Ricky Berry

Ricky Alan Berry (October 6, 1964 – August 14, 1989) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Sacramento Kings.

Early life Berry was born in Lansing, Michigan in 1964, when his father Bill Berry was a student-athlete at Michigan State University. The Berry family moved to the Sacramento, California area in 1966 when Bill Berry became head coach at a local high school and later Cosumnes River Junior College. Berry attended Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, California, when his father became head coach at San Jose State in 1979.

Basketball career Berry was and played small forward. After graduating from high school, he played for Oregon State in the 1983–84 season, and then transferred to San Jose State in 1984 to play under his father Bill Berry. After sitting out one year per transfer rules, Berry played for the San Jose State Spartans from 1985 to 1988. Berry was selected 18th overall in the 1988 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings and had a solid rookie season, averaging 11.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists while shooting 40.6 percent from three-point range.

Berry is one of only three former San Jose State players to have his jersey retired, when San Jose State retired his number 34 jersey.

Personal life Berry was married and had a son. It was alleged that he had been involved in a heated argument with his wife, Valerie, the previous night. She left the house and returned the next morning to find Berry's body. He ended the note with, "P.S.S. I was able to die looking myself in the eye."

Berry was buried privately in his hometown of Lansing, Michigan, without a funeral. Berry's friends claimed that the topic of him was "always off limits" with his family after his death. The Kings finished the season with a 23–59 record in 1989–90.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season