Luis Alberto Flores is a professional
basketballBasketball 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 from the
Dominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. He is a 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) and 205 lb (93 kg) guard. He grew up in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in the predominantly Latino neighborhood of
Washington HeightsWashington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
in
New York CityNew 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...
, and attended Norman Thomas High School. Flores is a member of the
Dominican Republic national basketball teamThe Dominican Republic national basketball team are the men's basketball side that represent the Dominican Republic in international competition...
.
College career
Flores played his
freshmanA freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
college season with
Rutgers UniversityRutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
, but really showed all his potential during his three years with
Manhattan CollegeManhattan College is a Roman Catholic liberal arts college in the Lasallian tradition in New York City, United States. Despite the college's name, it is no longer located in Manhattan but in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, roughly 10 miles north of Midtown. Manhattan College offers...
. He finished his career as Manhattan's all-time leading scorer, averaging 22.7 points per game. He was named All-
Metro Atlantic Athletic ConferenceThe Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. MAAC teams compete in the NCAA's Division I. Most of the members are Catholic or formerly Catholic institutions; the only exception is the private but secular Rider...
Player of the Year and Tournament
Most Valuable PlayerIn sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
both in his junior and senior season. He also was selected in the All-
Metro Atlantic Athletic ConferenceThe Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. MAAC teams compete in the NCAA's Division I. Most of the members are Catholic or formerly Catholic institutions; the only exception is the private but secular Rider...
First Team during his three seasons in Manhattan and was the 2003 and 2004 recipient of the
Haggerty AwardThe Haggerty Award is given to the All-Metropolitan New York Division I men's college basketball player of the year, presented by the National Invitation Tournament and the Met Basketball Writers Association...
as the top player in the NYC area - only the eighth player to win the award multiple times in the 70+ year history of the honor.
Pro career
Flores was drafted by the
Houston RocketsThe Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...
in the 2nd round (55th pick) of the
2004 NBA DraftThe 2004 NBA Draft was held on June 24, 2004 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York and was broadcast live on ESPN at 7:00 pm . In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible...
. His draft rights were traded to the
Dallas MavericksThe Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...
along with $300,000 cash in exchange for the draft rights to
Vassilis SpanoulisVassilis Spanoulis is a Greek professional basketball player who plays for the Greek League and Euroleague club Olympiacos Piraeus. A 6 ft 4 in tall guard, Spanoulis first played for GS Larissa and enjoyed a highly successful career start, winning the Greek League's award for Best Young...
before being traded to the
Golden State WarriorsThe Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
on August 24, 2004. He played in 15 games with the Warriors (4.9 min per game) before being trading to the
Denver NuggetsThe Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...
on February 24, 2005. He appeared only in one game with the Nuggets, playing 4 minutes, and was waived on August 30. Flores played three pre-season games for the New Orleans Hornets in 2006. After not making the Hornets regular season roster, Flores left for
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Overseas, Flores first played in
ItalyItaly , 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...
for
BT RosetoRoseto Basket also known as Roseto Sharks and Pallacanestro Roseto 1946 was an Italian professional basketball team from Roseto, Abruzzo, Italy that was established in 1946....
(Nov 2005-2006) and
Bipop Carire Reggio EmiliaPallacanestro Reggiana is an Italian basketball team based in Reggio Emilia, also known for sponsorship reasons as Trenkwalder Reggio Emilia....
(Dec 2006-2007). On August 8, 2007, he signed with
Greek LeagueThe 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...
team
Olympiada PatrasOlympiada Patras BC, or AEP Olympias Patras BC, is a Greek professional basketball club that is located in Patras, Greece.- History :The basketball team participated in the Greek A2 League from 1977 until 1981. The club competed in the Greek A1 League in the 2006-07 season and the 2007-08 season...
. In January, 2008, Flores returned to Italy where he signed with
LegADueLegadue or Lega2 is the second-highest division of professional club basketball in Italy since 2001-2002 season...
team
Indesit FabrianoFabriano Basket, also known for sponsorship reasons as Indesit Fabriano, is an Italian professional basketball team from the town of Fabriano....
. 2008-2009 saw Flores in
IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
playing impressively for Ligat HaAl's defending champion
Hapoel Holon-External links:* * *...
. Flores helped Holon to their first
Israeli State CupThe Israeli Basketball State Cup is the second most important basketball competition in Israel, after Ligat HaAl. The tournament began in the 1955-56 season, and is run by the Israel Basketball Association....
. He left the team in the summer of 2009 to sign in
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
for
Krasnye Krylya SamaraBC Krasnye Krylya Samara is a Russian professional basketball club from the city of Samara, Russia. The team played in the 2009-10 Russian Super League as a replacement for bankrupt CSK VVS, that is also from Samara.-External links:* *...
.
Dominican Republic national team
External links