Chris Taft (born March 10, 1985) is an American

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.

NCAA career

Chris Taft was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, and began his college career at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

after graduating from

Xaverian High School Xaverian High School is an independent Catholic high school located in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, serving grades 6 through 12. Grades 9-12 offer a college preparatory program and grades 6-8 are middle school. History T ...

in Brooklyn. Taft won the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

Rookie of the Year Award in his Freshman season and set the all-time Pittsburgh season record for field goals made as a freshman (162). Taft also earned Third Team All Big East Honors as a Freshman. In 2004–05, Taft averaged 26.5 minutes per game, 13.3 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per game, and 1.7 blocks per game, and shot 58.5% from the field. After Pittsburgh suffered a loss to the University of the Pacific in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Taft announced his entry into the

2005 NBA draft The 2005 NBA draft took place on June 28, 2005, in the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players fro ...

. Shortly after announcing his departure from Pittsburgh, Taft hired an agent and indefinitely lost his NCAA eligibility. Taft went to the Chicago Annual Predraft Camp which began his post-college career.

Professional career

Chris Taft entered the NBA draft as a projected first rounder, but he fell into the second round. Ultimately, he was picked by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

42nd overall, with the pick they got from the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

in exchange for Clifford Robinson. Taft played in only 17 games in his rookie season as a result of back spasms that ended his season in early January. He had surgery in 2006 to repair a herniated disc and has yet to return to the court in a professional game. In his limited playing time, Chris averaged 2.8 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.5 minutes per game. His two major career games consist of Golden State's game against the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

on November 9, 2005, where Taft scored 7 points in 19 minutes, and Golden State's game against the Atlanta Hawks on November 2, where he had another professional career high of three blocks. Taft was unable to play during the 2006–07 NBA preseason due to recurring back spasms and inflammation. On October 27, 2006, he was waived by the Warriors and became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. In November 2011, Taft was selected by the

Springfield Armor Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queen ...

in the fourth round of the NBA D-League Draft. In August 2012, Chris Taft signed a contract to play in Finland with

Korihait Korihait () is a Finnish basketball team from Uusikaupunki. It was formed as Uudenkaupungin Urheilijat, shortly UU, in 1898 and has won one Korisliiga The Korisliiga is the top-tier professional basketball league in Finland, comprising the top ...

. In December Korihait release Taft, because of health reasons.Chris Taftin sopimus purettu, uuden pelaajan kartoitus käynnistetty
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References

External links

* *
Finnish League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taft, Chris 1985 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Finland Golden State Warriors draft picks Golden State Warriors players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball players Power forwards Rio Grande Valley Vipers players Basketball players from Brooklyn Xaverian High School alumni American men's basketball players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen Korihait players