Armen Gilliam
Armen Louis Gilliam | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 May 1964 United States |
| Died | 5 July 2011 (aged 47) |
| Occupation(s) | Professional basketball player, basketball coach |
| Years active | 1987–2006 (player), 2000–2005 (coach) |
| Known for | NBA career spanning 13 seasons; head coach at Penn State Altoona |
Armen Louis Gilliam (originally named Armon Louis Gilliam; May 28, 1964 – July 5, 2011) was an American professional basketball athlete whose career spanned 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1987 until 2000. Additionally, he competed for one year with the Pittsburgh Xplosion in the ABA. Following his playing days, Gilliam took on the role of head coach for the (NCAA) Division III team, the Penn State Altoona Lions, from 2002 through 2005.
College career
Gilliam's collegiate basketball journey commenced during the 1982–83 season at Independence Junior College in Kansas, where he excelled on a squad that secured a sixth-place national finish. Throughout five tournament contests, he posted averages of 24.9 points and 14 rebounds, earning recognition on the all-tournament team.
He later transferred to UNLV, representing the Rebels from 1984 to 1987 on a dominant team that compiled a 93–11 record and held the top national ranking for much of his time there. The team qualified for the NCAA tournament annually, culminating in a trip to the Final Four in 1987 where Gilliam was named to the all-tournament squad. In his senior year, he established a school record by scoring 998 points and contributed to UNLV’s historic 38-win season—the highest ever recorded in NCAA Division I history. That same year, he received several All-American honors and was among the frontrunners for the prestigious John Wooden award. Known as "The Hammer" due to his physical style of play, Gilliam was widely regarded as a powerful presence near the basket.
In addition to his college achievements, Gilliam participated in the 1986 World Championships alongside notable collegiate players such as David Robinson and Kenny Smith, under the guidance of coach Lute Olson. The team surpassed expectations by securing the gold medal against favored international competitors.
Professional career
After earning a degree in communications, Gilliam was selected as the second overall pick in the 1987 NBA draft. He garnered NBA All-Rookie First Team honors in 1988 while playing for the Phoenix Suns and sustained a professional career spanning thirteen seasons. During his tenure with the Charlotte Hornets, he averaged 20 points and nine rebounds per game. He subsequently spent three seasons each with both the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, maintaining scoring averages between 12 and 18 points along with six to nine rebounds per contest. His career also included stints with the Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz.
In 2005, after retiring from professional play, Gilliam returned to compete with the Pittsburgh Xplosion of the ABA, where he averaged 23 points and nine rebounds per game during the 2005–06 season. His performance earned him MVP honors at the 2006 ABA All-Star Game and a selection to the All-ABA Second Team.
Regular season
|- | align="left" | 1987–88 | align="left" | Phoenix | 55 || 53 || 32.9 || .475 || .000 || .679 || 7.9 || 1.3 || 1.1 || 0.5 || 14.8 |- | align="left" | 1988–89 | align="left" | Phoenix | 74 || 60 || 28.6 || .503 || .000 || .743 || 7.3 || 0.7 || 0.7 || 0.4 || 15.9 |- | align="left" | 1989–90 | align="left" | Phoenix | 16 || 7 || 16.7 || .430 || .000 || .696 || 4.4 || 0.5 || 0.4 || 0.3 || 8.9 |- | align="left" | 1989–90 | align="left" | Charlotte | 60 || 59 || 36.0 || .527 || .000 || .727 || 8.8 || 1.5 || 1.1 || 0.8 || 18.8 |- | align="left" | 1990–91 | align="left" | Charlotte | 25 || 25 || 