Jason Collier

Jason Collier

Personal information
Born	(1977-09-08)September 8, 1977 Springfield, Ohio,US
Died	October 15, 2005(2005-10-15)(aged 28) Cumming, Georgia,US
Listed height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight	260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High school	Catholic Central(Springfield, Ohio)
College	Indiana(1996–1998) Georgia Tech(1998–2000)
NBA draft	2000:1st round, 15th overall pick
Selected by theMilwaukee Bucks
Playing career	2000–2005
Position	Center
Number	52, 40
Career history
2000–2003	Houston Rockets
2003–2004	Fayetteville Patriots
2004–2005	Atlanta Hawks
Career highlights and awards
All-NBA D-League First Team(2004) 2× Second-teamAll-ACC(1999, 2000) McDonald's All-American(1996) Second-teamParadeAll-American(1996)
Statsat NBA.com
Statsat Basketball-Reference.com

Jason Jeffrey Collier(September 8, 1977 – October 15, 2005) was an American professionalbasketballplayer in theNational Basketball Association(NBA).

High school career

Collier ledCatholic Central High Schoolof his hometownSpringfield, Ohio,to the 1996 Ohio State Basketball Championship, for which he was named 1996Ohio Mr. Basketball.

College career

After transferring fromIndiana,Collier completed his college career atGeorgia Tech.

Professional career

Collier was drafted by theMilwaukee Buckswith the 15th overall pick of the2000 NBA draft.He was traded on draft day to theHouston Rocketsin exchange for their pick,Joel Przybilla.He then played for the Rockets and theAtlanta Hawks,averaging 5.6 points per game over his career.

With the Hawks, Collier dropped a career-high 22 points on March 12, 2004, in a 138–124 win against theWashington Wizards.Out of the 151 career games Collier played, this was one of only three times where he scored 20 or more points. Collier's final NBA game was played on April 20, 2005, in a 86–110 loss to thePhiladelphia 76ers(this was also the Hawks' final game of the 2004–2005 season). Although he was Atlanta's starting center for that game, he only played for nine minutes and had two points and one rebound on 1-4 field goal shooting.

Death and legacy

During the NBA off-season, Collier died suddenly at the age of 28 on October 15, 2005, inCumming, Georgia.His autopsy indicated that he died because of a "sudden heart rhythm disturbance caused by an abnormallyenlarged heart."Georgia's chief medical examiner, Dr. Kris Sperry, said Collier's heart "was above the accepted limits, even for a man of his size", and said the organ was about one and a half times the size it should have been.It was reported that he experienced shortness of breath before losing consciousness. Medical treatment was performed byemergency medical technicians,but Collier died en route to the hospital.

The Hawks wore permanent black shoulder patches on their uniforms to honor Collier.In his honor, theNBA Development League,on which Collier played for a year in theFayetteville Patriotsand was named to theAll-NBA Development League Team,unveiled in the following season theJason Collier Sportsmanship Award.

NBA career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goalpercentage	3P%	3-point field goalpercentage	FT%	Free throwpercentage
RPG	Reboundsper game	APG	Assistsper game	SPG	Stealsper game
BPG	Blocksper game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2000–01	Houston	23	0	9.7	.380	.000	.708	1.6	.3	.1	.1	3.1
2001–02	Houston	25	2	14.6	.432	.000	.750	3.3	.4	.2	.2	4.2
2002–03	Houston	13	3	8.0	.472	.000	1.000	2.2	.1	.2	.1	2.8
2003–04	Atlanta	20	16	27.3	.479	.250	.788	5.6	.9	.6	.6	11.3
2004–05	Atlanta	70	44	13.5	.463	.429	.676	2.6	.3	.2	.2	5.7
Career		151	65	14.4	.455	.350	.738	2.9	.3	.2	.2	5.6

See also

• List of basketball players who died during their careers

External links

• Career statistics and player information fromNBA.comandBasketball-Reference.com
• Remembering Jason Collier