Ricky Alan Berry (October 6, 1964 – August 14, 1989) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Sacramento Kings.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | October 6, 1964 Lansing, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died | August 14, 1989 (aged 24) Carmichael, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Live Oak (Morgan Hill, California) | ||||||||||||||
| College |
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| NBA draft | 1988: 1st round, 18th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Sacramento Kings | |||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1988–1989 | ||||||||||||||
| Position | Small forward | ||||||||||||||
| Number | 34 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | Sacramento Kings | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Stats at NBA.com | |||||||||||||||
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Early life
editBerry was born in Lansing, Michigan in 1964, when his father Bill Berry was a student-athlete at Michigan State University. The Berry family moved to the Sacramento, California area in 1966 when Bill Berry became head coach at a local high school and later Cosumnes River Junior College.[1][2] Berry attended Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, California, when his father became head coach at San Jose State in 1979.[3]
Basketball career
editBerry was 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) and played small forward. After graduating from high school, he played for Oregon State in the 1983–84 season, and then transferred to San Jose State in 1984 to play under his father Bill Berry. After sitting out one year per transfer rules, Berry played for the San Jose State Spartans from 1985 to 1988. Berry was selected 18th overall in the 1988 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings and had a solid rookie season, averaging 11.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists while shooting 40.6 percent from three-point range.
Berry is one of only three former San Jose State players to have his jersey retired, when San Jose State retired his number 34 jersey.
Personal life
editBerry was married and had a son.[4] Friends of his believed that Berry suffered from stress because of his marriage and he also engaged in infidelity.[4] Berry had a strained relationship with his parents who only lived two hours away when he was playing in Sacramento; he eloped without the approval of his parents and his mother did not like his wife.[4]
Death
editOn August 14, 1989, Berry was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot at his home in Carmichael, California.[4] It was alleged that he had been involved in a heated argument with his wife the previous night.[4] Berry had showed no signs of depression but left a suicide note in which he reportedly wrote that his wife did not love him and was taking advantage of him.[5][6]
Career statistics
edit| 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 |
NBA
editSource[7]
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988–89 | Sacramento | 64 | 21 | 22.0 | .450 | .406 | .789 | 3.1 | 1.3 | .6 | .3 | 11.0 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Bill Berry". NBA. 2002. Archived from the original on February 13, 2005.
- ^ Davidson, Joe (August 14, 2009). "Grief remains 20 years after Ricky Berry suicide". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on August 17, 2009.
- ^ Geissinger, Steve (August 20, 1989). "What demons drove Kings' Ricky Berry to commit suicide?". Deseret News. Associated Press via Deseret News. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Spears, Marc J. (August 14, 2019). "'He was Reggie Miller with a handle': Thirty years ago, the NBA lost Ricky Berry". Andscape. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
- ^ Norwood, Robyn; Evans, Clay (August 15, 1989). "Ricky Berry Is Apparent Suicide Victim : Sacramento Kings' Top Pick in 1988 Found Dead of Gunshot Wound". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- ^ McNeal, Martin (August 19, 1990). "Ricky Berry's Suicide Still a Mystery". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- ^ "Ricky Berry". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
External links
edit- Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference
- Article about Ricky Berry's NBA signing (published August 3, 1988) at The New York Times
- Article about Berry's suicide (published August 15, 1989) at The New York Times