Tyus Edney

Tyus Dwayne Edney Sr. (born February 14, 1973) is an American basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Pepperdine Waves men's team of the West Coast Conference (WCC). Listed at , he played point guard. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins from 1991 to 1995, leading them to the 1995 NCAA national championship. His game-winning shot for UCLA in the second round of the 1995 NCAA Tournament is considered one of the most famous plays in NCAA Tournament history. A two-time All-EuroLeague First Team selection, he led Žalgiris Kaunas to the 1999 EuroLeague title and was named the EuroLeague Final Four MVP. He became an assistant coach for UCLA.

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. He was named the team's co-MVP along with Ed O'Bannon,

Edney was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009, as well as the Pac-12 Conference Hall of Honor in 2014. He ranks second in the school's history in career assists (652) and third in steals (224).

Two games later against the Connecticut Huskies, 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 89–78 in a game that Edney, who injured a wrist in the semi-final win vs. Oklahoma State, mostly watched from the bench.

Edney was named to the Tournament Western Regional All-Tournament team.

Professional playing career NBA Edney was selected by the Sacramento Kings in the second round of the 1995 NBA draft with the 47th overall pick. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team and played with the Kings for two seasons (1995–1997). He spent the 1997–1998 season with the Boston Celtics. After playing in Europe for two years (Lithuania, 1998–1999; and Italy, 1999–2000), he returned to the NBA and played with the Indiana Pacers, in the 2000–2001 season.

In total, he played in four NBA seasons, scoring a total of 491. His best season, as measured by his average of 10.8 points per game, was his rookie year with the Kings.

Europe In the 1998–1999 season, Edney won the EuroLeague championship with the Lithuanian club Žalgiris Kaunas,

Edney played in Italy, during the 1999–2000 season, with Benetton Treviso (losing in the Italian League finals, and winning the Italian Cup title). After that season, he spent the next season (2000–2001) playing in the NBA.

After his departure from the NBA in 2001, Edney bounced around several European teams. During a 2001–2004 stint with Benetton Treviso, he won the Italian league in 2002 and 2003, the Italian Cup in 2003 and 2004, and the Italian Supercup in 2001 and 2002; he also played in the 2003 EuroLeague Final. He played with Lottomatica Roma in the 2004–2005 season.

George Garbolas brought Edney to Olympiacos to help rebuild the team, but he only played there for one season, in 2005–2006. In the 2006–2007 season, he returned to Italy, to play with Climamio Bologna. He started the 2008–2009 season in the Spanish club Cajasol Sevilla, and then (January 2009) moved to the Polish club Turów Zgorzelec.

In a 2005 profile in the Los Angeles Times, former UCLA Bruin 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."

Later years On August 2, 2010, UCLA head coach Ben Howland announced that Edney had joined the Bruins as director of men's basketball operations. He held the job for seven years, during which UCLA made it to the NCAA Tournament five times.

On April 21, 2017, UCLA announced that Edney had been promoted to a full assistant on head coach Steve Alford's staff, replacing Ed Schilling, who left to join Archie Miller's staff at Indiana. Alford was fired midseason in 2018–19. After the season, Edney was not retained by new head coach Mick Cronin. In August 2019, Edney was named the director of engagement for the UCLA athletic department.

Edney joined the San Diego Toreros men's team in 2022 to serve as an assistant under head coach Steve Lavin, who was an assistant coach at UCLA during Edney's college playing career. Edney joined the Pepperdine Waves men's team in April 2024 to serve as an assistant coach.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

EuroLeague

Personal life Edney married his first wife, Buffy, shortly after graduating from UCLA. They have two daughters, Kennedi and Kolbi-Rae. Edney met his Italian-Brazilian second wife, Aiñoa Da Silva, in Treviso, and they have a son Tyus Jr. Edney's daughter Kennedi is a college gymnast for the LSU Tigers, a winner of the vault title at the 2019 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship.