Tellis Joseph Frank Jr. (born April 26, 1965) 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 former assistant coach for the

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Dream compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded for the ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA). At and he played as a

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

High school & college career

Frank is a 1983 graduate of

Lew Wallace High School Lew Wallace High School was a four-year (9-12) public high school of the Gary Community School Corporation in Gary, Indiana, United States. Staff The faculty included nearly 65 teachers. History In 1926 the 45th Avenue School of Gary, Indi ...

(

Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...

). He played college basketball for

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

from 1983 to 1987. At Western Kentucky, Frank was a key player in the resurgence of the basketball program. He led the team to its first

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

basketball championship, a top ten national ranking, a 2nd-place finish in the pre-season NIT, and back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances.

Professional career

Frank was selected by 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 Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

in the first round (14th overall pick) of the

1987 NBA draft The 1987 NBA draft was held on June 22, 1987, in New York City. This draft included two future members of the NBA 50 Greatest Players list, David Robinson and Scottie Pippen, as well as fellow Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, who was named to t ...

. He played for the Warriors (1987–1989),

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

(1989–1990) and

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 ...

(1991–1992, 1993–1994) during his five-year NBA career, averaging 6.5

points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player or team per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of poi ...

. He was briefly signed by

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

in 1995, but did not play in any NBA games for the club. He also played in Italy, for Phonola Caserta (1990–1993, won the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

in 1991), Scandone Avellino ( Serie A2, 1998–1999), Basket Livorno (Serie A2, 1999–2000) and Longobardi Scafati (Serie A2, 2000–2001). He also played in the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

with three teams in as many years.

References

External links

NBA playing history for Frank

Serie A profile
Retrieved 11 August 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Frank, Tellis 1965 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players American women's basketball coaches Atlanta Dream coaches Baloncesto León players Basket Livorno players Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Gary, Indiana Bàsquet Manresa players Real Betis Baloncesto players Cholet Basket players Golden State Warriors draft picks Golden State Warriors players Juvecaserta Basket players Lega Basket Serie A players Liga ACB players Miami Heat players Minnesota Timberwolves players Power forwards S.S. Felice Scandone players Sportspeople from Gary, Indiana Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball players