Luther Head
Encyclopedia
Luther Dale Head is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...

 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. Standing 6'3" (1.91 m) and weighing 185 lb (84 kg), Head plays primarily 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...

 but played small forward
Small forward
The small forward, or colloquially known as three, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically somewhat shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers, but on occasion are just as tall...

 as a college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....

 star at the University of Illinois.

High school

Head attended Manley Academy in Chicago where he averaged over 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds per game as a junior. Those numbers earned him All-City honors and he was selected MVP of the Blue Division of the Chicago Public League. Led by Head and head coach Bo Delaney, Manley had a perfect 12–0 record and won the conference championship in the Blue-West Division. Manley finished 26–7 overall, losing to state runner-up Chicago Westinghouse in the Public League quarterfinals. During the season, Head posted 10 triple-doubles. In a game against Chicago Wells, Head broke the city record and recorded the second-highest number of assists in a game with 25, earning Prep Player of the Week honors from the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...

. That game also earned him Gatorade Prep Player of the Week honors. During the IHSA
Illinois High School Association
The Illinois High School Association is one of 521 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of State High...

 State Playoffs, Head scored 26 points and contributed 15 assists against Marshall in a first-round playoff victory. He would then post a triple-double in a second-round win over Steinmetz
Steinmetz
Steinmetz is a German surname, meaning stonemasonPeople named Steinmetz* Johann Adam Steinmetz , German Lutheran theologian* Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz , Prussian field marshal...

. During the summer, Head attended the Adidas ABCD Camp in New Jersey.

As a senior, Head averaged 22 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals in the rugged Red-West Division of the Chicago Public League. He would earn First-Team All-State honors in 2001 from the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...

, Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

 and Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. Head was also selected to play in the Wendy's All-Star Classic as a senior. He played primarily point guard in high school but occasionally played shooting guard to complement his abilities. Head also finished sixth in the voting for Mr. Basketball in the state of Illinois following his senior year. However, to many college scouts, Head's senior year was seen as a disappointment as a few of his statistics dropped since junior year. Nevertheless, he would sign his letter of intent to play college basketball for the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...

 where he became the first Illinois recruit from the Chicago Public League since 1994.

Freshman year

As a freshman at the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...

, Head saw limited playing time. Coach Bill Self
Bill Self
Bill Self is an American college men's basketball coach at the University of Kansas, where he led the Jayhawks to the 2008 NCAA national championship....

 had a veteran team which included Brian Cook
Brian Cook
Brian Joshua Cook is an American professional basketball player. Cook was drafted out of the University of Illinois with the 24th pick of the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers...

, Frankie Williams
Frank Williams (basketball)
Frank Lowell Williams is a former American professional basketball player. As a point guard, Williams starred at both the high school and collegiate levels, and played briefly in the NBA....

, and Sergio McClain
Sergio McClain
Sergio McClain is a former professional basketball player and NJCAA coach. He was the 1997 winner of the prestigious Illinois Mr...

, so he had little need to play a freshman. His playing time increased as the season progressed and he started 13 games, including 11 of the last 12. Head averaged 4.5 points in 16.6 minutes per game for the season while shooting 51 percent from the field (63-of-124). His first season showed Head's individual talent for shooting and defense as he was second on the team with 34 steals. He showed his potential to become an eventual offensive force when he scored a season-high 19 points in an NCAA Tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

 first-round win over San Diego State
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...

, hitting 8-of-11 shots, including three three-pointers. In that same game, he tallied four assists and three steals against the Aztecs. His season-high for assists was six against Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...

 in the Regional Semifinal game which proved that he could perform on the national stage against even the best teams in the nation.

Sophomore year

A pelvic injury slowed Head during the season and caused him to miss seven games, but he still started eight games and played more than 20 minutes per contest. The arrival of two freshmen point guards, Dee Brown and Deron Williams
Deron Williams
Deron Michael Williams , nicknamed D-Will, is an American basketball player currently with the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association . Williams has also played for the Utah Jazz of the NBA and Beşiktaş of the Turkish Basketball League...

, prevented Head from becoming a consistent starter and pushed him to the shooting guard and small forward positions. He improved as his injury healed and shot 58.5 percent (24-of-41) from the floor in his last 10 games while hitting 48 percent (12-of-25) of his shots from behind the three-point line in his last 11 games. Head improved to become the fourth leading scorer on the team averaging 7.9 points per game. His shooting also improved as he shot 42.4 percent from three-point range (28-of-66) and 51.9 percent overall (68-of-131). He proved that he could be a capable scorer if given consistent minutes as he scored in double figures nine times, including five times during Big Ten play. He scored a season-high 16 points in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal win over Indiana
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...

