwards play a role similar to that of center in what is called the "post" or "low blocks"...
from the
University of KansasThe University of Kansas , the State of Kansas Flagship university , is a public research university with campuses located in Lawrence, Kansas City, and Overland Park, Kansas with the main campus being located atop Mount Oread in Lawrence...
.
Before Gooden played the center position at
El Cerrito High SchoolEl Cerrito High School is a public school in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. It is located at 540 Ashbury Avenue, El Cerrito, California 94530-Overview:The main school building was built in the late 1930s as a WPA project...
, he attended Bloomington High School in
Bloomington, IllinoisBloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the county seat. It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal Metropolitan Statistical Area which is often referred to simply as "Bloomington-Normal." ...
for a half semester in his freshman year. After going back to California, he, as a senior, led his Gauchos to the 1999
California Interscholastic FederationThe California Interscholastic Federation is the governing body for high school sports in the state of California. It mirrors similar governing bodies in other states; however, it differs from others in that it covers most high schools in the state of California, both public and private...
Boys Division III championship game.
Andrew Melvin "Drew" Gooden (born September 24, 1981 in
Oakland, CaliforniaOakland is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of California and a major West Coast port city, located on San Francisco Bay about eight miles east of the City of San Francisco. Oakland is a major hub city for the Bay Area subregion collectively called the East Bay, and it is the county seat...
) is an American professional
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
player with the
Dallas MavericksThe Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas, USA. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association ....
in the NBA. Gooden is a 6'10", 250 lbs.
power forwardPower forward is a position in the sport of basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF". Power forwards play a role similar to that of center in what is called the "post" or "low blocks"...
from the
University of KansasThe University of Kansas , the State of Kansas Flagship university , is a public research university with campuses located in Lawrence, Kansas City, and Overland Park, Kansas with the main campus being located atop Mount Oread in Lawrence...
.
High school
Before Gooden played the center position at
El Cerrito High SchoolEl Cerrito High School is a public school in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. It is located at 540 Ashbury Avenue, El Cerrito, California 94530-Overview:The main school building was built in the late 1930s as a WPA project...
, he attended Bloomington High School in
Bloomington, IllinoisBloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the county seat. It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal Metropolitan Statistical Area which is often referred to simply as "Bloomington-Normal." ...
for a half semester in his freshman year. After going back to California, he, as a senior, led his Gauchos to the 1999
California Interscholastic FederationThe California Interscholastic Federation is the governing body for high school sports in the state of California. It mirrors similar governing bodies in other states; however, it differs from others in that it covers most high schools in the state of California, both public and private...
Boys Division III championship game.
Washington Union High SchoolWashington Union High School is a high school in the rural community of Easton in Fresno County, California. It is one of the city's oldest public high schools, first accredited in 1965. It has a large and diverse population of students from the Fresno metropolitan area. Washington Union is one of...
(led by NBA guard
DeShawn StevensonDeShawn Stevenson is a American professional basketball player currently with the Washington Wizards of the NBA...
) won the championship game over El Cerrito HS by a score of 77–71.
College
Gooden joined
Nick CollisonNicholas John Collison is an American professional basketball player, currently a power forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA, and well known in basketball circles for his accomplishments at the University of Kansas....
and
Kirk HinrichKirk James Hinrich is an American professional basketball player, currently backup point guard for the NBA's Chicago Bulls. He has also been a member of the USA National Team....
in a trio of fabulous freshmen for the 1999–2000 season. Although at times Gooden was frustrated with the way things were going his freshman year, he finally adjusted to coach
Roy WilliamsRoy Allen Williams is head coach of the men's basketball team at the University of North Carolina. After averaging about an 80% win percentage in 15 seasons at the University of Kansas, he became the eighteenth head coach at North Carolina when he replaced Matt Doherty in 2003...
' system.
