Shaun Steven Pruitt (born November 22, 1985) 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. He played

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for the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Unive ...

before going undrafted in the 2008 NBA draft.

High school career

Pruitt attended Providence St. Mel School in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

as a freshman in 2000–01 where he was a member of a 23-7 super-sectional team, before transferring to

West Aurora High School West Aurora High School, or WAHS, is a public four-year high school located in Aurora, Illinois. It is part of West Aurora Public School District 129. The school is also referred to as "West," and "West High,". History High school classes w ...

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located primarily in DuPage and Kane counties, it is the second most populous city in Illinois, af ...

for his sophomore year. As a sophomore in 2001–02, he missed much of the season with a broken right foot. He still managed 17 games with averages of 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. As a junior in 2002–03, he again missed time with a broken ankle, managing just eight games with averages of 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. On November 12, 2003, Pruitt signed a

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to play

for the

. As a senior in 2003–04, Pruitt led West Aurora to tie a school record with 32 wins and a third-place finish at the Class AA state tournament, averaging 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, four blocks, two assists and two steals per game. He captured DuPage Valley Conference MVP honors after leading his team to a third consecutive 14-0 conference record, 45 consecutive conference wins and fifth-straight conference championship overall. He was also named first-team All-State by the Associated Press, IBCA and Chicago Tribune, Aurora Beacon News Player of the Year, and second-team All-State by the Chicago Sun-Times.

College career

Freshman year

In the 2004–05 season, Pruitt played in 21 games for

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

while averaging 1.4 points per game and totalling 19 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 block in helping the Illini go 37-2, and make it to the NCAA Championship game against the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which r ...

where they lost. Pruitt played with several future NBA players during his freshman season such as Deron Williams and

Luther Head Luther Dale Head (born November 26, 1982) is a former American professional basketball player. High school Head attended Chicago's Manley Academy where he averaged over 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds per game as a junior. Those ...

who were both first round draft picks.

Sophomore year

In the 2005–06 season, Pruitt moved into the starting line-up and started all 33 games while averaging 6.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in helping the Illini go 26-7 as a sophomore. He scored in double figures six times as he was one of Illinois' most improved players.

Junior year

In the 2006–07 season, Pruitt started all 35 games while averaging 11.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in helping the Illini go 23-12 as a junior. He had a career best game against

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...

with 16 points and 12 rebounds. He subsequently earned third-team All-Big Ten honors from league coaches and media.

Senior year

In the 2007–08 season, Pruitt started 33 out of 34 games while averaging 12.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and shot a career best 56% from the free-throw line while leading the Illini to a 16-19 finish as a senior. He was a third-team All-Big Ten selection by media and honorable mention All-Big Ten by league coaches. He finished his four-year career with 1,058 points, 697 rebounds, 52 blocks, 49 assists and 42 steals.

Professional career

2008–09 season

After going undrafted in the 2008 NBA draft, Pruitt joined the

New Orleans Hornets 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 ...

for the 2008

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups ...

. In August 2008, he signed with

Prostějov Prostějov (; german: Proßnitz) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 43,000 inhabitants. The city is known for its fashion industry. The historical city centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban m ...

of the Czech Republic for the 2008–09 season. In February 2009, he left Prostějov and signed with

Ventspils Ventspils (; german: Windau, ; see #Other names, other names) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population ...

of Latvia for the rest of the season. However, he left Ventspils in March after just one game and signed with Fujian Xunxing for the rest of the 2008–09 CBA season.

2009–10 season

On September 21, 2009, Pruitt signed with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. However, he was later waived by the Warriors on October 21, 2009. A week later, he signed with

Peristeri Peristeri (Greek: Περιστέρι, meaning "pigeon/dove" in Greek) is a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. With 139,981 inhabitants (2011 census), it is the seventh-largest municipality of Greece by ...

of Greece for the 2009–10 season. However, he was later released by Peristeri on December 2, 2009 after managing just two games. In February 2010, Pruitt signed with

Gallitos de Isabela Gallitos de Isabela is a professional basketball team based in Isabela, Puerto Rico. They play their home games at the José Abreu Coliseum. History In 1984, the Gallitos reached the BSN Finals, during that year known, due to a scandal concern ...

for the 2010 BSN season. On May 9, 2010, he was released by Gallitos but later returned to the team for the final two games of the season on May 28 and May 30.

2010–11 season

In July 2010, Pruitt joined the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Pacific Division (NBA), P ...

for the 2010 NBA Summer League. On September 5, 2010, he signed a one-year deal with

Cedevita Zagreb Košarkaški klub Cedevita Junior ( en, Cedevita Junior Basketball Club), also known as Cedevita Junior, is a men's basketball club based in Zagreb, Croatia. The club is named after its main sponsor Cedevita, and competes in the Croatian HT ...

of the

A-1 Liga The Hrvatski Telekom Premijer liga ( en, Hrvatski Telekom Premier League, ), also known as HT Premijer liga or simply Premijer liga, is the first tier level men's professional basketball league in Croatia. It began in 1991, following the breakup ...

. However, he was later released by the club on September 16, 2010 after he failed the club's medical exam. In March 2011, Pruitt signed with Mets de Guaynabo for the 2011 BSN season.

2011–12 season

On July 12, 2011, Pruitt signed with Halcones Rojos Veracruz of Mexico for the 2011–12 season. He left Halcones in November 2011 after just nine games. On December 9, 2011, he signed with the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

. However, he was later waived by the Timberwolves four days later. On February 14, 2012, Pruitt signed with Trotamundos de Carabobo for the 2012 LPB season.

2012–13 season

In July 2012, Pruitt signed with Titanes Del Distrito Nacional for the 2012 LNB season. He was later released by Titanes on August 22, 2012 in favor of Ryan Humphrey. On January 30, 2013, Pruitt signed with Club Atlético Aguada of Uruguay for the rest of the 2012–13 season. He was later released in February 2013 after just three games. In March 2013, he signed with Mets de Guaynabo for a second stint, but was later released in April 2013 before playing for them.

2013–14 season

On January 8, 2014, Pruitt signed with Marinos de Anzoátegui for the 2014 LPB season.

2014–15 season

On November 1, 2014, Pruitt was selected by the

Grand Rapids Drive The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anaheim ...

in the third round of the 2014 NBA Development League Draft. However, he was later waived by Grand Rapids on November 13, 2014.

Personal

Pruitt is the son Steve and Debra Pruitt. His father played college basketball for

Olive–Harvey College Olive–Harvey College is a community college on Chicago's far South Side located at 10001 S. Woodlawn Avenue, and is a part of the City Colleges of Chicago, the largest community college system in Illinois and one of the largest in the nation. ...

References

External links