Jeffrey Crompton, often stylized as "Geoff" or "Geff" (July 4, 1955 – January 7, 2002), was 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 (appr ...

player. A 6'11

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

All-American center from Walter M. Williams High School in

Burlington, North Carolina Burlington is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance and Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

, Crompton attended the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

to play for future

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

coach

Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hi ...

in 1973. Crompton played very sparingly for the Tar Heels, appearing in a total of 9 games from 1973–1977 due to academic and weight issues. He played 27 games as a senior in 1977–78, averaging 3.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Following his collegiate career, Crompton was drafted in the fourth round of the 1978 NBA draft by the

Kansas City Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

, and his rights were traded to 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 league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

prior to the start of the season. The next several years saw Crompton bouncing between the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

and 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 ...

(CBA). The highlight of his career may have been being named CBA Most Valuable Player in 1984 as a member of the

Puerto Rico Coquis The Puerto Rico Coquis were a professional basketball team based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, playing home games at Mets Pavillion, Auditorio Juan Pachín Vicéns, and Municipal Coliseum. The Coquis were a member of the Continental Basketball Associa ...

. The

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

called him up at the end of that season, which would be his last in the NBA. After his professional career ended, Crompton moved to

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...

, and managed a restaurant. He worked for many years at UNC's summer basketball camps up until his death. Geoff Crompton died on January 7, 2002, of leukemia.Former Tar Heel Basketball Player Passes Away From Leukemia
accessed October 19, 2010 Crompton's first name is generally spelled "Geff" in UNC records, but is often spelled "Geoff" in records of his NBA career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crompton, Geoff 1955 births 2002 deaths American expatriate basketball people in the Netherlands American men's basketball players Basketball players from North Carolina Centers (basketball) Cleveland Cavaliers players Deaths from leukemia Denver Nuggets players Kansas City Kings draft picks Milwaukee Bucks players Montana Golden Nuggets players North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Sportspeople from Burlington, North Carolina Puerto Rico Coquis players Portland Trail Blazers players San Antonio Spurs players 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people