In his freshman year, KU went 24–10 and lost to the
Duke Blue DevilsDuke University's 26 varsity sports teams, known as the Blue Devils, compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The name comes from the French "les Diables Bleus" or "the Blue Devils," which was the nickname given during World War I to the Chasseurs Alpins, the French Alpine light infantry...
in the second round of the 2000 NCAA Basketball Tournament. The next season, the Jayhawks went 26–7 and fell to the
Illinois Fighting IlliniThe Fighting Illini are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The University offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports....
, coached by future KU coach
Bill SelfBill Self is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Kansas, where he led the Jayhawks to the 2007-2008 NCAA national championship....
, in the 2001 NCAA Tournament
Sweet SixteenSweet Sixteen may refer to:*Sweet sixteen , a party thrown in honor of a girl's or very rarely, a boy's, sixteenth birthday, primarily in the United StatesIn sports:...
.
His most successful season was 2002, where he led the nation in rebounding and was named
NABCNABC is an initialism that may refer to any of the following:*National Association of Basketball Coaches, a trade association of men's college basketball coaches in the United States...
national player of the year. The Jayhawks went 33–4, including 16–0 in
Big 12 ConferenceThe Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of twelve schools located mostly in the central United States. It is a member of the NCAA's Division I for all sports; its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of NCAA Division I football competition...
play to win KU its first conference championship since 1998. The Jayhawks advanced to their first
Final FourFinal Four is a sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably the NCAA Division I college basketball tournament. Typically it refers to a tournament format where four teams play two rounds of single-elimination games, resulting in a...
in the 2002 NCAA Tournament since 1993; however, they lost to the eventual national champion Maryland Terrapins in the semifinal.
For being named NABC player of the year for 2002, Gooden's jersey (#0) was retired in 2003, at halftime of a KU home game with
Kansas StateKansas State University's athletic teams are called the Wildcats. The official color of the teams is Royal Purple, making Kansas State one of very few schools that have only one official color; white and silver are generally used as complementary colors.Kansas State participates in...
in what would have been his senior year had he not foregone his senior year for the NBA.
NBA Draft
Gooden declared himself for the draft after his impressive junior year. Out of the
University of KansasThe University of Kansas , the State of Kansas Flagship university , is a public research university with campuses located in Lawrence, Kansas City, and Overland Park, Kansas with the main campus being located atop Mount Oread in Lawrence...
, Gooden was selected as the 4th overall pick by the
Memphis GrizzliesFor the World Football League team of the 1970s, see Memphis SouthmenThe Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
in the
2002 NBA DraftThe 2002 NBA Draft was held on June 26, 2002 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting 57 amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players from high schools...
.
Professional career
As a professional, Gooden has established himself as a solid power forward, consistently bringing down double digit numbers in points and rebounds. He is considered a good guy on and off the court, and was named a "Good Guy in Sports" by
The Sporting NewsSporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
.
Cleveland Cavaliers
After the
Carlos BoozerCarlos Austin Boozer, Jr. is an American professional basketball player and an Olympic gold medalist currently with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association.-Biography:...
controversy, the
Cleveland CavaliersThe Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team and won their first Eastern Conference Championship in 2007.-1970–1980: Expansion and early hope:The Cavaliers first...
needed another power forward. On July 23, 2004 Cleveland obtained Gooden,
Anderson VarejaoAnderson França Varejão is a Brazilian professional basketball player, who currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He won the gold medal with Brazil at the 2003 Pan American Games....
, and
Steven HunterFor the American novelist, see Stephen Hunter.Steven D. Hunter is an American professional basketball player currently with the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies...
for
Tony BattieDemetrius Antonio Battie is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's New Jersey Nets.-High school and college career:...
and two second-round draft picks from the
Orlando MagicThe Orlando Magic are a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
via trade.
Gooden re-signed with the Cavaliers for three more years on August 14, 2006. He agreed to a three-year, $23 million contract.
In the 2006–07 NBA season, he averaged 11.1 points per game and 7.9 rebounds per game.
Chicago Bulls
On February 21, 2008, at the 2007–08 season's trade deadline, Gooden was traded by the Cavs (along with
Larry HughesLarry Hughes is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the National Basketball Association's New York Knicks. He is a , shooting guard.-Early years:...
