 Gilliam with the Phoenix Suns in 1987 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1964-05-28)May 28, 1964 Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died | July 5, 2011(2011-07-05) (aged 47) Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 230 lb (104 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Bethel Park (Bethel Park, Pennsylvania) | ||||||||||||||
| College |
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| NBA draft | 1987: 1st round, 2nd overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Drafted by | Phoenix Suns | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1987–2000, 2005–2006 | ||||||||||||||
| Position | Power forward | ||||||||||||||
| Number | 35, 45, 43, 10, 5 | ||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 2000–2005 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| As a player: | |||||||||||||||
| 1987–1989 | Phoenix Suns | ||||||||||||||
| 1989–1991 | Charlotte Hornets | ||||||||||||||
| 1991–1993 | Philadelphia 76ers | ||||||||||||||
| 1993–1996 | New Jersey Nets | ||||||||||||||
| 1996–1999 | Milwaukee Bucks | ||||||||||||||
| 2000 | Utah Jazz | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Pittsburgh Xplosion | ||||||||||||||
| As a coach: | |||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Mt. Lebanon HS (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Penn State McKeesport | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2005 | Penn State Altoona | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NBA statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Points | 12,700 (13.7 ppg) | ||||||||||||||
| Rebounds | 6,401 (6.9 rpg) | ||||||||||||||
| Assists | 1,088 (1.2 apg) | ||||||||||||||
Stats at NBA.com  | |||||||||||||||
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Armen Louis Gilliam (bornArmon Louis Gilliam; May 28, 1964 – July 5, 2011)[1] was an American professionalbasketball player who played 13 years in theNational Basketball Association (NBA) from 1987 to 2000. He also played one season for thePittsburgh Xplosion of theAmerican Basketball Association. Gilliam returned to the court after retirement as the head basketball coach for the(NCAA) Division IIIPenn State Altoona Lions from 2002 to 2005.
Gilliam began his college basketball career in 1982–83 atIndependence Junior College inIndependence, Kansas. That year, Gilliam was a standout player on the basketball team that reached the Junior College Finals and finished sixth in the nation. Gilliam averaged 24.9 points and 14 rebounds in five tournament games and was named to the National Junior college finals all-tournament team.
Gilliam continued his college basketball career with UNLV. Gilliam played for UNLV from 1984 to 1987 and was an integral part of a team that was 93–11 in the three years he played for the Rebels. The UNLV team was ranked number one in the country for most of the three years Gilliam competed and the team made it to the NCAA tournament every year during his stay. In 1987, the team reached theFinal Four and Gilliam was named to the NCAA Final Four all-tournament team. Gilliam scored 998 points in his senior year, which remains a school record for the most points scored in a season by a UNLV player. Gilliam also played on the UNLV team that won 38 games in a season, which is still an NCAA Division 1 record for most wins in a season. In 1987, Gilliam was selected for a number of All-American Teams and voted the top contender for theJohn Wooden award. While at UNLV, teammate Frank James gave him the nickname "The Hammer" after seeing Gilliam's biceps combined with his pounding action under the basket. Gilliam said, "He knew I was from a steel town, too. I think that was a factor." TheLos Angeles Times dismissed the notion that he got the name from a baking powder,Arm & Hammer.[2]
Gilliam was selected to play in the 1986 World Championships. The team fielded college standouts such asDavid Robinson,Kenny Smith,Tommy Amaker,Tom Hammonds,Charles D. Smith andDerrick McKey and coached byLute Olson of Arizona, proceeded to shock the world with its play. The international community did not consider the team a medal-contender, but they advanced to the championship game and competed against the heavily favored Russians for the gold medal; overcoming great odds, they won the tournament.
After graduating from UNLV with a degree in communications, Gilliam was the second pick in the first round of the1987 NBA draft.[3] Gilliam was named to theNBA All-Rookie First Team in 1988 while playing for thePhoenix Suns. He went on to play 13 years in the NBA. Gilliam averaged 20 points and 9 rebounds for theCharlotte Hornets, played three years with thePhiladelphia 76ers, and played three years with theNew Jersey Nets, where he averaged between 12 and 18 points and 6 to 9 rebounds a game. He later played for the Milwaukee Bucks and finally the Utah Jazz.
