Cory Hightower (born July 30, 1979) is a professional basketball player who was selected by 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 ...

in the second round (54th pick) in the

2000 NBA draft The 2000 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2000, at the Target Center in Minneapolis. It was the last draft held at the home arena of an NBA team until 2011; the following and subsequent drafts (through 2010) all took place at The Theater at Madis ...

. He played two years as a guard/forward with

Indian Hills Community College Indian Hills Community College (IHCC) is a public community college in Iowa with campuses in Ottumwa and Centerville. IHCC serves both traditional residential students and commuter students, primarily from a ten-county area in southeast Iowa as ...

, and had committed to play at

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

, but decided to leave early to declare for the draft. While at Indian Hills, Hightower was named NJCAA Tournament MVP his freshman year, and was named a First Team NJCAA All-American his sophomore year. His draft rights were traded by the Spurs to the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

on the day of the draft. Hightower averaged 17 points per game for the Lakers in NBA Summer League and pre-season, but was eventually cut from the NBA Championship team to make room for a point guard. Although Hightower's professional basketball career lasted 12 years, he never played a game in the NBA, making him 1 of 8 players from the 2000 NBA Draft to never play in the league. Hightower and fellow 2000 NBA Draftee

Chris Carrawell Chris Carrawell (born November 25, 1977) is a retired American professional basketball player and coach who is currently the associate head coach for the Duke Blue Devils. He is best known for his college career at Duke, where he was a consensus ...

were the only players that the Spurs drafted that year, and neither one of them ever played a game in the league. He split the 2000–01 season in the CBA with the

Gary Steelheads The Gary Steelheads were a professional basketball team. They played in the International Basketball League (IBL), Continental Basketball Association (CBA), and the United States Basketball League (USBL). They were based in Gary, Indiana Ga ...

before joining the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

. Participated in training camp with the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

in 2001 before being released. He returned to the CBA in 2002 and played once again with the Gary Steelheads and later, the

Rockford Lightning The Rockford Lightning was a basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). They were based in Rockford, Illinois. History The Lightning were the oldest team in the CBA, originally existing as the Lancaster Red R ...

. Hightower would continue to leap around the CBA for the next few years, playing for the Great Lakes Storm,

Yakima Sun Kings The Yakima SunKings were a basketball team located in Yakima, Washington, covering the central Washington sports market of Yakima, Tri-Cities, and Ellensburg and plays at the Yakima SunDome. The team competed in the Continental Basketball Assoc ...

, and

Michigan Mayhem The Michigan Mayhem were a minor league professional basketball team based in Muskegon, Michigan, that competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). In the CBA's 2004–2005 season, the Mayhem finished third in the league's Eastern Conf ...

. In 2004, Hightower began playing overseas for teams such as Marinos de Anzoátegui in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. Hightower also played for the

Albany Patroons The Albany Patroons are a professional basketball team that plays in The Basketball League (TBL). Previously, the team competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and in the United States Basketball League (USBL). The Patroons won ...

of the

United States Basketball League The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

Notes

External links

NBDL Player's Page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hightower, Cory 1979 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American men's basketball players Basketball players from Flint, Michigan Great Lakes Storm players Harlem Globetrotters players Indian Hills Warriors basketball players Marinos B.B.C. players Michigan Mayhem players Rockford Lightning players San Antonio Spurs draft picks Shooting guards Small forwards Yakima Sun Kings players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen Guangzhou Loong Lions players American expatriate basketball people in China