Zach Randolph

Position	Power forward
Nickname	Z-Bo
League	NBA
Height	ft  in ( m)
Weight	lb ( kg)
Team	New York Knicks
Nationality	USA
Born	July 16 1981 (1981--) (age 26) Marion, Indiana
High school	Marion High School
College	Michigan State
Draft	19th overall, 2001 Portland Trail Blazers
Pro career	2001–present
Former teams	Portland Trail Blazers (2001–2007)
Awards	2003-04 NBA Most Improved Player

Zach Randolph (born July 16, 1981 in Marion, Indiana) is an American professional basketball player currently with the New York Knicks of the NBA.

High school career

Randolph grew up in Marion, Indiana and attended Marion High School, where his coach was Moe Smedley. Zach was mentored by Craig Moore, a teacher at Marion, since he was 12, they are still great friends today. As a sophomore, he helped lead the Marion Giants to the class 4A championship game. During his junior year he was suspended for the last part of the season after selling a stolen gun. As a senior, he again led his team to the state championship game in which Marion High School won its seventh state basketball championship. He finished second in Indiana's 'Mr. Basketball' voting that year, closely behind Jared Jeffries, who coincidentally played for the team that the Giants beat in the state championship game that year.

College career

As a high school senior, Randolph agreed to attend and play basketball for the Michigan State University Spartans, coached by Tom Izzo. His teammates at MSU included Jason Richardson and Charlie Bell. After his freshman season, he decided that he was ready to go professional and entered the 2001 NBA Draft.

NBA career

Portland

He was drafted by the Blazers in the first round (19th overall) in 2001. He plays the power forward position. In 2004 he won the NBA's Most Improved Player award, after which he signed a 6-year, 84-million dollar deal with the Blazers. Randolph has averaged 23.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game in the 2006-07 season, which was cut short in March due to a hand injury. In what would turn out to be his final game as a Trail Blazer he had 43 points and 17 rebounds.

Randolph's tenure has been somewhat controversial, in part due to the Trail Blazers' past history with players having off-the-court issues. He was cited for underage drinking the summer after his rookie year while back home in Marion and had to pay an undisclosed fine. He punched teammate Ruben Patterson in the face during a practice scuffle in 2003, an act which earned him a two-game suspension.^[1] On June 8, 2006, Randolph ran into further legal trouble when two vehicles, both registered in his name, were pulled over by the Portland Police for racing in a 20 mph speed zone.^[2] In August 2006, a sexual assault complaint was filed with Portland police over an incident with a stripper; after a month-long investigation, the Multnomah County district attorney declined to prosecute Randolph, citing lack of evidence.^[3] Randolph is facing a civil suit related to that case.

New York

On June 28, 2007, Randolph, along with Dan Dickau, Fred Jones and draft rights to Demetris Nichols, were traded to the Knicks in a draft day deal for Steve Francis, Channing Frye, and a 2008 2nd round draft pick.^[4] On July 2, 2007, Randolph was introduced at a press conference in New York^[5], where he revealed he will wear the jersey #50.

References

External links

• Profile at NBA.com
• Zach Randolph at ESPN.com
• Profile at ArmchairGM.com
• Blazersclips.com Zach Randolph highlights
• A Chance to Steady an Up-and-Down Life
• Zach the Gym Rat

Preceded by Gilbert Arenas	NBA Most Improved Player 2003-04	Succeeded by Bobby Simmons

•  • [ e] 2001 NBA Draft
First Round Kwame Brown • Tyson Chandler • Pau Gasol • Eddy Curry • Jason Richardson • Shane Battier • Eddie Griffin • DeSagana Diop • Rodney White • Joe Johnson • Kedrick Brown • Vladimir Radmanović • Richard Jefferson • Troy Murphy • Steven Hunter • Kirk Haston • Michael Bradley • Jason Collins • Zach Randolph • Brendan Haywood • Joseph Forte • Jeryl Sasser • Brandon Armstrong • Ral Lpez • Gerald Wallace • Samuel Dalembert • Jamaal Tinsley • Tony Parker
Second Round Trenton Hassell • Gilbert Arenas • Omar Cook • Will Solomon • Terence Morris • Brian Scalabrine • Jeff Trepagnier • Damone Brown • Mehmet Okur • Michael Wright • Earl Watson • Jamison Brewer • Bobby Simmons • Eric Chenowith • Kyle Hill • Sean Lampley • Loren Woods • Ousmane Cisse • Antonis Fotsis • Ken Johnson • Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje • Alton Ford • Andre Huston • Jarron Collins • Kenny Satterfield • Maurice Jeffers • Robertas Javtokas • Alvin Jones • Bryan Bracey