Tyus Edney
Encyclopedia
Tyus Dwayne Edney is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 professional 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. A point guard
Point guard
Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...

 for UCLA from 1991–1995, Edney led the Bruins to the 1995 NCAA National Championship
1995 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1995 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1995, and ended with the championship game on April 3 at the Kingdome in Seattle,...

. He also led Žalgiris Kaunas
BC Žalgiris
BC Žalgiris is a professional basketball team that is based in Kaunas, Lithuania. It is one of the oldest teams in the Euroleague and plays domestically in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga , and regionally in the VTB United League...

 to the 1999 Euroleague
Euroleague
Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...

 title. Edney is the director of basketball operations for the UCLA men's basketball team
UCLA Bruins men's basketball
The UCLA Bruins men's basketball program, established in 1920, owns a record 11 Division I NCAA championships. UCLA teams coached by John Wooden won 10 national titles in 12 seasons from 1964 to 1975, including 7 straight from 1967 to 1973. UCLA went undefeated a record 4 times, in 1964, 1967,...

.
Edney was listed at 1.78 m (5'10"), 88 kg (195 lbs). His game-winning shot for UCLA in the 2nd Round of the 1995 NCAA Men's Championship
1995 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1995 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1995, and ended with the championship game on April 3 at the Kingdome in Seattle,...

 is considered to be one of the most famous plays in 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...

 history.

College career

In his freshman season at UCLA in 1992, Edney was named the most valuable freshman player on his team. In his sophomore season, Edney was voted the team's most valuable player (MVP), and he was named to the first team All-Pacific-10 (Pac-10) Conference team. He was again named to the first team All-Pac-10 conference team in 1994. In his senior season, Edney set personal bests in total points (456), steals (74), and assists (216). He was named the team's co-MVP along with Ed O'Bannon
Ed O'Bannon
Edward Charles O'Bannon, Jr. is a retired American basketball player, who was a power forward for the UCLA Bruins men's basketball team on their 1995 NCAA championship team, where he was known as "Ed-O"...

, the team's most outstanding defensive player, first team All-Pac-10 for the third consecutive year, and won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award
Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award
The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award is an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor shorter–than–average players who excel on the court despite their size. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter–in–law, was established for men in 1969 and for women in 1984...

 as the nation's best player under six feet tall.

On October 9, 2009, Edney was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame.

1995 NCAA Tournament

Edney's late game heroics in the 1995 Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
1995 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1995 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1995, and ended with the championship game on April 3 at the Kingdome in Seattle,...

 have earned him a spot in NCAA Tournament lore. Edney's UCLA squad had played well in the 1994-1995 season, earning a No. 1 seed in the West Region of the tournament. Favored in their second round match against eighth seed Missouri
Missouri Tigers
The Missouri Tigers athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports teams of the University of Missouri, located in Columbia, Missouri, United States...

, UCLA fell behind 74-73 with just 4.8 seconds remaining. Bruins coach Jim Harrick
Jim Harrick
Jim Harrick is an American former basketball coach who coached at Pepperdine University, UCLA, the University of Rhode Island and the University of Georgia over a combined total of 23 seasons.-Biography:...

, after calling timeout, turned to Edney, the point guard, rather than to their star player, Ed O'Bannon
Ed O'Bannon
Edward Charles O'Bannon, Jr. is a retired American basketball player, who was a power forward for the UCLA Bruins men's basketball team on their 1995 NCAA championship team, where he was known as "Ed-O"...

.

Cameron Dollar
Cameron Dollar
Cameron Dollar is a former college basketball player and the current head coach for the Seattle University men's basketball team. Dollar was previously an assistant coach under Lorenzo Romar at the University of Washington. Dollar attended University of California, Los Angeles and was a member of...

 inbounded the ball to Edney who caught it in stride and took off up the left sideline. A Missouri defender picked him up at about the top of the key, although not with extreme on-ball pressure due to a fear of fouling. At midcourt, another defender attempted to trap, but Edney "broke the defender's ankles" with a behind-the-back dribble that evaded the pressure. After Edney reached the Missouri key, 6'9" Missouri forward Derek Grimm
Derek Grimm
William Derek Grimm is an American professional basketball player.A 6'9" forward from the University of Missouri, Grimm was never drafted by an NBA team but did play for the Sacramento Kings during the 1997-98 NBA season. He appeared in nine games and scored a total of 14 points...

 slid over in an attempt to stop him. Edney adjusted his shot around Grimm, and banked the shot in at the buzzer. The ball dramatically drained through the net as the game ending red light blazed. UCLA won the game 75-74.

Two games later against the Connecticut Huskies
Connecticut Huskies
The Connecticut Huskies, also known as the UConn Huskies, are the athletic teams of the University of Connecticut in the United States. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the Big East Conference for all sports except Men's Ice Hockey and Women's Ice...

