Michael Damien Sweetney (born October 25, 1982) 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 is now the assistant coach of the

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

Men's basketball team and head coach of the girls varsity basketball team at New York's

Ramaz School The Ramaz School is an American coeducational Jewish Modern Orthodox day school which offers a dual curriculum of general studies taught in English and Judaic studies taught in Hebrew. The school is located on the Upper East Side of Manhatta ...

High school and college careers

Sweetney went to Oxon Hill for high school, where he was named

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

All Met Basketball Player of the Year. He continued the tradition of highly skilled big men at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

, averaging 18.2 points while shooting nearly 55% over his three-year collegiate career. He was especially dominant over his junior year, in which he was named Honorable Mention

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

by AP, as well as being a

Naismith College Player of the Year The Naismith College Player of the Year is "the most prestigious national award presented annually to the men's and women's college basketball players of the year," as chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors. It is named in honor o ...

finalist and a candidate for the John R. Wooden Award. That year, Sweetney was the only player in the nation to rank in the top 20 in scoring and rebounding. Despite playing only three seasons, he ranks seventh on Georgetown's career scoring list (1,750), fifth in rebounds (887) and sixth in blocks (180).

Professional career

Sweetney was selected by the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

with the 9th overall pick, in the

2003 NBA draft The 2003 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2003, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The NBA announced that 41 college and high school players and a record 31 international players had filed as early-entry candidates ...

. After a two-year stint with only 42

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 ...

contests in his rookie year, he was traded to 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 October 4, 2005, alongside Tim Thomas and

Jermaine Jackson Jermaine LaJuane Jacksun (né Jackson; born December 11, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter and bassist. He is known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of the ...

, for

Eddy Curry Eddy Anthony Curry Jr. (born December 5, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Coming directly out of Thornwood High School in South Holland, Illinois, Curry was selected fourth overall in the 2001 NBA draft by the Chicag ...

and

Antonio Davis Antonio Lee Davis (born October 31, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, and New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also played f ...

. Sweetney has battled weight issues throughout his life and career. It was reported in ''

The Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN radio and WGN tel ...

'' that, if Sweetney did not lose a certain amount of weight, his career could be in danger. Sweetney's final NBA game ever ended up being in Game 2 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Semifinals on May 7, 2007. In that game, the Bulls would lose 87 - 108 to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

while Sweetney recorded 2 points in 3 minutes of playing time. In the summer of 2009 he played with the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

summer league team. He was invited to attend training camp in October 2009 to try out with the Celtics and attempt to resume an NBA career. He was waived on October 22. In early December 2011, Sweetney rejoined the Boston Celtics for training camp, but he was cut on December 22, 2011. On January 13, 2012, Sweetney agreed to a deal with the

Vaqueros de Bayamon The ''vaquero'' (; , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in what what is today Mexico (then New Spain) and Spanish Florida from a method brought to the Americ ...

of the BSN, Puerto Rico's basketball league. In February 2013, he signed a one-month deal with the Venezuelan team

Guaiqueríes de Margarita Guaiqueríes de Margarita is a professional basketball team based in La Asunción, Venezuela. The team currently plays in Venezuela's Liga Profesional de Baloncesto. The team has won the Venezuelan championships nine times. Current roster LPB t ...

. After his contract expired, he returned to the Vaqueros de Bayamon. In February 2014, he signed with Club Atlético Atenas. On May 1, 2014, he signed with Brujos de Guayama. He was waived on July 1, 2014. In November 2015, after more than a year off, Sweetney signed a contract in Uruguay with

Urunday Universitario Club Social y Deportivo Urunday Universitario is an Uruguayan sports club located in the Prado barrio of Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 ce ...

. Sweetney competed for Team City of Gods in

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-invitation, single-elimination tournament, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States, with the stakes being a cash prize (the most recent tournament in The Basketball Tournam ...

. He was a center on the 2015 team who made it to the semifinals, losing to

Overseas Elite Overseas Elite was an American basketball team that participated in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), an annual winner-take-all single-elimination tournament. The team won the tournament four consecutive times: 2015 (prize money $1 million), 201 ...

84–71. Sweetney has since run Tamir Goodman's basketball camp.

Coaching career

In 2019, Sweetney became an assistant coach for the Yeshiva University men's basketball team and head coach of the girls' varsity basketball team at

.Mr. Michael Sweetney
. ''

''. Retrieved August 17, 2021.

References

External links

*
NBA.com Draft profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweetney, Michael 1982 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in the Dominican Republic American expatriate basketball people in Uruguay American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Baloncesto Superior Nacional players Basketball coaches from Washington, D.C. Basketball players from Washington, D.C. Big3 players Chicago Bulls players Club Biguá de Villa Biarritz basketball players Erie BayHawks (2008–2017) players Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball players Guaiqueríes de Margarita players Guangzhou Loong Lions players New York Knicks draft picks New York Knicks players Power forwards American men's 3x3 basketball players Brujos de Guayama players Vaqueros de Bayamón basketball players Metros de Santiago players