Ronald Eugene Mercer (born May 18, 1976) 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. After his career at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

, Mercer played for several teams 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); he ended his career with the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

in 2005.

Basketball career

Early years

Ron Mercer was twice named "Mr. Basketball" of Tennessee while at Goodpasture Christian School in

Madison, Tennessee Madison (originally Madison Station) is a former settlement, now a suburban neighborhood of northeast Nashville, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is incorporated as part of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. The po ...

. He then transferred to Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, and was rated by Bob Gibbons to be the best prep player of the class of 1995.

University of Kentucky

Mercer had a very successful collegiate career, having been an

All-American 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 ...

and all-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

player at Kentucky, and part of a national championship team his freshman year.Ex-NBA player Mercer allegedly involved in strip club fight
updated July 26, 2007

NBA

Boston Celtics

Mercer was selected with the sixth overall pick of the 1997 NBA draft by 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), ...

and was reunited with fellow Kentucky teammate Antoine Walker, and

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...

, his coach at Kentucky who had just become the coach of the Celtics. Prior to Mercer's drafting, Pitino was recorded as saying that he did not envisage Mercer as having the necessary talent to be selected very high. Some felt this was just a ploy to scare the other teams away from him so as to increase the likelihood of Mercer being available by the time the Celtics got an opportunity to make their draft selection. It turned out it was.

Denver Nuggets and Orlando Magic

After two seasons in Boston, Mercer was traded by the Celtics along with Popeye Jones and Dwayne Schintzius 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 Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

for Danny Fortson,

Eric Williams Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) was a Trinidad and Tobago politician. He has been dubbed as the " Father of the Nation", having led the then-British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to majority rule on 28 October 1956, ...

, Eric Washington, and a future draft choice. He played 37 games for Denver in 1999–2000, then played the final 31 games that season with the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

due to a trade.

Chicago Bulls

Mercer left after that season, signing as a free agent with 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 ...

the next year. He averaged 19.7 points per game in his first year with them. This was Mercer's career high in points per game and was the second leading scorer on the team.

Indiana Pacers

Despite Mercer's 16.8 points per game in 2001–02, he was traded midway through the season alongside Brad Miller,

Ron Artest Metta Sandiford-Artest (born Ronald William Artest Jr., November 13, 1979), previously legally named Metta World Peace, is an American former professional basketball player who played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Un ...

, and Kevin Ollie to the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

for

Jalen Rose Jalen Anthony Rose (born January 30, 1973) is an American sports analyst and former professional basketball player. In college, he was a member of the University of Michigan Michigan Wolverines, Wolverines' "Fab Five (University of Michigan), Fa ...

, Travis Best, Norman Richardson, and a second-round draft pick. In Indiana, he served merely as a reserve player and his play declined rapidly over his one-and-a-half-season stint with the club.

San Antonio Spurs

Before the 2003–04 season, Mercer was traded to 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 a three-team trade that again involved Brad Miller and 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 ...

' Hedo Türkoğlu. After playing 39 games with the Spurs, he was released.

New Jersey Nets

Prior to the 2004–05 season, Mercer signed with his seventh NBA team, the

. On August 15, 2005, prior to the

2005–06 NBA season The 2005–06 NBA season was the 60th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, four games to two, to win their first NBA championship. This marked that it was the final ...

, he was waived by the Nets to avoid the league's

luxury tax A luxury tax is a tax on luxury goods: products not considered essential. A luxury tax may be modeled after a sales tax or VAT, charged as a percentage on all items of particular classes, except that it mainly directly affects the wealthy be ...

as part of the new labor agreement.

Sexual assault allegation

In 1997, Mercer and fellow former Celtic player Chauncey Billups were accused of sexually assaulting a woman at the home of teammate Antoine Walker. According to a civil suit, Billups, Mercer, and Walker's roommate Michael Irvin assaulted the woman at Walker's condo after leaving a Boston comedy club on November 9, 1997. A medical examination on the following day revealed injuries consistent with the victim's testimony. No criminal charges were filed, but Billups and Mercer settled a

civil suit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. T ...

in 2000.Murphy, Shelley (October 6, 1999). "Renewed suit: Walker failed to stop rape". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.

References

External links

* *
ESPN player card
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercer, Ron 1976 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Nashville, Tennessee Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics players Chicago Bulls players Denver Nuggets players Indiana Pacers players Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans New Jersey Nets players Orlando Magic players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) San Antonio Spurs players Shooting guards Small forwards