Delonte West
From Hoopedia
Delonte West (born July 26, 1983 in Washington, D.C.) is an American and Dominican professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA.
College
The 6' 4" (1.93 m) shooting guard played for the Saint Joseph Hawks while in college, where he teamed with Jameer Nelson to great success. West averaged 18 points and 4.7 assists per game in his junior season, and shot 41% from three-point range. His efforts helped the Hawks to go undefeated (27-0) in their regular season, and up to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.
NBA
West chose to leave St. Joe's after his junior campaign and was selected by the Boston Celtics as the 24th pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. In his first season he struggled with injuries, playing a total of just 39 games, mostly coming off the bench. He averaged 4.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. After making the transition to point guard in his rookie season, West was named the starting point guard at the beginning of the 2005 season by head coach Doc Rivers.
In 2005-06, West averaged 11.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 4.6 APG. He is a tough defender and is known for his athletic blocks. On February 12, 2006, he was named to represent the Celtics on the sophomore team for the Rookie Challenge at NBA All-Star Weekend. Coincidentally, he replaced his college teammate Nelson, who withdrew because of injuries.
West was moved to the shooting guard spot in the 2006-07 season, but showed signs of difficulty early in the season. He was later moved back to the point guard position. West has had some clutch shots, including a game-winning buzzer-beater against the Charlotte Bobcats on November 8, 2006, and a game-tying three pointer with 4 seconds remaining in regulation to bring the game into overtime against the New Jersey Nets on March 3, 2007. The Celtics would eventually win the game against the Nets. The next day against the Minnesota Timberwolves, West scored a career-high 31 points and made a career-high 12 free throw shots, in a double overtime Celtics victory. West scored all 31 of his points in that game during the second half, including the two overtimes. He is currently sharing starting minutes with Rajon Rondo.
