Stith bio

[OzerskyJA <OzerskyJA@cmog.org>]

from nba.com:


BACKGROUND
A physical guard/forward with shooting ability, Bryant Stith has built upon
a fine career at the University of Virginia to become a sound NBA player
with the Denver Nuggets, scoring a a career-high 14.9 ppg in 1996-97. He was
injured for most of the 1997-98 season, appearing in just 31 games, before
starting more than half of the 1998-99 season at small forward. He played a
reserve role in 1999-2000 and his scoring average dipped to a career-low 5.6
ppg. He finished his college career as Virginia's all-time leader in scoring
(2,516 points), minutes (4,391) and free throws made (690). Remarkably for a
6-5 player, Stith also finished second on the Cavaliers' all-time rebounding
list with 859 boards. As a senior, he led Virginia to a 20-13 mark while
averaging 20.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists. He left school ranked
No. 4 on the all-time Atlantic Coast Conference scoring list. Stith upped
his place in the 1992 NBA Draft by collecting the MVP Award at the NBA's
predraft Orlando All-Star Classic in April 1992. The Denver Nuggets
subsequently selected him with the 13th overall pick. Stith's rookie season
was marred by injuries. In his professional debut on November 7, 1992, Stith
scored 20 points and had four steals in Denver's double-overtime victory
over the San Antonio Spurs. He stepped into the starting lineup 12 days
later against the Detroit Pistons but broke a bone in his right foot early
in the game and was sidelined for the next 32 contests. Upon returning he
played in 32 games before breaking the second metacarpal in his right hand
on April 4, an injury that knocked him out for the remainder of the 1992-93
campaign. Stith finished the season with averages of 8.9 points and 3.2
rebounds per game. In 1993-94 Stith showed his durability by joining Dikembe
Mutombo as the only Nuggets players to start all 82 regular-season games and
all 12 playoff contests. He finished the season as the Nuggets' No. 4 scorer
with an average of 12.5 points per outing. He was No. 2 on the team with an
.829 free throw percentage, and he averaged 4.3 rebounds, one of the highest
marks for a guard in the league. Stith had a career-high 33 points on
December 11 against the San Antonio Spurs, and he scored 22 points in 50
minutes of a second-round playoff game versus the Utah Jazz on May 17. In
1994-95 Stith found himself part of a deep Nuggets backcourt that also
included Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Dale Ellis, Jalen Rose and Robert Pack. Stith's
production slipped to 11.2 points per game, although he helped Denver to the
playoffs for the second straight year. He averaged 13.6 ppg in 1995-96 when
he was the only Nugget to appear in all 82 games, starting 77 of them. He
also posted career highs in rebounding and assists. He improved his scoring
to a career-high 14.9 ppg in 1996-97 when he started all 52 games in which
he played, but he missed 10 games due to a sprained left foot, then sat out
the final five weeks of the season with a bone spur in his left foot. He was
plagued by injuries to his left foot and ankle in 1997-98, playing 31 games
including 15 starts and averaging 7.6 ppg. He appeared in 46 games in
1998-99, making 32 starts at guard and small forward, and averaged 7.0 ppg.
His averaged dipped to a career-low 5.6 ppg in 1999-2000, when he played in
45 games, all but six as a reserve. 

1999-2000 SEASON 
Stith played in just 45 games, making six starts. He missed the final 25
games of the season after being placed on the injured list on March 3 with a
right quad contusion suffered against New Jersey on March 1. He averaged 5.6
points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists in just 15.4 minutes per game, all
career-lows except for assists. He shot .455 from the field, .304 from
three-point range and .831 from the free throw line. He scored in double
figures 11 times, with two games of 20 or more points. He scored a
season-high 27 points against Dallas on Jan. 29, his highest total since
Dec. 23, 1996. He also had 21 points, plus five rebounds, against Sacramento
on Feb. 21. He pulled in 10 rebounds in 41 minutes against Dallas on Feb.
26, both season-highs. It was the 11th time in his career he has had a
double-digit rebounding game. 

1998-99 SEASON 
Stith played in 46 games, missing three March 2-5 due to a sprained left
ankle and one February 22 because of a strained right groin. He started 32
games, including the final 21 of the season. He made four starts at guard
and 28 at small forward, after starting only one game at forward prior to
this season. He averaged 7.0 points per game, the lowest mark of his career,
shooting .393 from the field, .292 from three-point range and .859 from the
free throw line. His 31 three-pointers ranked fourth on the Nuggets. He also
averaged 2.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 26.0 minutes per game. Stith scored
a season-high 23 points in 29 minutes against Phoenix on February 15 and
grabbed a season-high eight rebounds against Milwaukee on February 26. He
had a season-hgih five assists three times. He sank four three-pointers
against Phoenix on April 20 when he led the team in scoring with 20 points
and played a season-high 41 minutes. It was the seventh time in his career
he's had at least four treys.

