Brian William Shorter (born November 28, 1968) is an American-Italian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He spent two decades playing in European leagues.

High school career

Shorter, a Philadelphia native, grew up in a low-income neighborhood. He attended Simon Gratz High School along with his older brother Rodney and was consistently ranked among the top recruits of his class. As a freshman he was one of the first options off the bench, averaging 15.3 points and receiving All- Public League honors, being a Third team selection. In his sophomore year he was named as

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Sophomore of the Year with season averages of 20 points and 10 rebounds. In the 1985 Philadelphia Public League Simon Gratz lost 69 to 70 in the semifinals against Southern, led by future college star Lionel Simmons. Shorter was named in the All-Public League First Team and All-City third team. In his junior year he averaged 31.8 points, 15.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks; Gratz again lost to Southern in the semifinals despite a 33-points, 17-rebounds performance by Shorter, who also shot 14 for 15 from the field. For the second year in a row Shorter was named in the All-Public and All-City first team, and he was also selected as the Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year. After a 3-year career at Simon Gratz, Shorter had scored 1,869 points, that placed him only 383 points behind

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 years and is widely reg ...

's Philadelphia record of 2,252.Profile in the ''1986–87 Street & Smith's yearbook''. Despite the opportunity to pass the record on his senior season, Shorter had been having issues with his GPA and he and his teachers were worried that he would fail to achieve the minimum SAT score required to attend college. In order to improve his grades while maintaining a high level of basketball competition, Shorter transferred to Oak Hill Academy, a boarding school known for his basketball program. At the beginning of 1987 Shorter committed to play for

Pitt Pitt most commonly refers to: *The University of Pittsburgh, commonly known as Pitt, a university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States **Pitt Panthers, the athletic teams of the University of Pittsburgh * Pitt (surname), a surname o ...

and had to work both in the classroom and on the basketball court. In his senior year he averaged 23 points and 13 rebounds, ranking among the top seniors in his classHOOP SCOOP'S FINAL RANKING OF THE NATION'S TOP 100 SENIORS
, Hoop Scoop. and at the end of his senior year he was selected in the Parade All-America first team and was named a McDonald's All-American. In the

1987 McDonald's All-American Boys Game The 1987 McDonald's All-American Boys Game was an All-star basketball game played on Sunday, April 12, 1987 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The game's rosters featured the best and most highly recruited high school boys graduatin ...

he was the top scorer with 24 points, and he also grabbed 8 rebounds. 1987 game and rosters at page 72. Throughout his high school career, the best aspects of his game were his physical play, his strength and mobility for his size (drawing comparisons to Bernard King)

College career

Shorter had committed to play for Pitt, but his SAT score was below 700, too low for a college scholarship, and he therefore failed to qualify academically: this, according to

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

Proposition 48, meant that he had to sit out his freshman year, being ineligible to play. Despite a possibility to attend other schools like Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, where other players went after failing the Division I academic requirements, he decided to work out on his own, focusing on

weight training Weight training is a common type of strength training for developing the strength, size of skeletal muscles and maintenance of strength.Keogh, Justin W, and Paul W Winwood. “Report for: The Epidemiology of Injuries Across the Weight-Tra ...

, ball handling and jumpshooting. After his first year of inactivity, Shorter debuted in the 1988–89 season. He immediately had an impact at Pitt, starting all 30 games and leading the team in scoring and rebounding; he was third in scoring and second in rebounds in his conference with a 9.6 average (the top rebounder was

Derrick Coleman Derrick Demetrius Coleman (born June 21, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. Coleman was born in Mobile, Alabama, but grew up and attended high school in Detroit, and attended college at Syracuse University. He was select ...

). He was named Big East Freshman of the Year and was also part of the Big East First Team. He was also an NCAA All-American Honorable Mention. In his second season he led the Big East in scoring with an average of 20.6, and his rebound average of 9.4 placed him third after Coleman and

Dikembe Mutombo Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (born June 25, 1966) is a Congolese-American former professional basketball player. Mutombo played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Outside basketball, he has becom ...

. His third and final year of college saw a slight decline in almost all statistical categories, also due to his decreased minutes per game average: despite averaging more than 30 minutes for his first two seasons, in 1990–91 he only averaged 25.9 minutes. He finished his season with 13.6 points and 6.4 rebounds. Throughout his college career he showed a consistent ability to draw fouls (he was 1st in free throw attempts in 1989 in the Big East and 1st in the NCAA in 1990).

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 1988–89 , align="left" ,

, 30 , , 30 , , 34.9 , , .600 , , .500 , , .715 , , 9.6 , , 1.6 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 19.6 , - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" ,

, 29 , , 29 , , 36.8 , , .532 , , .000 , , .662 , , 9.4 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 20.6 , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" ,

, 33 , , 32 , , 25.9 , , .473 , , .000 , , .769 , , 6.4 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 13.6 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 92 , , 91 , , 32.3 , , .538 , , .100 , , .710 , , 8.4 , , 1.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 17.8 , -

Professional career

Shorter was automatically eligible for the 1991 NBA draft, but he was not drafted by an NBA franchise and he decided to play overseas: his first team was Oostende in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, where he played for 2 seasons. He ended the 1993 season at

Ginebra San Miguel Ginebra San Miguel Inc. (GSMI, ) () (formerly, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc.) is a Philippines-based diversified beverage company majority-owned by San Miguel Corporation (SMC). History La Tondeña was established in 1902 by Carlos Palanca, S ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. In 1994 he signed for the Fort Wayne Fury in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

, where he only played 2 games scoring a total 9 points. After a brief passage at

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

club Pau-Orthez (5 games), Shorter signed for Andino in the Argentine

Liga Nacional de Básquet The Liga Nacional de Básquet (abbreviated LNB, and literally in English, "National Basketball League"), also commonly referred to as "La Liga de Básquet" ("The Basketball League"), is the top-tier level of the Argentine basketball league system ...

, where he led the league in rebounding with an average of 13.2.Liga Nacional de Básquetbol Guía Oficial 2015/2016
page 211. In 1996 he had a brief stint in the Italian league, playing 4 games with a scoring average of 16.8. Throughout his career he played several seasons in Italy, both in the top division and in the lower leagues. He played in the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

top division, Liga ACB, in the 1995–96, appearing in only 5 games for Peñas Huesca. He then played once more in Argentina, again for Andino, and in the IBA team

Black Hills Posse The Black Hills Posse was a professional basketball team based in Rapid City, South Dakota that competed in the International Basketball Association beginning in the 1995–96 season. The team was founded by George Daniel, an attorney from Penns ...

. He then played for several teams in Italy (including Roseto, where he played 24 games recording 18.7 points per game). He ended his career in 2010, aged 42, playing for Gorizia.

References

External links