38.0 || .513 || .000 || .813 || 9.4 || 1.1 || 1.4 || 0.8 || 19.8 |- | align="left" | 1990–91 | align="left" | Philadelphia | 50 || 50 || 33.9 || .470 || .000 || .816 || 7.3 || 1.6 || 0.7 || 0.6 || 15.0 |- | align="left" | 1991–92 | align="left" | Philadelphia |81|| 81||34..2|| .511|| .000|| .807||8..1||1..5||0..6||1..0||16..9 |- | align="left" | 1992–93 | align="left" | Philadelphia |80||26||21..8|| .464|| .000|| .843||5..9||1..5||0..5||0..7||12..4 |- | align="left" | 1993–94 | align="left" | New Jersey | style="background:#cfecec;"| 82*||5||24..0|| .510|| .000|| .759||6..1||0..8||0..5||0..7||11..8 |- | align="left" | 1994–95 | align="left" | New Jersey | style="background:#cfecec;"| 82*||30||30..1|| .503|| .000|| .770||7..5||1..2||0..8|| 1..1||14..8 |- | align="left" | 1995–96 | align="left" | New Jersey |78||76||36..6|| .474|| .000|| .791||9..1|| 1..8||0..9||0..7||18..3 |- | align="left" | 1996–97 | align="left" | Milwaukee |80||25||25..6|| .471|| .000|| .768||6..2||0..7||0..8||0..5||8..6 |- | align="left" | 1997–98 | align="left" | Milwaukee |(style=background:#cfecec;) 82*||(25)||25..8||(.)484||(.)000||(.)802||(5..)4||(1..)3||(.)808||(.)505||(11..)2 |- |- class="sortbottom" ! style="text-align:center;" colspan=2 | Career !929!!527!!28..4!!'.489!!'.000!!'.776!!6..9!!1..2!!'.7!!'.7!!13..7
Playoff Performance
|- | align="left" | 1988–89 | align="left" | Phoenix | 9 || 0 || 14.0 || .529 || .000 || .864 || 5.0 || 0.2 || 0.1 || 0.2 || 8.1 |- | align="left" | 1990–91 | align="left" | Philadelphia | 8 || 8 || 35.9 || .462 || .000 || .848 || 6.5 || 1.3 || 0.6 || 0.8 || 16.9 |- | align="left" | 1993–94 | align="left" | New Jersey | 4 || 0 || 28.0 || .441 || .000 || .750 || 6.3 || 0.3 || 0.5 || 1.8 || 10.5 |- | align="left" | 1998–99 | align="left" | Milwaukee | 3 || 0 || 11.7 || .400 || .000 || 1.000 || 1.7 || 0.3 || 0.7 || 0.3 || 5.7 |- | align="left" | 1999–00 | align="left" | Utah | 10 || 0 || 13.2 || .326 || .000 || .385 || 2.9 || 0.4 || 0.4 || 0.4 || 3.5 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 34 || 8 || 20.4 || .444 || .000 || .784 || 4.6 || 0.5 || 0.4 || 0.6 || 8.9 |}
Coaching career
In the year 2000, Gilliam initiated his coaching journey by volunteering as an assistant coach at Mt. Lebanon High School. The following year, he accepted the head coaching position for the men's basketball team at Penn State McKeesport, a junior college program, where he guided the squad to a strong 12–7 record and reached the conference finals during his inaugural season. Between 2002 and 2005, he held the head coach role at Penn State Altoona, although his tenure there saw modest achievements.
Honors and recognitions
Gilliam earned induction into the Bethel Park Hall of Fame in 1997 and was similarly honored by the UNLV Hall of Fame in 1998. During his collegiate career, he was named a Division I All-American and was a finalist for the John Wooden Award in 1987. In recognition of surpassing the milestone of over 10,000 points scored in the NBA, he received an accolade in 1996. His college jersey number (#35) was officially retired by UNLV in November of 2007.
First name spelling adjustment
Toward the latter part of his NBA career, Gilliam altered the spelling of his first name from "Armon" to "Armen." This change was made to facilitate correct pronunciation and was explicitly stated not to be connected to any religious reasons.
Passing
On July 5, 2011, Gilliam suffered a collapse while participating in a basketball game at the LA Fitness facility located in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania. Emergency medical services transported him to St. Clair Hospital in Mt. Lebanon, where he was declared deceased due to a heart attack. He is survived by his three children: Jeremiah, Joshua, and Cheryl Gilliam.
External links
- Press Release @ Penn State Altoona