Big East All-Time NBA, Doug Ferguson, Uncategorized

TOP 25 BIG EAST NBA PLAYERS: #19 ‘SLEEPY’ FLOYD

In the next two months NBE’s ‘The Association’ will celebrate the previous 30 years of the Big East conference by counting down the 25 greatest NBA players from the league since its inception. Note that the list is made up of players who played for the 16 CURRENT schools of the Big East, not necessarily IN the Big East. We hope this trip down memory lane is fun and historically informative to all who read. ENJOY!!!!!!!

#19
Name: Eric “Sleepy” Floyd
College: Georgetown
NBA Teams: New Jersey Nets (1982-83, 1994-95)
Golden State Warriors (1983-87)
Houston Rockets (1987-93)
San Antonio Spurs (1993-94)

Our second consecutive player who actually played in Big East Conference games is Georgetown point guard Eric “Sleepy” Floyd. Floyd broke the expectations of the New Jersey Nets by appearing on any “Greatest” list.

After a great career at Georgetown in which he was 15 seconds from a National Title before being Jordaned, the Nets chose Floyd 13th overall in the 1983 Draft. After a first half so bad John Daly could legitimately call it sub-par, they decided it would be cutting their losses to ship off to San Francisco. As a Golden State Warrior Floyd played well under the tutelage of head coach John Bach but achieved All-Star status in 1987 under new coach George Karl.

During this All-Star campaign in which Floyd was averaging a career high 21 points per game he was rewarded by the Warrior organization by being traded again. This time he was dealt to Houston in a somewhat mega-deal for the time in a trade that brought Ralph Sampson to Golden State. Neither player ever returned to the form of their earlier career. Floyd however was far less disappointing than Sampson though playing 5+ steady seasons for the Rockets.

Floyd finished out his career where he started in New Jersey where he made it longer than he did the first time by playing one FULL season. His NBA career was like his college career as he wasn’t suited for superstar life but was dependable as a sometimes 2nd but mostly 3rd option. Just as he came just short at Georgetown he never managed to pull off an NBA title but offered up solid play for over 10 years.

Career Accomplishments: 1987 NBA All-Star
12,260 career points (203rd all-time)
5,175 career assists (45th all-time)
1,120 career steals (91st all-time)

Voters

Doug Ferguson- Lead Writer NBE The Association and Midwest Editor NBE Basketball Report
Paul Hayes- Fantasy Analyst NBE The Association
Sean King- Contributer NBE The Association
Michael LaFreniere- Scout/Analyst NBE The Association
Ray Mernagh- Senior Columnist NBE Basketball Report and College Basketball Editor for the Pittsburgh Sports Report
Zach Smart- Contributor, NBE Basketball Report
Newt Younger- Historian/Consultant, NBE The Association