. In that game, Head hit 5-of-6 shots including two three-pointers against the Hoosiers. Head averaged 9.7 points in Illinois' three Big Ten Tournament victories while hitting a remarkable 69.2 percent of his shots. In those three games he scored 15 points against Purdue, hitting 5-of-9 shots and three 3-pointers, his three 3-pointers at Michigan State
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

, and had 11 points along with a season-high seven rebounds against Ohio State
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

. In a game against Eastern Illinois, Head posted a season-high five assists. Head also hit all five of his shots in a game against Western Illinois, scoring 11 points.

Junior year

The junior year was marked by many changes. Head coach Bill Self left Illinois to take the vacant job at Kansas and Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a public research university located in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1869, SIUC is the flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system...

 head coach Bruce Weber
Bruce Weber (coach)
Bruce Brett Weber is an American college basketball coach. Weber is the head coach of the University of Illinois men's basketball team...

 took over as coach of the Illini. Weber made Head a full time starter which resulted in a significant increase in playing time. Head ranked fourth on the team (24th in the Big Ten) in scoring with 11.0 points per game. He scored at least nine points in 20 of 29 games, including double figures in 14 games. He erupted for a career-high 29 points on 9-of-14 shooting with four 3-pointers in a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal victory over Indiana. He then scored 19 points and handed out eight assists in Big Ten-clinching win at Purdue. That game saw Head make a dramatic game-winning play when he threw a half-court pass to Roger Powell
Roger Powell (basketball)
Roger Powell Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. He played collegiately at the University of Illinois from 2001–2005, after having attended Joliet High School, with a 2001 graduation. Powell played the forward position for his high school and in college...

 and followed Powell's blocked shot by putting in a rebound basket with nine-tenths of a second remaining. Head then recorded his first double-double with 16 points and a then career-high 10 rebounds in win at Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

. Head showed the ability to rebound as he led the Illini in rebounding with eight in win over Northwestern
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

. He led all scorers with 18 points in a win over Michigan hitting five-of-eight 3-pointers. Head again led all scorers with 17 points, making five 3-pointers, in win over Michigan State. In the NCAA Tournament, Head averaged 7.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds in Illinois' two victories. He would finish third on the team in assists on the season (75). To prove how valuable Head was to the team, the Illini were 21–3 with him in the starting line-up.

Senior year

Head's senior year would be his finest. He was selected as a Consensus Second-Team All-American, Associated Press Second-Team All-American, USBWA Second-Team All-American, NABC Second-Team All-American, College Insider.com All-American, Sports Illustrated.com Honorable Mention All-American, First-Team All-Big Ten selection by both league coaches and media, Big Ten All-Tournament Team selection, NCAA Chicago Regional All-Tournament Team honoree, NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team, Wooden Award finalist, Oscar Robertson (USBWA) Player of the Year finalist, Adolph Rupp Award finalist, Midseason Naismith Award candidate, USBWA All-District, NABC First-Team All-District.

Head started every game of the season, leading the Illini in scoring, averaging 15.9 points (5th in Big Ten). Playing alongside point guards Dee Brown and Deron Williams—both excellent passers—Head scored a total of 622 points on the year, tying the fifth-highest single-season total in school history. He was Illinois' leading scorer in 16 games and scored in double figures in 36 of 39 games, with 12 games of 20+ points. Head led the Big Ten with 116 three-pointers (3.0 per game) and set an Illinois single-season record for three-point field goals in a season (breaking previous record of 96 by Cory Bradford in 2000). His 116 three-pointers rank as the third-highest single-season total in Big Ten history. He made at least three treys in 23 games. He was also second on the Illini, fifth in Big Ten and 33rd in the NCAA with a three-point field goal percentage of 41.0 percent (116–283). Head also shot 46.3 percent from the field on the season (214–462). He led the Illini in free throw percentage (6th in Big Ten) at 78.8 percent (78–99). His defense improved again as he was second on the Illini and fifth in the Big Ten in steals, averaging 1.7 spg. Head was third on the Illini and fifth in the Big Ten in assists, averaging 3.8 apg.

