Earl Cureton
Cureton (left) coaching a 2002 Summer League game
Personal information
Born (1957-09-03) September 3, 1957
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High schoolFinney (Detroit, Michigan)
College
NBA draft1979: 3rd round, 58th overall pick
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
Playing career1980–1997
PositionPower forward / center
Number25, 23, 35
Career history
As player:
1980–1983Philadelphia 76ers
1983Olimpia Milano
1983–1986Detroit Pistons
1986–1987Chicago Bulls
1987–1988Los Angeles Clippers
1988–1989Charlotte Hornets
1989–1990Olimpia Milano
1991Charlotte Hornets
1991New Haven Skyhawks
1991–1992Tours Joué Basket
1993–1994Sioux Falls Skyforce
1994Houston Rockets
1996–1997Toronto Raptors
As coach:
1998Camden Power
2003–2004Long Beach Jam
2004–2005Orange County Crush
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

  • ABA champion (2004)
Career NBA statistics
Points3,620 (5.4 ppg)
Rebounds3,172 (4.7 rpg)
Assists678 (1.0 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Earl Cureton (born September 3, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player. His nickname was "The Twirl".

Amateur career

Cureton played high school basketball at Finney High School in Detroit, and signed to play college basketball with Robert Morris, playing there for one season (1976–77), averaging a double-double of 17.2 ppg and 10.5 rpg, before electing to return home to play for the University of Detroit. Cureton sat out a year with the transfer but paired with future NBA player Terry Duerod to lead the Titans to the 1979 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament, losing to Lamar 95-87 in the first round.[1][2] Detroit finished ranked #20 on the season.[3][4][5] Cureton had a stellar senior season in 1979-80, averaging 19.9 ppg and 9.1 rpg, and was inducted into the Detroit Mercy Titans Hall of Fame in 2007.[6]

Professional career

He was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 3rd round of the 1979 NBA draft (58th overall pick). Cureton would spend three seasons in Philadelphia before returning home, signing with the Detroit Pistons for the 1983-84 Detroit Pistons season, spending the next three seasons with Detroit. He would become a journeyman for the rest of his career, traded to the Chicago Bulls in 1987, and then playing for Los Angeles Clippers (1987–88), Charlotte Hornets (1988–89, 1990–91), Houston Rockets (1993–94) and finally the Toronto Raptors (1996–97). He played 674 NBA regular games and 54 playoff games, averaging 5.4 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 18.4 minutes per game. He won two NBA Championships: with Philadelphia 76ers in the 1982-83 NBA season and with Houston Rockets in the 1993-94 NBA season[7]

Cureton also spent time in the Lega Basket in Italy, the LNB Pro A in France, the Venezuelan SuperLiga, the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional in Mexico, and the Liga Nacional de Básquet in Argentina, retiring at 39 years old from the Toronto Raptors in February 1997.[5]

Post-playing career

Cureton serves as a Community Ambassador for the Detroit Pistons, a position he has held since 2013.[8] This role includes leading Pistons organizational outreach and community partnerships.[9][10]

Before assuming his role with the Pistons, Cureton spent several years coaching in the WNBA, the United States Basketball League and the Continental Basketball Association. Cureton fulfilled a promise to his mother, returning to finish his degree at UD in 2011 and serves as a color analyst for Detroit Mercy Titans ESPN+ and radio broadcasts.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "1978-79 Detroit Titans Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  2. ↑ "1977-78 Detroit Titans Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  3. ↑ Budner, Marty. "U-D to recognize '76-'77 Sweet 16 men's basketball team". Observer and Eccentric Newspapers and Hometown Weeklies.
  4. ↑ Paul, Tony. "Detroit Mercy to honor 'special' '76-77 team, Duerod". The Detroit News.
  5. 1 2 "Earl Cureton Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
  6. ↑ "Earl Cureton (2007) - Detroit Mercy Titans Hall of Fame". University of Detroit Mercy Athletics.
  7. ↑ "Earl Cureton Stats | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2017-01-22.
  8. ↑ "Pistons Legends". Detroit Pistons. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  9. ↑ Stevenson-McGee, Patricia. "Vision To Learn Program Provides 1,000th Pair of Glasses to Detroit Students – Ronald Brown Academy". Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  10. ↑ "Pistons help build new basketball court near Corktown school". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  11. ↑ "Earl Cureton - ESPN3/ESPN+ Analyst - Staff Directory". University of Detroit Mercy Athletics.
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