,
Cedric SimmonsCedric Simmons is an American professional basketball player for the Greek League club Peristeri Athens. A 6'9", . power forward, Simmons was selected by the New Orleans Hornets in the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft. Simmons also has the versatility to contribute at center as well as power...
, and
Shannon BrownShannon Brown is an American professional basketball player, currently playing guard, for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA.-High school/college career:...
) to the Chicago Bulls as a part of a three-team, 11-player deal involving the
Seattle SuperSonicsThe Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
.
Sacramento Kings
On February 18, 2009, at the
2008–09 seasonThe 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009...
's trade deadline, Gooden was traded to the
Sacramento KingsThe Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. The Kings are members of the National Basketball Association .-Rochester:...
in a six-player deal that included
Andres NocioniAndrés Marcelo Nocioni is an Argentine professional basketball player for the NBA's Sacramento Kings, and for the Argentine national team. Nocioni won a gold medal with the Argentine national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. In the 2008 Summer Olympics, he helped the Argentine national...
and
Cedric SimmonsCedric Simmons is an American professional basketball player for the Greek League club Peristeri Athens. A 6'9", . power forward, Simmons was selected by the New Orleans Hornets in the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft. Simmons also has the versatility to contribute at center as well as power...
.
On March 1, Gooden was bought out of his contract making him a free agent after playing just one game for the Kings.
San Antonio Spurs
On March 5, 2009, Gooden signed with the
San Antonio SpursThe San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They play in the National Basketball Association ....
for the remainder of the season.
Dallas Mavericks
On July 25, 2009, Gooden posted a message on his Twitter page that said "Dallas Here I Come!!!" Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, reposted Gooden's tweet, adding "Welcome Drew.. !". On July 30, Gooden officially signed with the Mavericks.
Personal
Gooden is half
FinnishThe terms Finns and Finnish people are used in English to mean "a native or inhabitant of Finland". They are also used to refer to the ethnic group historically associated with Finland or Fennoscandia, and they are only used in that sense here....
; his father, Andrew Gooden, met Drew's mother, Ulla, while playing pro basketball in
ÄänekoskiÄänekoski is a town and municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Finland region. The town has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....
, Finland. Gooden's parents divorced later on, and he stayed with his father in
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, US. Gooden enjoys playing the piano.
At the beginning of the 2006–07 season, Gooden appeared with a patch of hair on the back of his head. He refers to this hair style as a "duck tail." Gooden said, "It is drawing a lot of attention...One thing I've found out is even negative publicity is good publicity. At least I had the (guts) to do it." He claims women love it: "I went from getting compliments to now being sexy."
Honors
- 2003 Cover athlete for EA Sports
EA Sports is a brand name used by Electronic Arts since 1993 to distribute games based on sports. Formerly a gimmick inside Electronic Arts sports games, that tried to mimic real-life sports networks, calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as...
' NCAA March Madness 2003NCAA March Madness 2003 was the 2002 installment in the NCAA March Madness series. It was released on November 21, 2002 for the PlayStation 2. Former Kansas player Drew Gooden was featured on the cover....
.
- 2007 NBA Eastern Conference Champions
The Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association is made up of fifteen teams, organized in three divisions of five teams each.The three division winners and the non-division winner with the best record are seeded 1 through 4 for the playoffs in order of their records, with all...
with the CavaliersThe Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team and won their first Eastern Conference Championship in 2007.-1970–1980: Expansion and early hope:The Cavaliers first...
