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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. After his career at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state's ...

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

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

in 2005.

Basketball career

Early years

Ron Mercer was twice named "Mr. Basketball" of Tennessee while at

Goodpasture Christian School This is a list of high schools, either currently open, closed, or planned to open in the future, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Anderson County * Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Clinton * Anderson County High School * Clinton High School ...

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 ...

. He then transferred to Oak Hill Academy in

Mouth of Wilson Mouth of Wilson is an unincorporated community, in Grayson County in the U.S. state of Virginia, just north of the North Carolina state line. The community lies in the Blue Ridge Highlands section of the Blue Ridge Mountains which are part of wha ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

, 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 and all-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

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 The 1997 NBA draft took place on June 25, 1997, at Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Vancouver Grizzlies had the highest probability to win the NBA draft lottery, but since they were an expansion team along with the Toronto ...

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 league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of ...

and was reunited with fellow Kentucky teammate

Antoine Walker Antoine Devon Walker (born August 12, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft out of the University of Kentucky and played in the NBA from 1996 to 2008. Walker ...

, and

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (born September 18, 1952) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach for Iona College. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA ...

, 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 league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

for

Danny Fortson Daniel Anthony Fortson (born March 27, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center position in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1997 to 2007. Early life Although born in P ...

Eric Williams Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) was a Trinidad and Tobago politician who is regarded by some as the "Father of the Nation", having led the then British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to majority rule on 28 October 1 ...

, 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 league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was estab ...

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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on Januar ...

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 Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

, and

Kevin Ollie Kevin Jermaine Ollie (born December 27, 1972) is an American basketball coach and former player. Kevin is the head coach for Overtime Elite, a professional basketball league co-founded by Dan Porter and Zack Weiner for top players between 16 and 2 ...

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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first est ...

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 Wolverines' " Fab Five" (along with Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jim ...

Travis Best Travis Best (born July 12, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player, who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and in Europe. High school career Best attended Springfield Central High School, starring on teams tha ...

, 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 league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

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 Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

Hedo Türkoğlu Hidayet "Hedo" Türkoğlu (; born March 19, 1979) is a Turkish basketball executive and former professional player. A forward, Türkoğlu played for six teams in his 15-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won the NBA ...

. 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. The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, four games to two to win their first NBA championship. Notable occurrences * A new league dr ...

, 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 bec ...

as part of the new labor agreement.

Sexual assault allegation

In 1997, Mercer and fellow former Celtic player

Chauncey Billups Chauncey Ray Billups (born September 25, 1976) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 17 seasons in the NBA. Afte ...

were accused of sexually assaulting a woman at the home of teammate

. 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 a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

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

NBA.com player file
*
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