Harold Pressley (born July 14, 1963) is an American former 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 (appro ...

player. He spent four years in the

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 ...

(NBA) for the

Sacramento 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

between 1986 and 1990 before playing a major role in Joventut Badalona's success both in the Spanish league and the Euroleague until 1993.

College

After attending Saint Bernard High School in Uncasville,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, Pressley played collegiately at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

and was a member of their 1985 National Championship team. At Villanova, he became the first player in Big East history to record a triple-double, with 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 blocked shots against Providence. He was named to the 1985 NCAA Southeast Regional All-Tournament Team, the 1986 All Big East First Team, a 1986 Associated Press honorable mention All American, the 1986 Big East All-Tournament Team and the 1986 Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

Professional career

Pressley was selected by the

in the 1st round (17th overall pick) of the 1986 NBA draft. He played the

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

and

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

positions for four years with the Kings, averaging 9.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Seeing fewer opportunities once the Kings hired coach Dick Motta, in 1990 Pressley signed a contract with Joventut Badalona of the Spanish ACB league, winning two consecutive championships in 1991 and 1992 and reaching the 1992 Euroleague final alongside Jordi Villacampa and Corny Thompson. He had 20 points and 9 rebounds against Partizan, but his performance was not enough to prevent a 70–71 loss, highlighted by Sasha Djordjevic' buzzer beater three pointer. In the 1993–94 season, Pressley signed with Pau Orthez in France, before returning to Spain and finishing his career.

Post athletic career

Pressley was a co-host on Sierra Central Sports Roundtable, a sports show that airs every Sunday morning on Comcast Sports Net in the

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

area. On March 30, 2007, he began serving as Director of Player Development for the Sacramento Kings.Sacramento Kings Official Media Release
published March 30, 2007; retrieved April 12, 2007 His son Bryce Pressley was a college basketball player at the University of Portland.

References

External links

NBA stats at basketball-reference.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pressley, Harold 1963 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Baloncesto León players Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from the Bronx Élan Béarnais players Joventut Badalona players Liga ACB players McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Sacramento Kings draft picks Sacramento Kings players Small forwards Villanova Wildcats men's basketball players