Scotty Thurman (born November 10, 1974) 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 and current assistant

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, perhaps best known as the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

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who hit the high-arcing go-ahead

three-pointer A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two p ...

with 50.7 seconds left in the 1994 NCAA basketball championship game, helping to secure Arkansas' only national title to date in a 76–72 victory over the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

. That shot is referred to as the "Shot heard 'round Arkansas".

College career

Thurman was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team in 1993, and was First Team All-SEC in 1994 and 1995. He also received some All-American recognition from the Associated Press and the Basketball Times in 1994 and 1995. Most Razorback fans consider him to be one of the greatest players in school history. His nickname was the "Ruston Rifle", making reference to Thurman's hometown, and his shooting prowess. After leading Arkansas to the National Championship game in 1995, Thurman, along with teammate and future

NBA 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 ...

player

Corliss Williamson Corliss Mondari Williamson (born December 4, 1973) is an American basketball coach who serves as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also a former player who played for four teams ...

, left college early to make himself available for the

1995 NBA draft The 1995 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1995, at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It marked the first NBA draft to be held outside the United States and was the first draft for the two Canadian expansion teams that were added for 1995–96 ...

. His agent and coach had told him that he would be a first-round pick, and many fans and analysts agreed with this; surprisingly, he was not drafted. He tried out unsuccessfully 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 ...

before settling with the CBA's Shreveport Storm (now defunct) in 1995–96.

Professional career

While not making the

, Thurman played pro basketball in foreign countries including

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

, and played for the

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's professional Arkansas RimRockers in their inaugural season. In 2005, Thurman was with Fastlink of the

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

ian basketball league. Prior to that, he was signed with Riyadi Beirut of the Lebanese league.

Coaching career

Thurman developed a business career with Russ Phillips. He was the director of real estate for Cypress Properties, Inc., in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

. Thurman was named the Director of Student-Athlete Development for men's basketball at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

, and was also the color analyst for the radio broadcasts of Razorback games. In April 2016, Thurman was named an assistant head coach for the Razorbacks by head coach Mike Anderson. Anderson was fired by the university after the 2018–19 season, and Thurman was not retained by the new head coach,

Eric Musselman Eric Musselman (born November 19, 1964) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach at the University of Southern California. He is the former head coach at the University of Arkansas, University of Nevada, Reno, the ...

References

External links

Eurobasket.com Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thurman, Scotty 1974 births Living people Al Riyadi Club Beirut basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Cyprus American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Jordan American expatriate basketball people in Lebanon American expatriate basketball people in North Macedonia American men's basketball players APOEL B.C. players Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball coaches Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball players Arkansas RimRockers players Basketball coaches from Louisiana Basketball players from Louisiana Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games Dafnis B.C. players Goodwill Games medalists in basketball Keravnos B.C. players Sagesse SC (basketball) players Shooting guards Shreveport Storm players Sioux Falls Skyforce (CBA) players Small forwards Sportspeople from Ruston, Louisiana Zain Club basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen