Ricky Berry
Ricky Alan Berry (October 6, 1964 – August 14, 1989) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Sacramento Kings.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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| Born | October 6, 1964 Lansing, Michigan | |||||||||||||
| Died | August 14, 1989 (aged 24) Fair Oaks, California | |||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| High school | Live Oak (Morgan Hill, California) | |||||||||||||
| College |
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| NBA draft | 1988 / Round: 1 / Pick: 18th overall | |||||||||||||
| Selected by the Sacramento Kings | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1988–1989 | |||||||||||||
| Position | Small forward | |||||||||||||
| Number | 34 | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | Sacramento Kings | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
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Stats  at NBA.com | ||||||||||||||
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | ||||||||||||||
Medals
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Berry was born in Lansing, Michigan in 1964, when his father Bill Berry was a student-athlete at Michigan State University. The Berry family moved to the Sacramento, California area in 1966 when Bill Berry became head coach at a local high school and later Cosumnes River Junior College.[1][2] Berry attended Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, California when his father became head coach at San Jose State in 1979.[3]
Berry was 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) and played small forward. After graduating from high school, he played for Oregon State in the 1983–84 season, and then transferred to San Jose State in 1984 to play under his father Bill Berry. After sitting out one year per transfer rules, Berry played for the San Jose State Spartans from 1985 to 1988. Berry was selected 18th overall in the 1988 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings and had a solid rookie season, averaging 11.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists while shooting 40.6 percent from three-point range.
Berry is one of only three former San Jose State players to have his jersey retired, when San Jose State retired his number 34 jersey.
In the 1989 off-season, and just weeks before his 25th birthday, Berry was found dead after a self-inflicted gunshot. He showed no signs of depression and left a suicide note.[4][5]
References
- "Bill Berry". NBA. 2002. Archived from the original on February 13, 2005.
- Davidson, Joe (August 14, 2009). "Grief remains 20 years after Ricky Berry suicide". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on August 17, 2009.
- Geissinger, Steve (August 20, 1989). "What demons drove Kings' Ricky Berry to commit suicide?". Associated Press via Deseret News. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
- Norwood, Robyn; Evans, Clay (August 15, 1989). "Ricky Berry Is Apparent Suicide Victim : Sacramento Kings' Top Pick in 1988 Found Dead of Gunshot Wound". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- McNeal, Martin (August 19, 1990). "Ricky Berry's Suicide Still a Mystery". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com or Basketball-Reference.com
- Article about Ricky Berry's NBA signing (published August 3, 1988) at The New York Times
- Article about Berry's suicide (published August 15, 1989) at The New York Times
- 'He was Reggie Miller with a handle': Thirty years ago, the NBA lost Ricky Berry (published August 14, 2019, Mark J. Spears) @ theundefeated.com
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