Shawn Christopher Respert (born February 6, 1972) is 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and former player. He attended Bishop Borgess High School, and he came to prominence while playing

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

. He played professionally 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) for four seasons from 1995 to 1999. He was inducted into the

Michigan Sports Hall of Fame The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame to honor Michigan sports athletes, coaches and contributors. It was organized in 1954 by Michigan Lieutenant Governor Philip Hart, Michigan State University athletic director, Biggie Munn, pres ...

in October 2024.

College career

Respert was a standout at

. He and point guard Eric Snow combined to form one of the nation's most prolific backcourt tandems for head coach

Jud Heathcote George Melvin "Jud" Heathcote (May 27, 1927 – August 28, 2017) was an American basketball player and coach. He was a college basketball head coach for 24 seasons: five at the Montana Grizzlies basketball, University of Montana and nineteen ...

's Spartans. Respert was the team's leading scorer all four seasons at Michigan State and finished his career second all-time in scoring among Big Ten players with 2,531 points (trailing only Calbert Cheaney) and first in

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

games with 1,545 games played. He capped a brilliant career by being named a unanimous first team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year and Sporting News and NABC National Player of the Year with a 25.6 scoring average during his 1994–95 senior season. He left

East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, although a small portion extends north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

as the Spartans all-time leading scorer and began the tradition of out-going seniors kissing the logo at center court during their final home game.

College statistics

, - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" ,

, 1 , , - , , 3.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" ,

, 30 , , 30 , , 31.8 , , .503 , , .455 , , .872 , , 2.1 , , 2.1 , , 1.1 , , 0.1 , , 15.8 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

, 28 , , 28 , , 34.3 , , .481 , , .429 , , .856 , , 4.0 , , 2.6 , , 0.9 , , 0.2 , , 20.1 , - , align="left" , 1993–94 , align="left" ,

, 32 , , 31 , , 33.6 , , .484 , , .449 , , .840 , , 4.0 , , 2.5 , , 1.3 , , 0.2 , , 24.3 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

, 28 , , 28 , , 33.6 , , .473 , , .474 , , .869 , , 4.0 , , 3.0 , , 1.4 , , 0.0 , , 25.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 119 , , 117 , , 33.0 , , .484 , , .454 , , .857 , , 3.5 , , 2.5 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 21.3

Professional career

Respert was selected by the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

in the 1st round, with the 8th overall pick, of 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 ...

. The Blazers traded his NBA rights to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

for the rights to

Gary Trent Gary Dajaun Trent Sr. (born September 22, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. He is the father of current basketball player Gary Trent Jr. Early life Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Trent played his high school ba ...

and a first-round pick. Respert was traded to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in his second year, where he scored 5.6 points a game. He next played briefly in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

the next season and then had a second stint with the Raptors. Respert finished his career in Phoenix during the 1998–99 season. He was under contract with

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

for a brief period in October 2000 but was waived before playing in any NBA games for them. In his NBA career, Respert played in 172 games and scored a total of 851 points on averages of 4.9 points in 13.7 minutes per game. He played professionally in Italy for Adecco Milano (1999–2000) and Fillattice Imola (2001–2002). He also played in Poland for Spójnia Stargard Szczeciński (2002–2003). Respert had

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...

but did not admit it until 2005. He started being bothered with stomach cramps towards the end of his rookie season. He noticed a lump below his belly button even after changing his diet. Respert was diagnosed with cancer after undergoing a series of tests at Milwaukee's St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in May 1996. After confirmation through a second opinion, he underwent daily radiation therapy for three consecutive months, losing twenty pounds in the process. The only people who knew about this treatment were the Bucks' trainers, doctors, his coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr. and Michigan State backcourt partner Eric Snow. He only told a select few; not even his family and girlfriend knew, because "people don't want to hear excuses in pro sports, even if the excuse is cancer."

NBA career statistics

, - , align="left" , 1995–96 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 62 , , 0 , , 13.6 , , .387 , , .344 , , .833 , , 1.2 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 4.9 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" ,

, 14 , , 0 , , 5.9 , , .316 , , .111 , , 1.000 , , 0.5 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.4 , - , align="left" , 1996–97 , align="left" ,

, 27 , , 0 , , 15.3 , , .442 , , .396 , , .844 , , 1.2 , , 1.2 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 5.6 , - , align="left" , 1997–98 , align="left" ,

, 47 , , 4 , , 14.8 , , .450 , , .373 , , .815 , , 1.6 , , 0.9 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 5.5 , - , align="left" , 1997–98 , align="left" ,

, 10 , , 0 , , 21.5 , , .429 , , .231 , , .571 , , 2.7 , , 1.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 8.2 , - , align="left" , 1998–99 , align="left" , Phoenix , 12 , , 1 , , 8.3 , , .361 , , .308 , , .700 , , 1.1 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 3.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 172 , , 5 , , 13.7 , , .414 , , .340 , , .816 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 4.9

Coaching career

Respert became a volunteer coach at Prairie View A&M in Texas in 2004. In early 2005, he was hired to be director of basketball operations at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

for 2 years. He then spent two years as the director of player development of the NBA's minor league, the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. In September 2008, he was hired by the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

as the director of player programs. On December 6, 2011, Respert was hired by the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

as a player development coach. He was named an assistant coach by the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

in September 2013. Respert then moved to 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 ...

as a director of player development in 2018. His tenure with the Bulls lasted until the end of the 2019–20 season when his contract expired.

Notes

* Respert's listed height has ranged from to .

References

External links

TheDraftReview.com - Respert's NBA Draft History Page

Article on Respert's struggle with stomach cancer
– college basketball player statistics at

Sports Reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Respert, Shawn 1972 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Poland American men's basketball players Andrea Costa Imola players Basketball coaches from Michigan Basketball players from Detroit Bishop Borgess High School alumni Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games Dallas Mavericks players Goodwill Games medalists in basketball Greek Basket League players Memphis Grizzlies assistant coaches Michigan State Spartans men's basketball players Milwaukee Bucks players Near East B.C. players Olimpia Milano players Phoenix Suns players Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Shooting guards Spójnia Stargard players Toronto Raptors players FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Summer World University Games medalists in basketball