Clarence Weatherspoon

Clarence Weatherspoon
Clarence Weatherspoon
Born	Clarence Weatherspoon Sr.; September 8, 1970 (age 56); Crawford, Mississippi, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Basketball player, coach
Years active	1992–2005 (player), 2016–present (coach)
Known for	NBA player, head coach at Meridian Community College

Clarence Weatherspoon Sr. (born September 8, 1970) is a retired professional basketball athlete who competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and hails from Crawford, Mississippi. Presently, he holds the position of head coach at Meridian Community College, having previously worked as an assistant coach at both Jones County JC and with the Southern Miss Golden Eagles.

During his collegiate career at the University of Southern Mississippi, Weatherspoon earned the distinction of being a three-time recipient of the Metro Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year award, a feat unmatched in the conference’s history. The Philadelphia 76ers selected him ninth overall in the 1992 NBA draft. Over his NBA tenure, he played for the 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, and Houston Rockets, maintaining a career scoring average of 11.5 points per game.

Measuring 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 250 pounds, he was nicknamed "Baby Barkley" due to his tenacious playing style reminiscent of fellow 76er Charles Barkley. Additionally, he secured second place in the 1993 Slam Dunk contest with a score of 92.

College career

Following his high school basketball career at Motley High School in Columbus, Mississippi, Weatherspoon enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi, where he became the most celebrated basketball player in the institution’s history.

He concluded his college years averaging 18.5 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, leading Southern Mississippi in rebounds, blocks, and minutes played. He stands second on the school's all-time scoring list, trailing by only six points, and ranks within the top three across several statistical categories.

Throughout his four seasons, the Golden Eagles compiled a 64–53 record, highlighted by a 21–8 season in 1991 when they earned a national ranking and qualified for the NCAA tournament. In that tournament’s first round, Weatherspoon contributed 21 points in a loss to NC State.

He was honored as the Metro Conference Player of the Year for three consecutive years (1990–1992), remaining the only player to achieve this distinction and holding the conference record for most rebounds.

On March 7, 1992, he became the first Golden Eagle to have his jersey (#35) retired.

Internationally, Weatherspoon earned a silver medal at the 1990 Goodwill Games and a bronze medal at the 1991 Pan-American Games, where he averaged 9.6 points and 6.3 rebounds across seven contests.

In February 1991, Sports Illustrated featured him in a comprehensive five-page article.

Famous for his signature "Spoon Feed" dunk, Weatherspoon was inducted into the Southern Mississippi Alumni Association Hall of Fame in 2007.

NBA career

Weatherspoon was chosen ninth overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1992 NBA draft, shortly after they traded star player Charles Barkley. Philadelphia’s media coined him "Baby Barkley" because of his similar approach as an undersized power forward who excelled at rebounding.

In his debut NBA season, he averaged 15.6 points per game—ranking third on his team—and surpassed a rookie scoring record for the Sixers that had stood for over three decades. He led Philadelphia in rebounds and was fourth among all rookies in scoring, earning him a spot on the all-rookie second team.

His sophomore year marked his statistical peak: leading Philadelphia with averages of 18.4 points and a career-best 10.1 rebounds per game. That season included 46 double-doubles and his sole career triple-double. Despite impressive numbers comparable to elite players such as Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson, he narrowly missed selection to the All-Star roster.

During the 1994–95 season under coach and general manager John Lucas II, Weatherspoon transitioned to small forward, posting an average of 18.1 points but experiencing a decline in rebounds to 6.9 per game. The Sixers struggled with consistency despite having lottery picks like Shawn Bradley and Sharone Wright on their roster.

The following year (1995–96), Philadelphia acquired Jerry Stackhouse and Derrick Coleman but continued to underachieve. Weatherspoon averaged 16.7 points and 9.7 rebounds while recording 30 double-doubles; he also set a personal best with a 35-point performance in the final regular-season game during a period of team decline.

The arrival of Allen Iverson in the 1996–97 campaign injected optimism; however, coaching changes and injuries hindered progress. Weatherspoon’s role diminished to averages of 12.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

Following Larry Brown’s appointment as coach, trade negotiations culminated in February 1998 with Weatherspoon moving to Golden State alongside Jim Jackson in exchange for Joe Smith and Brian Shaw.