Gilliam came out of retirement in 2005 to play for thePittsburgh Xplosion of theAmerican Basketball Association (ABA). He averaged 23 points and 9 rebounds per game during the 2005–06 season. Gilliam was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the2006 ABA All-Star Game and named to the All-ABA Second Team.[4]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–88 | Phoenix | 55 | 53 | 32.9 | .475 | .000 | .679 | 7.9 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 14.8 |
| 1988–89 | Phoenix | 74 | 60 | 28.6 | .503 | .000 | .743 | 7.3 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 15.9 |
| 1989–90 | Phoenix | 16 | 7 | 16.7 | .430 | .000 | .696 | 4.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 8.9 |
| 1989–90 | Charlotte | 60 | 59 | 36.0 | .527 | .000 | .727 | 8.8 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 18.8 |
| 1990–91 | Charlotte | 25 | 25 | 38.0 | .513 | .000 | .813 | 9.4 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 19.8 |
| 1990–91 | Philadelphia | 50 | 50 | 33.9 | .470 | .000 | .816 | 7.3 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 15.0 |
| 1991–92 | Philadelphia | 81 | 81 | 34.2 | .511 | .000 | .807 | 8.1 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 16.9 |
| 1992–93 | Philadelphia | 80 | 26 | 21.8 | .464 | .000 | .843 | 5.9 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 12.4 |
| 1993–94 | New Jersey | 82* | 5 | 24.0 | .510 | .000 | .759 | 6.1 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 11.8 |
| 1994–95 | New Jersey | 82* | 30 | 30.1 | .503 | .000 | .770 | 7.5 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 14.8 |
| 1995–96 | New Jersey | 78 | 76 | 36.6 | .474 | .000 | .791 | 9.1 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 18.3 |
| 1996–97 | Milwaukee | 80 | 25 | 25.6 | .471 | .000 | .768 | 6.2 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 8.6 |
| 1997–98 | Milwaukee | 82* | 25 | 25.8 | .484 | .000 | .802 | 5.4 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 11.2 |
| 1998–99 | Milwaukee | 34 | 5 | 19.6 | .453 | .000 | .782 | 3.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 8.3 |
| 1999–00 | Utah | 50 | 0 | 15.6 | .436 | .000 | .779 | 4.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 6.7 |
| Career | 929 | 527 | 28.4 | .489 | .000 | .776 | 6.9 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 13.7 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988–89 | Phoenix | 9 | 0 | 14.0 | .529 | .000 | .864 | 5.0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 8.1 |
| 1990–91 | Philadelphia | 8 | 8 | 35.9 | .462 | .000 | .848 | 6.5 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 16.9 |
| 1993–94 | New Jersey | 4 | 0 | 28.0 | .441 | .000 | .750 | 6.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 10.5 |
| 1998–99 | Milwaukee | 3 | 0 | 11.7 | .400 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 5.7 |
| 1999–00 | Utah | 10 | 0 | 13.2 | .326 | .000 | .385 | 2.9 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 3.5 |
| Career | 34 | 8 | 20.4 | .444 | .000 | .784 | 4.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 8.9 | |
Gilliam began his coaching career in 2000 as a volunteer assistant atMt. Lebanon High School.[4] In 2001, Gilliam was named head coach ofPenn State McKeesport's men's basketball team, which played at thejunior college level.[5] In his first year as a head coach, he helped lead the team to a regular season record of 12–7. The team played well in the playoffs and reached the conference finals. The next year Gilliam accepted the Head Men's coaching position atPenn State Altoona, where he coached from 2002 to 2005.[6] He had a couple of unsuccessful seasons as their head coach.
Among other awards Gilliam was inducted into the Bethel Park Hall of Fame for the Sport of Basketball in 1997 and the UNLV Hall of Fame in 1998. He was selected to the Division 1 All- American Team in 1987 and was a finalist for the John Wooden award the same year. He was honored in 1996 for scoring 10,000 points during his NBA career. In November 2007, his college jersey (#35) was retired at half-time of the UNLV vs. Washburn University game in Las Vegas.[citation needed]
Towards the end of his NBA career he altered the spelling of his first name from "Armon" to "Armen" because he was tired of it continually being mispronounced. At the time, he was quoted as saying: "Most people pronounced it Ar-MON. I've been correcting people so long that I got tired of it. I just thought that if I put the 'e' in there, it would make it a lot easier to pronounce. I'm not Muslim. It's not religious or anything like that."[7]
Gilliam collapsed during a basketball game at theLA Fitness gym in the Pittsburgh suburb ofBridgeville, Pennsylvania, on the evening of July 5, 2011.[6] He was rushed to St. Clair Hospital in nearbyMt. Lebanon, where he was pronounced dead of aheart attack.[8] He is survived by his three children, Jeremiah Gilliam, Joshua Gilliam, and Cheryl Gilliam.[9][10]
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