Mark Aguirre

Mark Aguirre

Aguirre in 2007
Personal information
Born	(1959-12-10)December 10, 1959 Chicago, Illinois,U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	232 lb (105 kg)
Career information
High school	Austin(Chicago, Illinois) Westinghouse(Chicago, Illinois)
College	DePaul(1978–1981)
NBA draft	1981:1st round,1st overall pick
Selected by theDallas Mavericks
Playing career	1981–1994
Position	Small forward
Number	24, 23, 7
Coaching career	2002–2008
Career history
As player:
1981–1989	Dallas Mavericks
1989–1993	Detroit Pistons
1993–1994	Los Angeles Clippers
As coach:
2002–2003	Indiana Pacers(assistant)
2003–2008	New York Knicks(assistant)
Career highlights and awards
2×NBA champion(1989,1990) 3×NBA All-Star(1984,1987,1988) Naismith College Player of the Year(1980) Adolph Rupp Trophy(1980) USBWA Player of the Year(1980) AP Player of the Year(1980) UPI Player of the Year(1980) Sporting NewsCollege Player of the Year(1981) 2× Consensus first-teamAll-American(1980,1981) No. 24retired by DePaul Blue Demons Mr. Basketball USA(1978) Third-teamParadeAll-American(1978) McDonald's All-American(1978)
Career statistics
Points	18,458 (20.0 ppg)
Rebounds	4,578 (5.0 rpg)
Assists	2,871 (3.1 apg)
Statsat NBA.com
Statsat Basketball-Reference.com
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2016

Mark Anthony Aguirre(born December 10, 1959) is an American formerbasketballplayer in theNational Basketball Association(NBA). Aguirre was chosen as thefirst overall pickof the1981 NBA draftby theDallas Mavericksafter playing three years atDePaul University.Aguirre played in the NBA from 1981 until 1994 and won two championships with theDetroit Pistonsafter being traded to Detroit from Dallas in exchange forAdrian Dantley.Aguirre was a three-timeAll-Starfor Dallas. Aguirre was inducted into theCollege Basketball Hall of Famein 2016.

Early life

Aguirre's mother, Mary, was living inArkansaswhen she became pregnant with him at the age of sixteen.She moved toChicago, Illinois,to be with her family who helped to raise Aguirre.Aguirre did not meet his father until he was aged six.

Aguirre was raised in Chicago and played basketball at playgrounds on the city'swest side.He began his high school playing career atAustin High Schoolin Chicago.When his coach was fired, Aguirre transferred toGeorge Westinghouse College Prepwhere he led the team to theChicago Public High School Leaguechampionship during his senior year.

College career

While playing atDePaul University,Aguirre averaged 24.5 points over three seasons with the Blue Demons under coachRay Meyer.In 1981, Aguirre wasThe Sporting NewsandHelms Foundation College Player of the Year.He also was theUSBWA College Player of the YearandJames Naismith Awardwinner in 1980, and a two-time member ofThe Sporting News'All-America first team. As a freshman in 1978–1979, he led the Demons to theFinal Four,where they lost toIndiana State,led by futureBasketball Hall of FamerLarry Bird.

The Chicago native played alongsideTerry Cummingsat DePaul, and found himself in the national spotlight during his three years at the university. Aguirre averaged 24.0 points as a freshman in 1978–79, and led the Blue Demons to theNCAA Final Four.Over the next two seasons he scored 26.8 and 23.0 points per game, respectively, and was named College Player of the Year in 1980–81.

1980 US Olympic Team

Aguirre was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic basketball team but was unable to compete due to the1980 Summer Olympics boycott.He did however receive one of 461Congressional Gold Medalscreated especially for the spurned athletes.

Aguirre declared for the NBA draft after his junior year at DePaul. The Dallas Mavericks selected him with the first overall pick in the1981 NBA draft.