- Big 12 Conference Player of the Year
Regular season
|-
| align="left" | 2002–03
| align="left" |
MemphisFor the World Football League team of the 1970s, see Memphis SouthmenThe Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
| 51 || 29 || 26.1 || .443 || .304 || .697 || 5.8 || 1.2 || .8 || .4 || 12.1
|-
| align="left" | 2002–03
| align="left" |
OrlandoThe Orlando Magic are a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
| 19 || 18 || 28.6 || .498 || .000 || .738 || 8.4 || 1.1 || .8 || .7 || 13.6
|-
| align="left" | 2003–04
| align="left" | Orlando
| 79 || 17 || 27.0 || .445 || .214 || .637 || 6.5 || 1.1 || .8 || .9 || 11.6
|-
| align="left" | 2004–05
| align="left" |
ClevelandThe Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team and won their first Eastern Conference Championship in 2007.-1970–1980: Expansion and early hope:The Cavaliers first...
|
82 ||
80 || 30.8 || .492 || .179 || .810 || 9.2 || 1.6 ||
.9 || .9 ||
14.4
|-
| align="left" | 2005–06
| align="left" | Cleveland
| 79 || 79 || 27.5 || .512 ||
.333 || .682 || 8.4 || .7 || .7 || .6 || 10.7
|-
| align="left" | 2006–07
| align="left" | Cleveland
| 80 ||
80 || 28.0 || .473 || .167 || .714 || 8.5 || 1.1 ||
.9 || .3 || 11.1
|-
| align="left" | 2007–08
| align="left" | Cleveland
| 51 || 51 || 30.7 || .444 || .000 || .728 || 8.3 || 1.0 || .7 || .6 || 11.3
|-
| align="left" | 2007–08
| align="left" |
ChicagoThe Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
| 18 || 14 ||
31.0 || .461 || .000 || .813 || 9.3 || 1.7 || .7 ||
1.3 || 14.0
|-
| align="left" |
2008–09The 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009...
| align="left" | Chicago
| 31 || 27 || 29.6 || .457 || .000 || .866 || 8.6 || 1.4 || .8 || .4 || 13.1
|-
| align="left" | 2008–09
| align="left" |
SacramentoThe Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. The Kings are members of the National Basketball Association .-Rochester:...
| 1 || 0 || 26.0 ||
.556 || .000 ||
1.000 ||
13.0 ||
2.0 || .0 || .0 || 12.0
|-
| align="left" | 2008–09
| align="left" |
San AntonioThe San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They play in the National Basketball Association ....
| 19 || 1 || 16.8 || .490 || .000 || .789 || 4.4 || .2 || .2 || .2 || 9.8
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 510 || 396 || 28.1 || .471 || .219 || .732 || 7.9 || 1.1 || .8 || .6 || 12.0
Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |
2002–03The 2003 NBA playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2002-03 NBA season. This postseason was notable for being the first time all series were conducted in a best-of-7 format. From 1984 to 2002, first-round series were best-of-5 series...
| align="left" |
OrlandoThe Orlando Magic are a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...
| 7 || 7 ||
33.4 || .400 || .000 || .722 ||
12.7 || .6 || .4 ||
.9 ||
14.0
|-
| align="left" |
2005–06The 2006 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2005–06 season.The 2006 NBA Champions were the Miami Heat who won the first championship in the history of the franchise. The team defeated the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in the 2006 NBA Finals. The Heat's Dwyane Wade was...
| align="left" |
ClevelandThe Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team and won their first Eastern Conference Championship in 2007.-1970–1980: Expansion and early hope:The Cavaliers first...
| 13 || 13 || 21.7 ||
.529 || .000 || .944 || 7.5 || .6 || .2 || .2 || 8.2
|-
| align="left" |
2006–07The 2007 NBA Playoffs was the postseason to the National Basketball Association's 2006–2007 season.There were four rounds of postseason action, all of them in a best-of-seven format, with teams seeded on a bracket. The team with the better record wasn't necessarily the basis of seeding teams in...
| align="left" | Cleveland
|
20 ||
20 || 30.3 || .493 || .000 || .769 || 8.0 ||
1.0 ||
.5 || .4 || 11.4
|-
| align="left" |
2008–09The 2009 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2008–09 season. The playoffs started on April 18, 2009 with ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...
| align="left" |
San AntonioThe San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They play in the National Basketball Association ....
| 4 || 0 || 17.8 || .333 || .000 ||
1.000 || 3.8 || .3 || .2 || .2 || 7.3
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |
| 44 || 40 || 27.1 || .467 || .000 || .800 || 8.2 || .8 || .4 || .4 || 10.5
External links