1997-98 SEASON 
Stith never got untracked as he missed 44 games due to injuries to his left
foot and ankle. He was placed on the injured list on November 24 with
tendinitis, then an MRI revealed a bone spur on his left foot and he
underwent surgery on December 10. He was activated on February 20 after
missing 42 games, and later sat out two more games because of a sprain to
the same ankle. He also missed one game when his daughter was born and was a
DNP-CD four times. In his 31 appearances, including 15 starts, Stith
averaged a career-low 7.6 ppg and shot just .333 from the field and .208
from three-point range. Stith scored in double figures in 11 of his 31
games, including a season-high 22 points against Vancouver on November 21.

1996-97 NOTES
Stith raised his scoring average to a career-high 14.9 ppg in 1996-97 and
also averaged 4.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.15 steals, the latter being
tops among regulars. He shot a career-high .863 from the foul line to rank
13th in the NBA. He also sank 70 three-pointers and shot .385 from behind
the arc, both career highs. His 70 treys surpassed his total of 63 in his
first four NBA seasons, and he shot a sizzling .430 from three-point range
over his last 37 games. Stith started all 52 games in which he played. He
missed a total of two games during two stretches of January and early
February due to a sprained left foot. He also missed the final 20 games of
the season because of a bone spur in his left foot, undergoing surgery for
its removal on March 17. Stith scored in double figures in all but seven of
the games in which he played, reaching 30 points on three occasions. He
scored a career-high 37 points, including 26 in the second half, in a
115-104 loss to Portland on Dec. 5, had 36 points including a career-high
eight three-pointers in a 112-109 overtime win at Phoenix on Dec. 23 and had
31 points plus a season-high nine rebounds in a 107-103 loss at Utah on Nov.
27. 

1995-96 NOTES
Stith enjoyed his best pro season in 1995-96 as he posted career highs of
13.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He was the only Denver player to
appear in all 82 games, starting 77 of them, and his 2,810 minutes also were
a career high. He posted five double-doubles, reaching double figures in
scoring 64 times and getting at least 20 points 14 times. His .844 free
throw percentage ranked 19th in the NBA, and he sank a career-high 41
three-pointers after making just 22 in his first three NBA seasons combined.
Stith, who has missed just one game over the past three seasons, scored a
season-high 27 points against Golden State on March 9. He had a season-high
11 rebounds to go along with 15 poins against Boston on Feb. 18.

1994-95 NOTES
When Stith was not in the Denver Nuggets' starting lineup on February 14,
1995, his string of 138 consecutive starts came to an end. For the season,
he played in 81 games and started 51, averaging 11.2 points (down from his
1993-94 average of 12.5), 1.9 assists, 1.12 steals, and 3.3 rebounds. Stith
had 91 steals on the year to finish third on the squad in that department.
He shot .472 from the floor, the best field-goal percentage of his
three-year career, but only .294 from three-point range. An excellent
free-throw shooter, Stith slipped to the lowest free-throw percentage of his
career at .824. Stith came off the bench for most of the second half of the
season (behind Jalen Rose and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf), although he poured in 27
points on 11-for-15 shooting while starting in place of Abdul-Rauf on April
14 against the Phoenix Suns. Stith also showed his leadership capability,
becoming the Nuggets' team captain. After starting six of the last seven
regular-season games, Stith started only once in a first-round playoff
series against the San Antonio Spurs. He wound up playing 28.3 minutes per
game in that series and led the team in scoring (16.7 ppg) in the
postseason. He shot .531 from the floor but made only 1-of-6 from
three-point range as the Nuggets were swept by the Spurs in three games. 

1993-94 NOTES
During the 1993-94 season Bryant Stith and Dikembe Mutombo were the only
Nuggets to start every game. Stith tied Mutombo for the club lead in minutes
played (34.8 per game) and ranked second in steals (1.41 per game) and
fourth in scoring (12.5 ppg). Stith especially proved his mettle as a
big-game player. In a game against the San Antonio Spurs on December 11, he
poured in a career-high 33 points. Against the Chicago Bulls on February 18,
he scored a game-high 28 points, and against the New York Knicks on February
25, he totaled 17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal in 38 minutes.
The Nuggets shocked the basketball world and the Seattle SuperSonics by
defeating the Western Conference's No. 1 seed in the first round of the
playoffs. Denver then succumbed to the Utah Jazz in the conference
semifinals. Stith contributed 11.3 points per game in 12 postseason
contests. 

1992-93 NOTES
Bryant Stith was an All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection for three
consecutive seasons at Virginia, finishing his career as the Cavaliers'
all-time leader in scoring, minutes, and free throws made. He was selected
by the Denver Nuggets in the first round (13th pick overall) of the 1992 NBA
Draft. A fishing enthusiast, Stith made a splash in his Denver Nuggets debut
with 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals in a double-overtime victory over
the San Antonio Spurs on November 7. He was such a hit that he moved into
the starting lineup on November 19 against the Detroit Pistons-only to
suffer a broken fifth metatarsal in his right foot early in the game. He
missed the next 32 games, then returned to play 32 contests before breaking
the second metacarpal in his right hand on April 4 against the Minnesota
Timberwolves. That ended his season. Stith played in 39 games, starting 12,
and finished the year averaging 8.9 points and 3.2 rebounds. He was Denver's
No. 3 free-throw shooter at .832 (99-for-119) and scored a season-high 24
points at Milwaukee on April 2. 



Josh Ozersky	
Marketing Communications Specialist 
Corning Museum of Glass