Professional career

Dallas Mavericks (1981–1989)

Aguirre averaged 20 points per game over the course of his 13-year NBA career. He was selected as the first overall pick by theDallas Mavericksin the1981 NBA draftand remained with the Mavericks until 1989. In his first season Aguirre was limited to 51 games and averaged 18.7 points, second on the team toJay Vincent(21.4 ppg). The Mavericks improved by 13 games in the win column and finished ahead of theUtah Jazz,but were still twenty games behind division-leadingSan Antonio Spurs.

Beginning with the 1982–83 season Aguirre reeled off six straight campaigns in which his average topped 22 points per game. In the first of those seasons he scored 24.4 points per contest, tops on the team and sixth in the league. The Mavericks continued their ascent, bettering their record to 38–44 to finish ahead of Utah and theHouston Rocketsin the Midwest Division. During the 1983–84 NBA season Aguirre averaged 29.5 points per game, second in the league to Dantley's 30.6 ppg. He finished the season with 2,330 total points.

Although Aguirre was the Mavericks' main weapon, he was helped by the emergence ofRolando Blackman(22.4 ppg) and the contributions of role playersBrad DavisandPat Cummings.Dallas finished second in the Midwest at 43–39, and the team made its first playoff trip, beating theSeattle SuperSonicsin the opening round before losing to theLos Angeles Lakersin the conference semifinals. In each of the next two seasons the Mavericks posted identical 44–38 records. In 1984–85 they made a quick exit from the playoffs, bowing to thePortland Trail Blazersin the first round; in 1985–86 they defeated Utah and then took the Lakers to six games in the conference semifinals. Aguirre averaged 25.7 and 22.6 points for those seasons.

In 1986–87 and 1987–88 he made the All-Star Team and averaged 25.7 and 25.1 points, respectively, during the regular season. The Mavericks won more than 50 games each year. The 1987–88 edition of the franchise went 53–29, beat Houston and theDenver Nuggetsin the first two rounds of the postseason, then extended the Lakers to seven games before losing in theWestern Conference Finals.It was the longest postseason run in the Mavs' eight-year history. Both Mavericks single-season scoring records still stand. His 13,930 points as a Maverick rank third in the franchise's history,behindRolando Blackman's 16,643 points andDirk Nowitzki's 31,560.

While Aguirre's time in Dallas was full of high-scoring efforts and playoff visits, the Mavericks were postseason underachievers (their only Western Conference Finals visit was the 1988 loss to the Lakers), and Aguirre had repeated conflicts with coachDick Mottaand players like Blackman,Derek HarperandJames Donaldson.Then-team ownerDonald Carterwas a huge fan of Aguirre and hoped he would remain in Dallas for his entire career, but eventually conceded that the gulf between Aguirre and the team was unbridgeable.Midway through the 1988–89 season Aguirre was traded to theDetroit PistonsforAdrian Dantley,who was also one of the league's top scorers, and a first round draft pick on February 15, 1989.

Detroit Pistons (1989–1993)

Aguirre with theDetroit Pistonsin 1989

After Aguirre was traded to the team, the Pistons won the NBA title in 1989. Despite not being a lead scoring option like he was in Dallas, Aguirre played a key role in Detroit's championship run, especially in the Eastern Conference Finals against theChicago Bulls,where he led the team in scoring with 25 points in a narrow Game 3 lossand averaged 13.7 points and 4.8 rebounds over the rest of the six game series. He showed he could blend into a successful team by taking fewer shots, playing hard on defense, and not complaining when his younger teammateDennis Rodman's minutes increased. In the1990 playoffs,which culminated with Detroit repeating as champions with a five-gameNBA Finalswin over Portland, Aguirre averaged 11 points a game.

The following postseason, Aguirre scored his highest postseason total as a Piston, with 34 points in a Game 4 win over theBoston Celticsin the Eastern Conference Semifinals.However, in the following round, the Pistons would be defeated byMichael Jordanand the Bulls, bringing their title defense to a close. Aguirre played two more seasons with the Pistons in an increasingly limited role, due to both Rodman's play and his own age and injury issues.

