Derek Harper

Derek Ricardo Harper (born October 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. A second-team All-American at the University of Illinois, he was the 11th overall pick of the 1983 NBA draft and spent 16 seasons as a point guard in the National Basketball Association with the Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, and Los Angeles Lakers. Harper is widely regarded as one of the best players to never have been selected to an All-Star game. College After graduating from Roosevelt Junior High School and then North Shore High School in West Palm Beach, Harper played three seasons for the Fighting Illini and coach Lou Henson having his best season in 1982–1983, when he led the Fighting Illini in scoring with 15.4 points per game. Harper was named First-Team All-Big Ten and Second-Team All-American in 1983, and was Honorable Mention All-Big Ten in both 1981 and 1982. Harper averaged 4.7 assists per game for his collegiate career, and led the Big Ten in assists in the 1981–1982 season. Harper was elected to the "Illini Men's Basketball All-Century Team" in 2004. Professional career Dallas Mavericks (1983–1993) At 6 ft 4 in, Harper was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 11th overall pick of the 1983 NBA draft. He spent his first ten seasons with them, averaging 15 points and 6.1 assists. For almost the entire time in his first stint with the team, he was part of the starting backcourt tandem with All-Star shooting guard Rolando Blackman. The Mavericks made the playoffs 6 out of the 10 years of Harper's tenure with the team, and they made it to the Western Conference Finals in the 1987–1988 season, but they were never able to replicate that success for any other season of Harper's time in Dallas. He had multiple seasons of averaging well over 10 PPG, and became known for being both a great scorer and defender. His best season came in 1990–1991 where he averaged 19.7 PPG. But he still wasn't selected to be an all star and the Mavericks finished that year with an unpleasant 28–54 record. Harper still played well for the rest of his time in Dallas, but the team was atrocious. In the 1992–1993 season especially, the Mavericks finished 11–71 which is one of the worst records of all time. Harper spent 2 more seasons with the Mavericks before leaving the team during the 1993–1994 season.