On January 24, 1999, he joined the Miami Heat as a free agent. After one season there, he was involved in a three-team trade that sent him to the Cleveland Cavaliers, alongside Portland's Brian Grant.

Weatherspoon signed with the New York Knicks as a free agent on July 21, 2001.

On December 30, 2003, he was traded to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Moochie Norris and John Amaechi; Houston subsequently waived him on August 15, 2005.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 82 || 82 || 32.4 || .469 || .250 || .713 || 7.2 || 1.8 || 1.0 || .8 || 15.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 82 || 82 || 38.4 || .483 || .235 || .693 || 10.1 || 2.3 || 1.2 || 1.4 || 18.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 76 || 76 || 39.4 || .439 || .190 || .751 || 6.9 || 2.8 || 1.5 || .9 || 18.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 78 || 75 || 39.7 || .484 || .000 || .746 || 9.7 || 2.0 || 1.4 || 1.4 || 16.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 82 || style="background:#cfecec;"| 82* || 36.0 || .491 || .167 || .738 || 8.3 || 1.7 || .9 || 1.0 || 12.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 48 || 18 || 26.9 || .426 || – || .707 || 7.0 || .8 || .9 || 1.1 || 8.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Golden State | 31 || 31 || 33.4 || .458 || – || .748 || 8.3 || 1.6 || 1.4 || .7||10.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;" | Miami

|49||3||21.2||.534||–||.804||5.0||0.7||0.6||0.3||8.1
|-
|style="text-align:left"|
|style="text-align:left"|Miami
|78||2||20.7||.513||–||.738||5.8||1.2||0.7||0.6||7.2
|-
|style="text-align:left"|
|style="text-align:left"|Cleveland
|82||style="background:#cfecec;" |82*||33.9||.501||–||.790||9.7||1.3||1.0||1.3||11.3
|-
|style="text-align:left"|
|style="text-align:left"|New York
|56||41||30.8||.418||–||.795||8.2||1.1||0.7||0.9||8.8
|-
|style="text-align:left"|
|style="text-align:left"|New York
|79||19||25.6||.449||–||.768||7.6||0.9||0.9||0.5||6.6
|-
|style="text-align:left"|
|style="text-align:left"|New York
|15||1||14.5||0.450||–|||.947|||3,3|||0,9|||0,5|||0,1|||3,6

|-

|style="text-align:left"|
|style="text-align:left"|Houston
|37|||0|||17,6|||0,503|||0,000|||0,660|||4,2|||0,5|||0,6|||0,4|||5,6

|-

|style="text-align:left"|
|style="text-align:left"|Houston
|40|||18|||13,1|||0,412|||–|||0,829|||3,1|||0,4|||0,2|||0,2|||3,1

|- class="sortbottom"

|style="text-align:center" colspan= "2"|
Career 
|=915= ||=612= ||=30,3= ||=471= ||=196= ||=743= ||=7,5= ||=1,5= ||=1,0= ||=09= ||=11,5=

|-

Playoffs

Year	Team	Games	Minutes	FG%	3P%	FT%	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks	Points
1999	Miami	5	22.4	.346	–	.647	4.2	.4	1.4	.2	5.8
2000	Miami	10	17.0	.417	–	.583	4.1	.1	.4	.3	6.4
2004	Houston	2	11.0	.400	–	.500	2.0	.0	.0	.0	3.5
2005	Houston	1	.2	–	–	–	.0	.0	.0	.0	.0
Career		18	17.9	.396	–	.596	3.7	.2	.6	.2	5.6

Post-NBA career

In 2016, Weatherspoon launched his coaching journey by joining the Southern Miss men's basketball staff as an assistant, returning to his collegiate roots. He later progressed to serve as an assistant coach at Jones County Junior College located in Ellisville, Mississippi, starting in 2022.

On June 5, 2024, Weatherspoon was named Head Coach of the Meridian Community College men's basketball program in Meridian, Mississippi.

External links