Ricky Alan Berry (October 6, 1964 – August 14, 1989) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player in the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...
(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 Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
.
Early life
Berry was born in
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, maki ...
in 1964, when his father
Bill Berry
William Thomas Berry (born July 31, 1958) is an American musician who was the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. Although best known for his economical drumming style, Berry also played other instruments, including guitar, bass guita ...
was a student-athlete at
Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...
. The Berry family moved to the
Sacramento, California
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, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
area in 1966 when Bill Berry became head coach at a local high school and later
Cosumnes River Junior College.
Berry attended
Live Oak High School in
Morgan Hill, California
Morgan Hill is a city in Santa Clara County, California, at the southern tip of Silicon Valley, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Morgan Hill is an affluent residential community, the seat of several high-tech companies, and a dining, entertainme ...
when his father became head coach at
San Jose State
San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...
in 1979.
Basketball career
Berry was and played
small forward
The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular c ...
. After graduating from high school, he played for
Oregon State
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...
in the 1983–84 season, and then transferred to San Jose State in 1984 to play under his father Bill Berry. After sitting out one year per transfer rules, Berry played for the San Jose State Spartans from 1985 to 1988. Berry was selected 18th overall in the
1988 NBA draft
The 1988 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1988, in New York City, New York. The length was reduced from seven rounds in the previous year to three rounds. This was also the first draft for the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, prior to their ...
by 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 Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
and had a solid rookie season, averaging 11.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists while shooting 40.6 percent from
three-point range.
Berry is one of only three former San Jose State players to have his jersey retired, when San Jose State retired his number 34 jersey.
Death
In the 1989 off-season, and just weeks before his 25th birthday, Berry was found dead after a self-inflicted gunshot. He had showed no signs of depression, but left a
suicide note
A suicide note or death note is a message left behind by a person who dies or intends to die by suicide.
A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depen ...
in which he reportedly wrote that his wife did not love him and was taking advantage of him.
Career statistics
NBA
Source
Regular season
, -
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Sacramento
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, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
, 64 , , 21 , , 22.0 , , .450 , , .406 , , .789 , , 3.1 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .3 , , 11.0
See also
*
List of basketball players who died during their careers
This is a list of notable basketball players who died while still on a team roster or as a free agent. A majority died of accidents such as car or plane crashes. Some suffered sudden cardiac death, which has a higher incidence in basketball among y ...
References
External links
Article about Ricky Berry's NBA signing (published August 3, 1988)at ''The New York Times''
at ''The New York Times''
* [https://andscape.com/features/thirty-years-ago-the-nba-lost-ricky-berry-kings-guard-committed-suicide/ 'He was Reggie Miller with a handle': Thirty years ago, the NBA lost Ricky Berry (published August 14, 2019, Mark J. Spears)] @ theundefeated.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Ricky
1964 births
1989 suicides
American men's basketball players
Basketball players at the 1987 Pan American Games
Basketball players from Sacramento, California
Basketball players from Michigan
Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games
Oregon State Beavers men's basketball players
Pan American Games medalists in basketball
Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States
People from Fair Oaks, California
People from Morgan Hill, California
Sacramento Kings draft picks
Sacramento Kings players
San Jose State Spartans men's basketball players
Small forwards
Sportspeople from Lansing, Michigan
Suicides by firearm in California