, Edney had another chance at a full court run before the half, and drained a 30-foot 3-pointer en route to a 102-96 victory. UCLA went on to win its 11th NCAA basketball championship, defeating the defending champion Arkansas Razorbacks
Arkansas Razorbacks
The Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the names of college sports teams at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The term Arkansas Razorbacks properly applies to any of the sports teams at the university. The Razorbacks take their name from the feral pig of the same name...

 89-78, (although Edney, with a wrist injured in the semi-final win vs. Oklahoma State, mostly watched from the bench). But UCLA's record 11th National Championship would've been impossible, had Edney's 4.7 second full court runner v. Missouri not fallen.
Edney was named to the Tournament Western Regional All-Tournament team.

NBA and Euroleague career

Edney was selected by 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...

 in the second round with the 47th overall pick of the 1995 NBA Draft
1995 NBA Draft
The 1995 NBA Draft took place on June 28, 1995 at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It marked the first NBA draft for the two Canadian expansion teams, Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies...

. He played with the Kings for two seasons (1995–1997). He spent two more seasons in the NBA, with the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...

 in 1997-1998 and with the Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...

 in 2000-2001. Between those seasons he played for Euroleague
Euroleague
Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...

 winner Žalgiris
BC Žalgiris
BC Žalgiris is a professional basketball team that is based in Kaunas, Lithuania. It is one of the oldest teams in the Euroleague and plays domestically in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga , and regionally in the VTB United League...

 earning the Euroleague Final Four MVP title and, during the 1999-2000 season, in Italy for Benetton Treviso
Pallacanestro Treviso
Pallacanestro Treviso, more often known by its sponsorship name of Benetton Basket, or Benetton Treviso, is an Italian Serie A League professional basketball club from Treviso, the headquarters city of its longtime owner Benetton Group...

 (losing in the Italian League
Serie A (basketball)
Lega Basket Serie A is the highest level club competition in Italian professional basketball where play determines the national champion. The season consists of a home-and-away schedule of 30 games, followed by an eight-team playoff round. Quarterfinals and semifinals series are best-of-five, and...

 finals and winning the Italian Cup). In the NBA, he never could top his rookie year with the Kings, when he averaged 10.8 ppg and had 491 total assists.

Following his departure from the NBA in 2001, Edney bounced around several European teams, including another stint with Benetton Treviso
Pallacanestro Treviso
Pallacanestro Treviso, more often known by its sponsorship name of Benetton Basket, or Benetton Treviso, is an Italian Serie A League professional basketball club from Treviso, the headquarters city of its longtime owner Benetton Group...

 (2001–2004, won the Italian league
Serie A (basketball)
Lega Basket Serie A is the highest level club competition in Italian professional basketball where play determines the national champion. The season consists of a home-and-away schedule of 30 games, followed by an eight-team playoff round. Quarterfinals and semifinals series are best-of-five, and...

 in 2002 and 2003, Italian Cup in 2003 and 2004 and Italian Supercup in 2002 and 2003, played in the Euroleague
Euroleague
Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...

 final in 2003) and Lottomatica Roma (2004–2005). After the 2004-2005 season, George Garbolas brought Edney to Olympiacos
Olympiacos BC
Olympiacos B.C. , also known simply as Olympiacos and Olympiacos Piraeus, is a Greek professional basketball club, part of Olympiacos CFP, based in Piraeus. The basketball club, founded in 1931, is one of the most successful in Greece and a traditional powerhouse in European competitions...

 in order to help the team challenge in Greece and in Europe. Tyus Edney was one of the players upon whom the new Olympiacos was supposed to be built, but he played there only one season in 2005-2006. In the 2006-2007 season he returned to Italy to play for Climamio Bologna
Fortitudo Bologna
Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna is an Legadue Basket professional basketball club that is based in Bologna. It's currently sponsored by Conad.-History:...

. He started the 2008-2009 season in Cajasol Sevilla and then (January 2009) moved to Turów Zgorzelec
Turów Zgorzelec
PGE Turów Zgorzelec is a Polish professional basketball team that is based in Zgorzelec. The club plays in the Polska Liga Koszykówki and the Eurocup. The club's home court is Centrum Sportowe .- History :...

.

In a 2005 profile in the L.A. Times, former UCLA teammate Ed O'Bannon said that Edney was hugely popular in Europe, saying "his style, his size, the fact that his teams always win; he's somewhat of a novelty, a celebrity. When my teammates overseas found out that I played with him, it would be like someone in the States finding out that you played with Michael Jordan."

Post-playing career

On August 2, 2010, it was announced by UCLA head coach Ben Howland
Ben Howland
Ben Howland is an American college head coach of men's basketball.He has been the head coach of the University of California, Los Angeles since 2003, and in 2008 signed an extension of his contract to run through 2015. Aggressive man-to-man defense is the trademark of Ben Howland-coached...

 that Edney had joined the Bruins as director of men's basketball operations.

See also


External links

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