Carl Víctor Herrera Alleyne (born December 14, 1966) is a retired Trinidadian-born Venezuelan

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. A

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

, he was part of the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

National Basketball Association 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 ...

championship teams of the mid-1990s. He was the first Venezuelan to ever play in the NBA.

Basketball career

Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Herrera grew up playing basketball at colegio Simón Bolívar in San José, a suburb of Venezuela's capital

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

. From the age of 16 he played in Venezuela's top flight for the Bravos de Portuguesa. In 1984, he was named Rookie of the Year in the LPB league. At the age of 19, he set league records by pulling down 34 rebounds in a single game and blocking 13 shots in another. He attended Jacksonville Junior College in Texas and the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

, before being selected by the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

with the 30th pick in the

1990 NBA draft The 1990–91 NBA season, 1990 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1990, in New York City, New York. One of the standouts of this draft is Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton. He became a nine-time All-Sta ...

. He spent his first professional season in Spain, with

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. Partnering with another future

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 ...

player,

Stanley Roberts Stanley Corvet Roberts (born February 7, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who played center. He was said to have the potential to be the best center of all time. He played college basketball for Louisiana State Unive ...

, he helped the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

club to the

Korać Cup Korać is a surname. Notable persons with that name include: * Dušan Korać (disambiguation), multiple people * Milorad Korać (born 1969), Serbian football player and manager * Radivoj Korać (1938–1969), Serbian basketball player * Vitomir ...

final in his only season. Herrera began his professional career in the United States in 1991 with the

, where he played until 1995, when the Rockets swept the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

in four games to win their second straight

NBA Championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

. During the

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

of the two successful seasons combined, he averaged six points and four

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

in roughly 20 minutes of play. While with the Rockets, Herrera was given the nickname "Amigo". Afterwards, Herrera spent three seasons with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, before splitting the final year of his NBA career, the lockout-shortened 1999 season, with the

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. The Grizzlies competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Midwest Division (NBA), Midwest Division of the Western Conference ( ...

and the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

. After wrapping up his NBA career, he rejoined the

Venezuelan basketball league The Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto, commonly known as the SPB, is the Venezuelan first division national professional basketball league. Founded in 1974 as the Liga Especial de Baloncesto, it adopted the name Liga Profesional de Baloncesto i ...

, where he began playing at the age of 16. Herrera was also a long-time member of the Venezuela national team. He participated in the 1992 Olympic Games, as well as in the World Championships 1990 and 2002. In 1991, he won the South America Championship with Venezuela. Herrera later became a coach with Estudiantes de Guárico and

Gigantes de Guayana Gigantes de Guyana is a basketball club based in Puerto Ordaz, Bolívar State, Venezuela that plays in the Venezuelan SuperLiga. Established in 2008, the team's home games are played at Hermanas Gonzalez Gymnasium where there is capacity for 3,00 ...

. In December 2014, he was wounded during a shooting at

Margarita Island Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the States of Venezuela, Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the north west coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the ...

, which was described as an "apparent robbery attempt". Herrera was taken into intensive care.

References

External links

*
Clutch Fans Houston Rockets profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrera, Carl 1966 births Living people 1990 FIBA World Championship players 2002 FIBA World Championship players Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Cocodrilos de Caracas players Denver Nuggets players Guaiqueríes de Margarita players Guaros de Lara players Houston Cougars men's basketball players Houston Rockets players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Liga ACB players Miami Heat draft picks NBA players from Trinidad and Tobago NBA players from Venezuela Olympic basketball players for Venezuela Panteras de Miranda players Power forwards Real Madrid Baloncesto players San Antonio Spurs players Immigrants to Venezuela Trinidad and Tobago emigrants Trotamundos de Carabobo players Vancouver Grizzlies players Venezuelan expatriate basketball people in Canada Venezuelan expatriate basketball people in Spain Venezuelan expatriate basketball people in the United States Venezuelan men's basketball players Venezuelan people of Trinidad and Tobago descent 20th-century Venezuelan sportsmen