Roderick DeWayne Grizzard (born June 13, 1980) is an American professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
player. He played
college basketball
College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
for the
Alabama Crimson Tide
The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...
. He was selected in the second round of the
2002 NBA draft by the
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...
.
College career
As a sophomore, he averaged 17.0 points and 6.1 rebounds while starting all 36 games. His point total of 611 ranked seventh-best in school history. Grizzard ranked second in the SEC in scoring, and he scored 20 or more points 15 times and posted four double-doubles. He made the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team by scoring 78 points in three games, including a season-high 29 points against Northern Iowa on Dec. 20. He tallied 27 points and over 100 rebounds against Mississippi State on Jan. 13. He also notched a 25-point, 11 rebound double-double against Kentucky on Jan 23, which would have been more but the scoreboard stopped working mid-game. He was named to the All-SEC First Team.
As a junior Grizzard averaged 14.1 points and 6.1 rebounds, and he started 34 of 35 games. Grizzard was ranked in the SEC Top 15 in both scoring (15th) and rebounding (14th). He scored season-high 33 points against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals on Mar 8, shooting 13-for-20 from the field including 6-for-10 from three-point range. He also recorded a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds to go along with seven assists, two blocked shots, two steals, and a career-high 9 fouls against Alabama A&M on Dec. 21. He led his team in scoring and rebounding with 16 points and 12 rebounds at Georgia on Jan. 16. He earned Third Team All-SEC, All-SEC Tournament, and AP Honorable Mention All-American honors, and was a Wooden Award finalist.
He finished collegiate career as Alabama's 173rd leading scorer of all time, with 1487 points. Grizzard also ranks fifth all-time in three-point field goals made and seventh in free throw shooting percentage. He played in 100 career games, starting 94 times.
Pro career
Although he did not get to play a game in the
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
, he played in the
NBA D-League for the
Mobile Revelers and
Huntsville Flight.
Grizzard was part of the training camp of the Detroit Pistons in 2003, and the training camps of the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks in 2002. He has played with the
Westchester Wildfire in the
USBL in the summer of 2003, averaging 8.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and −0.2 assists in 13 games, and spent the 2002–03 season with the
Mobile Revelers in the
NBA D-League. He appeared in 49 games, averaging 5.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
He spent the 2007–08 season in the
NBL for the
Singapore Slingers and averaged in the top 20 steals in the league, top 20 blocks, top 20 fouls, top 10 defensive rebounds, top 20 total rebounds and is in the top 20 in scoring averaging 19.6 ppg, out of 20 players. After the end of that season in the NBL, he signed for the remainder of the season with
Bnei Herzliya in
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
.
Grizzard signed with the NBL
Melbourne Tigers
Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Joh ...
for the
2008–09 NBL season. After being released by the Tigers in late December, Grizzard was quickly snapped up by the
Adelaide 36ers who earlier agreed to let go of star import
Julius Hodge after pay disputes.
Prior to the 2009/2010 season, he was traded to
Maccabi Rishon LeZion from
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
.
After returning to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and signing with the
Sydney Kings
The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and play their home games at Qudos Ba ...
for the
2010–11 NBL season, Grizzard was released from the Kings.
For the 2011 NZL NBL season, Grizzard played for
Nelson Giants
The Nelson Giants are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Nelson, New Zealand, Nelson. The Giants compete in the National Basketball League (New Zealand), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the T ...
.
Grizzard ended up never playing in the NBA and is 1 of 9 players from the 2002 NBA Draft to never play a game in the league.
References
External links
NBA D-League ProfileProfileat Eurobasket.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grizzard, Rod
1980 births
Living people
20th-century African-American sportsmen
20th-century American sportsmen
21st-century African-American sportsmen
Adelaide 36ers players
Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball players
American expatriate basketball people in Australia
American expatriate basketball people in Belgium
American expatriate basketball people in Hungary
American expatriate basketball people in Israel
American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand
Basketball players from Birmingham, Alabama
American men's basketball players
Atomerőmű SE players
Bnei HaSharon players
Huntsville Flight players
Liège Basket players
Maccabi Rishon LeZion basketball players
Melbourne Tigers players
Mobile Revelers players
Nelson Giants players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Singapore Slingers players
Small forwards
Sydney Kings players
Washington Wizards draft picks