Head finished third on the Illini and fifth in the Big Ten in assist/turnover ratio (2.17), third on the Illini in rebounding, averaging 4.0 rpg. He was awarded Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on January 17, 2005 after wins over Penn State and at Northwestern. In the Las Vegas Holiday Classic Tournament, he led an undefeated Illinois team and earned MVP honors. His season-high for points occurred twice when he scored 26 points at Northwestern and at Wisconsin. He set a career high with six 3-pointers against Oakland and equaled that mark with six threes against Louisville in the Final Four. In a game against Iowa, Head had a career-high six steals, the most by an Illini player on the season. He tied his career high in assists with nine in three different games against Oakland, Gonzaga
Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University is a private Roman Catholic university located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Founded in 1887 by the Society of Jesus, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and is named after the young Jesuit saint, Aloysius Gonzaga...

, and Valparaiso
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University, known colloquially as Valpo, is a regionally accredited private university located in the city of Valparaiso in the U.S. state of Indiana. Founded in 1859, it consists of five undergraduate colleges, a graduate school, a nursing school and a law school...

.

The Illini tied an NCAA Division I record by winning 37 games during the season. The team was ranked number one for most of the season. In the NCAA Tournament, Head set Illinois' school-record for career games played in the tournament (14), career points scored (162), career field goals (59) and career 3-point field goals (32). The team reached the championship game
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

 game for the first time in school history but lost to North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

. Head missed a potential game tying three pointer in the final seconds of the game which resulted in Illinois ending the year as the number two ranked team in the nation. He finished his Illinois career ranked 19th on the Illini all-time scoring list with 1,295 career points, fourth on the Illini career three-point field goals list with 209 treys, and ninth on the Illini career steals list with 158 steals. He scored his 1,000th point at Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...

 on January 25, 2005.

Head finished his course work in the major of sport management
Sport management
Sport management is a field of education and vocation concerning the business aspect of sport. Some examples of sport managers include the front office system in professional sports, college sports managers, recreational sport managers, sports marketing, event management, facility management,...

 in May 2005 and will need only an internship to earn his bachelor's degree.

Houston Rockets

In the 2005–06 NBA season, Head played in 80 games, starting 27. He finished the season averaging 8.8 points and 2.7 assists per game. After the season, Head was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

In the 2006–07 NBA season, he averaged 10.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists as of April 15, 2007, and proved his worth as a valuable reserve player for the Houston Rockets, especially in light of the absences of Tracy McGrady
Tracy McGrady
Tracy Lamar McGrady, Jr., is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Detroit Pistons.Entering the league after graduating from high school, McGrady eventually became a seven-time All-Star. He led the league in scoring in 2003 and 2004. He has also played for the Toronto...

 and Yao Ming
Yao Ming
Yao Ming is a retired Chinese professional basketball player who last played for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association...

 due to injuries. He had a streak of hitting at least one three-pointer in 37 straight games that season, and established himself as a reliable clutch shooter, making several game-clinching shots late in games. On April 4, 2007, with McGrady and Yao absent, Head had a career night, scoring 30 in a loss to the Golden State Warriors. Head was 10–13 from the floor, 7–9 from the 3-point line, and 3–3 from the free throw line.

On February 19, 2009, Head was reunited with his Illini teammate Brian Cook
Brian Cook
Brian Joshua Cook is an American professional basketball player. Cook was drafted out of the University of Illinois with the 24th pick of the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers...

, after he was acquired from the Orlando Magic, but the reunion was short lived, as on February 28 the Rockets waived Head.

Miami Heat

On March 3, Head was signed by the Miami Heat
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...

. Shortly after his first stint with Miami, Luther Head suffered a broken hand against the Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is 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...

, thus ending his season.

Sacramento Kings

On September 5, 2010, Head signed a non-guaranteed contract with the 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...

. Head came off the bench scoring 14 points in his first game as a King on October 27, 2010 helping the Kings beat the Timberwolves 117–116 in their opener. On the 19th of March, 2011, Head was waived by the Kings.

China

During the 2011 NBA lockout
2011 NBA lockout
The 2011 NBA lockout is the fourth lockout in the history of the National Basketball Association . The owners began the work stoppage at 12:01 am EDT on July 1, 2011. The main issues dividing the owners and the players are revenue sharing and the structure of the salary cap...

, Head signed with the Jiangsu Nangang Dragons in China. However, before arriving in China, head sustained an injury and Jiangsu gave up on his deal.

External links

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