Alphonso Ford

Alphonso Gene Ford (October 31, 1971 – September 4, 2004) was an American professional basketball player. A 1.92 m (6 ft 3 in) tall, 98 kg (216 lbs.) shooting guard, he was one of the greatest scorers in college basketball history. After a short stint in the NBA, he played professionally in Europe.

Ford continued with his scoring ability in the EuroLeague, notwithstanding his chronic health issues. He was the EuroLeague Top Scorer twice (2001, 2002), and earned an All-EuroLeague selection three times. The competition's leading scorer award bears his name, in his honor.

Early years Ford was a high school star player for Amanda Elzy High School in Greenwood, Mississippi. Upon entering college basketball at Mississippi Valley State University, Ford led the entire NCAA Division I in freshman scoring, during the 1989–90 season, with a 29.9 points per game average. In his sophomore year, he averaged 32.7 points per game. He became the first player in NCAA Division I history to average 25 points per game in four straight seasons. With 3,165 career points scored in the NCAA Division I, he is 5th on the all-time scoring list, behind only Pete Maravich, Freeman Williams, Lionel Simmons, and Chris Clemons. Ford was a four-time All-Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) selection; a feat that only he and Harry Kelly accomplished.

Professional career

NBA and CBA Ford played five games in the 1994–95 NBA season for the Philadelphia 76ers, who selected him 32nd overall in the 1993 NBA draft. Before that, he had played six games for the Seattle SuperSonics, in 1993–94. During both the 1993–94 and 1994–95 NBA seasons, Ford played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for the Tri-City Chinook. He averaged 22.8 points per game in his rookie year with the Chinook and he was selected to the All-CBA First Team and named Rookie of the Year. Ford averaged 24.0 points per game during the 1994–95 season with the Chinook. He is survived by his wife Paula, their daughter Quekenshia, and their sons Karlderek, Alphonso Jr. In Ford's honor, the EuroLeague named its trophy for the leading scorer of the year, the Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy. The player who replaced Ford on Scavolini Pesaro, following his death, Charles Smith, would win the award the very next season.

In 2021, a documentary dedicated to the life of Alphonso Ford, titled Alphonso Ford: Score Until The Last Day, premiered at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, receiving critical acclaim.

Career statistics

College

NBA Source

Regular season