Tony Lorenzo Delk (born January 28, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player and college assistant coach. He last served as an assistant coach for the New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team. During his playing days, he was team leader of the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

team that won the 1996 NCAA Championship Game. After college, he played for eight

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) teams over 10 seasons.

High school

Delk attended Haywood Junior High School and Haywood High School in

Brownsville, Tennessee Brownsville is a city in and the county seat of Haywood County, Tennessee, United States. Its population as of the 2020 census was 9,788. The city is named after General Jacob Jennings Brown, an American officer of the War of 1812. History Brow ...

. During his 1992 senior year of

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, Delk was named "Mr. Basketball" in the state of

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

( TSSAA Class 3A Mr.Basketball 1992) and also to the ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

'' and McDonald's All-American Teams.

College career

As a sophomore at Kentucky, Delk was voted All- SEC 2nd Team by the coaches and All-SEC 3rd Team by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

, while also making the All-SEC Tournament Team for his outstanding play. Delk was named to the All-SEC 1st and All-NCAA Regional teams during the 1994–95 season. In the 1995–96 season, Delk was named to the

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n and All-SEC first teams and was named

NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player The Most Outstanding Player (MOP) is awarded to one player after the conclusion of the championship game of the NCAA Division I NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, men's and NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, women's basketb ...

. He also received SEC Player of the Year honors during the season. Delk joined

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was founded on November 17, 1911 at Howard University. Omega Psi Phi is a founding member of ...

Fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

while at Kentucky.

College statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1992–93 , style="text-align:left;",

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, 30 , , , , 9.6 , , .452 , , .353 , , .727 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , .6 , , .1 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1993–94 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 34 , , 28.1 , , .455 , , .374 , , .639 , , 4.5 , , 1.7 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , 16.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1994–95 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 32 , , 29.1 , , .478 , , .391 , , .674 , , 3.3 , , 2.0 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , 16.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1995–96 , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , , , 26.3 , , .494 , , .443 , , .800 , , 4.2 , , 1.8 , , 1.9 , , .4 , , 17.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 133 , , 66 , , 23.7 , , .474 , , .397 , , .709 , , 3.5 , , 1.6 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , 14.2

Playing career

Tony Delk was picked 16th overall in the 1996 NBA draft by the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

. He was traded by the Hornets along with

Muggsy Bogues Tyrone Curtis "Muggsy" Bogues (born January 9, 1965) is an American former basketball player. The shortest player ever to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Bogues played point guard for four teams during his 14-season care ...

to 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 ...

for B. J. Armstrong on November 7, 1997, where he played for two seasons before signing with 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

on August 16, 1999. He appeared in 46 games in 1999-00, subsequently joining the

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

on August 1, 2000. In a January 2, 2001,

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

game against the Kings, he scored a career-high 53 points on 20-for-27 field goal shooting. This was the only game of Delk's career in which he scored 30 or more points. Delk was eventually dealt with Rodney Rogers to the Celtics, for Joe Johnson,

Milt Palacio Milton Sigmund Palacio (born February 7, 1978) is a Belizean American professional basketball coach and former player. Early life Palacio, a Belizean citizen, was born and raised in Los Angeles, California by Belizean parents. College career P ...

, and Randy Brown. On October 20, 2003, Delk was traded to the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

, along with Antoine Walker for Chris Mills,

Jiří Welsch Jiří Welsch () (born 27 January 1980) is a Czech former professional basketball player for BK Pardubice of the Czech Republic National Basketball League (Czech Republic), National Basketball League. He has also represented the senior Czech Rep ...

Raef LaFrentz Raef Andrew LaFrentz (born May 29, 1976) is an American former professional basketball Power forward (basketball), power forward and Center (basketball), center who played for the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics, and Portland Tra ...

, and a 2004 first-round pick. After a year with the Mavericks, Delk and Walker were again traded, in a deal for

Jason Terry Jason Eugene Terry (born September 15, 1977) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 19 seasons in the NBA as a combo guar ...

and Alan Henderson. Delk lasted one and a half seasons with the Hawks before being waived on February 25, 2006, signing with the

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

on March 1, where he backed up point guard Chauncey Billups. Delk finished his NBA career with averages of 9.1 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 1.9 APG as he, in August 2006, signed a contract with the Greek basketball team, Panathinaikos, in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. He won the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

, the

Greek Championship The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repl ...

and the European Championship with Panathinaikos, but was released in May 2007, citing compatibility issues. He announced his retirement from professional basketball in November 2007. In 2008, nonetheless, he played three games for the Gigantes de Carolina in the BSN, the professional basketball league of

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. He retired, once again, and served as a technical assistant with the same team.

Coaching career

On April 16, 2009, it was announced that Delk would be returning to his alma mater along with his former college teammate Scott Padgett to serve on coach

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...

's staff at the University of Kentucky. In July 2011, the New Mexico State Aggies basketball team hired him as an assistant coach to Marvin Menzies. In June 2013, Delk left the New Mexico State staff to pursue other opportunities closer to his family in Atlanta.

Broadcasting career

In October 2014, the

SEC Network SEC Network (SECN) is an American multinational sports network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications (which hold ...

announced Delk had been hired as an in-studio analyst and announcer for the upcoming college basketball season.

Personal life

Tony Delk is the president of the Taylor Delk Sickle Cell Foundation. The foundation is named after his daughter, who has

sickle cell disease Sickle cell disease (SCD), also simply called sickle cell, is a group of inherited Hemoglobinopathy, haemoglobin-related blood disorders. The most common type is known as sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell anemia results in an abnormality in the ...

. Delk divorced from his former wife, Margie Delk, in 2007.

References

External links

Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association "Mr. Basketball" List

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delk, Tony 1974 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Greece American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Baloncesto Superior Nacional players Basketball coaches from Tennessee Basketball players from Tennessee Boston Celtics players Charlotte Hornets draft picks Charlotte Hornets players Dallas Mavericks players Detroit Pistons players Golden State Warriors players Greek Basket League players Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball coaches Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball coaches Panathinaikos B.C. players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Brownsville, Tennessee People from Covington, Tennessee Sportspeople from Tipton County, Tennessee Phoenix Suns players Sacramento Kings players Shooting guards 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen Gigantes de Carolina (men's basketball) players