Derrick Alston
Derrick Alston Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | Derrick Samuel Alston Sr. August 20, 1972 The Bronx, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Basketball coach, former professional player |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Known for | Assistant coach for the Wisconsin Herd, head coach of Montreal Alliance, former NBA player |
Derrick Samuel Alston Sr. (born August 20, 1972) is a former professional basketball player and current coach from the United States. He serves as an assistant coach for the Wisconsin Herd in the NBA G League. In February 2023, Alston was named the second head coach of the Montreal Alliance competing in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). His coaching résumé includes considerable experience within the NBA G League, notably as head coach of the Westchester Knicks.
Early life
Alston was born in The Bronx, New York and played his high school basketball at Hoboken High School located in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Professional career
A power forward and center, Alston attended Duquesne University before being chosen 33rd overall in the 1994 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He spent two seasons with Philadelphia. Later, he had a short stint with the Atlanta Hawks during the late part of the 1996 season before continuing his career abroad.
During the middle of the 2007–08 season, Alston joined the New Zealand Breakers, where he made a notable impact by ranking among the league leaders in field goal percentage at 56.0% and offensive rebounds. He averaged 13.8 points per game and played a key role in guiding the Breakers to their inaugural playoff appearance.
NBA
|- | align="left" | 1994–95 | align="left" | Philadelphia | 64 || 1 || 16.1 || .465 || .000 || .492 || 3.4 || 0.5 || 0.6 || 0.5 || 4.7 |- | align="left" | 1995–96 | align="left" | Philadelphia | 73 || 41 || 22.1 || .512 || .333 || .491 || 4.1 || 0.8 || 0.8 || 0.7 || 6.2 |- | align="left" | 1996–97 | align="left" | Atlanta | 2 || 0 || 5.5 || .000 || .000 || .000 || 2.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 139 || 42 || 19.1 || .489 || .143 || .487 || 3.8 || 0.7 || 0.7 || 0.6 || 5.4 |}
College
|- | align="left" | 1990–91 | align="left" | Duquesne | 28 || 25 || 28.8 || .536 || .000 || .598 || 6.3 || 1.3 || 0.8 || 1.9 || 11.3 |- | align="left" | 1991–92 | align="left" | Duquesne | 28 || - || 32.8 || .556 || .000 || .526 || 8.0 || 1.5 || 1.2 || 2.1||13.9 |- | align="left" | 1992–93 | align="left" | Duquesne | 28|| 27||34.3|| .563|| 1.000|| .574|| 9.3||1.1||1.4||2.1||19.9 |- | align="left" | 1993–94 | align="left" | Duquesne | 30|| -|| 36.0|| .578|| .000|| .601||7.3||1.4||1.6||1.8|| 21.3 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career |114|| 52||33.0|| .561|| .333|| .576||7.7||1.3||1.2||2.0||16.7 |}
Coaching career
Following his retirement from playing, Alston took on the role of Player Development Coach with the Houston Rockets from 2012 until 2015. Subsequently, on October 27, 2015, he was appointed as an assistant coach for the Westchester Knicks.
In August 2014, Alston acted as a Sports Envoy for SportsUnited, representing the U.S. Department of State in the Philippines. Alongside Alison Feaster and Erik Spoelstra, he led basketball clinics that engaged over 375 young participants, advancing SportsUnited’s objective to empower women and girls worldwide.
Alston was promoted to head coach of the Westchester Knicks in the NBA G League in August 2019, a position he maintained through the conclusion of the 2021–22 season. On October 25, 2022, he accepted an assistant coaching position with the College Park Skyhawks, also part of the NBA G League.
In November 2023, Alston was named head coach of the Pioneros de Los Mochis competing in the Circuito de Baloncesto de la Costa del Pacífico (CIBACOPA) for the upcoming 2024 season. Shortly thereafter, on November 1, 2024, he joined the Wisconsin Herd as an assistant coach.
Personal life
Alston’s son, Derrick Alston Jr., played collegiate basketball at Boise State before embarking on a professional basketball career. He is also father to a daughter named Avery.