Los Angeles Clippers (1993–1994)

In 1993, the Pistons released Aguirre. After he cleared waivers theLos Angeles Clipperssigned him for $150,000 for a partial campaign in 1993–94. Through the 1993–94 season Aguirre had accumulated 18,458 points for a career average of 20.0 points per game. He retired in 1994.

Personal life

Aguirre has been married to Angela Bowman since January 1988.Aguirre, whose father was from Mexico, at one point considered playing for team Mexico at the1992 Olympics,and was offered citizenship in an effort to convince him to do so.

Honors

• Aguirre was inducted into theCollege Basketball Hall of Famein 2016.
• Aguirre's #24 was retired by theDePaul Blue Demons.

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
†	Won anNBA championship

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1981–82	Dallas	51	20	28.8	.465	.352	.680	4.9	3.2	.7	.4	18.7
1982–83	Dallas	81	75	34.4	.483	.211	.728	6.3	4.1	1.0	.3	24.4
1983–84	Dallas	79	79	36.7	.524	.268	.749	5.9	4.5	1.0	.3	29.5
1984–85	Dallas	80	79	33.7	.506	.318	.759	6.0	3.1	.8	.3	25.7
1985–86	Dallas	74	73	33.8	.503	.286	.705	6.0	4.6	.8	.2	22.6
1986–87	Dallas	80	80	33.3	.495	.353	.770	5.3	3.2	1.1	.4	25.7
1987–88	Dallas	77	77	33.9	.475	.302	.770	5.6	3.6	.9	.7	25.1
1988–89	Dallas	44	44	34.8	.450	.293	.730	5.3	4.3	.7	.7	21.7
1988–89†	Detroit	36	32	29.7	.483	.293	.738	4.2	2.5	.4	.4	15.5
1989–90†	Detroit	78	40	25.7	.488	.333	.756	3.9	1.9	.4	.2	14.1
1990–91	Detroit	78	13	25.7	.462	.308	.757	4.8	1.8	.6	.3	14.2
1991–92	Detroit	75	12	21.1	.431	.211	.687	3.1	1.7	.7	.1	11.3
1992–93	Detroit	51	15	20.7	.443	.361	.767	3.0	2.1	.3	.1	9.9
1993–94	L.A. Clippers	39	0	22.0	.468	.398	.694	3.0	2.7	.5	.2	10.6
Career		923	639	30.0	.484	.312	.741	5.0	3.1	.7	.3	20.0
All-Star		3	0	14.0	.542	.400	.800	1.3	1.3	.7	.3	12.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1984	Dallas	10	10	35.0	.478	.000	.772	7.6	3.2	.5	.5	22.0
1985	Dallas	4	4	41.0	.494	.500	.844	7.5	4.0	.8	.0	29.0
1986	Dallas	10	10	34.5	.491	.333	.363	7.1	5.4	.9	.0	24.7
1987	Dallas	4	4	32.5	.500	.000	.767	6.0	2.0	2.0	.0	21.3
1988	Dallas	17	17	32.8	.500	.382	.698	5.9	3.3	.8	.5	21.6
1989†	Detroit	17	17	27.2	.489	.276	.737	4.4	1.6	.5	.2	12.6
1990†	Detroit	20	3	22.0	.467	.333	.750	4.6	1.4	.5	.2	11.0
1991	Detroit	15	2	26.5	.506	.364	.824	4.1	1.9	.8	.1	15.6
1992	Detroit	5	0	22.6	.333	.200	.750	1.8	2.4	.4	.2	9.0
Career		102	67	29.0	.485	.317	.743	5.3	2.6	.7	.2	17.1

External links

• nba.com historical playerfile
• Career Statistics
• 1980Oscar Robertson TrophyUSBWA College Player of the Year