John Best (basketball player)

John Best
Player information
Full name	John Herbert Best
birthday	March 27, 1971
place of birth	Neptune, United States
size	204 cm
position	Power forward
college	Tennessee Tech
NBA draft	1993 , 36. Pick, New Jersey Nets
Clubs as active
1993–1994 Le Mans Sarthe Basket 1994 Juventud Alcala 1995 Piratas de Quebradillas 1995 San Miguel Beers 1995–1996 Chorale Roanne 1996–1997 Friborg Olympic 1997–1998 Angers BC 49 1999–2000 Shell Turbochargers 2000–2003 Bayer Giants Leverkusen 2003–2004 Alba Berlin 2004-2007 Élan Sportif Chalonnais 000 0 000 0 000 0

John Best (born March 27, 1971 in Neptune) is a retired American basketball player .

John Best in the USA

Best was born in Neptune, New Jersey , and later moved with his family to Memphis , Tennessee . From 1989 to 1993 he was on the team at Tennessee Tech University. Initially, he was a supplementary player, then from the 1990/91 season onwards. In the game year 1991/92 he achieved an average of 20 points per match, in the season 1992/93 even 28.5, which meant the third best value in the entire NCAA of this game year, which at that time comprised 216 teams. His 799 points during the 92/93 season were a new record in the history of "Tennessee Tech". His talent did not go unnoticed, even though he played on a subpar college team. In 1993, Best was watched by several NBA teams. In the 1993 NBA Draft , the New Jersey Nets selected him in 36th place. When he was the last player to vacate his place in the pre-season of the New Jersey Nets and thus did not get a place in the squad, he went to Europe.

His career abroad

The American was welcomed as a beacon of hope in the 1993/94 season at the French old-time champion and re-climber Le Mans . With an average of 18.1 points and seven rebounds with about 35 minutes of use per game, he was the best performer of his team. But after a season Best left France temporarily and hired in the 1994/95 season in Spain with the then second division team Juventud Alcala. The team was disbanded due to financial difficulties. During the summer he played in Puerto Rico. The team was looking for a "real center" and Best had to leave Puerto Rico after a few weeks. He received an offer from the San Miguel Beers club in the Philippines , which he accepted and played there until the end of the 1994/95 season. His agent put him back in France for the new 1995/96 season, in the 2nd division with Chorale Roanne. There he scored 20.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, but did not get with his team beyond a midfield position. The 96/97 season was his most successful season in Europe to date. At the beginning of the season he signed a contract with the top Swiss team Friborg Olympic from Freiburg im Üechtland . A few months later he celebrated the Swiss championship with the Freiburg team . After his successful season in Switzerland , Best moved back to Angers in France in 1997/98 and narrowly missed promotion to the first division with his team. John Best moved back to the Philippines to the Shell Turbochargers, where he played from 1998 to 2000. In 1999 he won the Philippine Cup. In 2000 the move came to Germany.

Best in Germany

In 1999, Best met Jim Kelly , former coach of Bayer Leverkusen (1985-1989) and later NBA player judge. Kelly established the connection between Best and the Rhinelanders. In 2000 Best signed in Leverkusen. In his first season, John Best played in the Allstar Game of the Basketball Bundesliga and was named Man of the Game. In his first season in Germany , Best threw 22.4 points and got 5.4 rebounds per game. After this season, Best extended by two years in Leverkusen. He did not disappoint those responsible in Leverkusen in the 2001/02 season either and led Bayer to the final of the German championship. In 2002/03 he played again in the Allstar Team North, got an average of 5.7 rebounds over the course of the season and scored 19.1 points. During these three years in Leverkusen, Best was the crowd favorite in the Wilhelm-Dopatka-Halle . At the end of the season, Best moved to Alba Berlin . He reached the Bundesliga semi-finals with the capital city, and was eliminated from the eventual champions Deutsche Bank Skyliners Frankfurt . From the 2004/05 season onwards, John Best played again in France for Chalon-sur-Saône and in his mid-30s he still achieved quite good statistics: the American won / scored 8 points and 3 rebounds per game. In the 2006/07 season, Best advanced with Chalon to the playoff semi-finals of the French league. There they lost to Roanne Basket with 1: 2 wins.

After the 2006/07 season, John Best ended his career at the age of 36. He returned to the United States.

successes

• 1997 Swiss champion
• 1999 Philippine Cup Winner
• 2000 man of the game in the all-star game of the Bundesliga
• 2003 reaching the semi-finals in Germany
• 2007 reaching the semi-finals in France

various

John Best is married and has three children.

He was remembered by Leverkusen fans mainly for his emotions in derbies against the Telekom Baskets Bonn , for example when he showed the spectators the "head-down gesture" while standing at the free throw line in Bonn. This led to a lot of resentment among the Bonn audience and made Best unpopular with them.

John Best owned a web radio known throughout Europe, which was one of the most popular hip-hop radios in Europe.

Best is vegetarian and Muslim . He was announced by the hall spokesman in Leverkusen as John "Simply the" Best.

Web links

• easyCredit BBL - John Best - player profile on the easyCredit Basketball-Bundesliga website
• Homepage of Best

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Al Harvin: PRO BASKETBALL; Nets and Reed Show Off Their Modest Draft Prizes . In: The New York Times . July 7, 1993, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed May 21, 2020]).
2. ↑ John Best to be recognized as OVC basketball legend at 2018 OVC Tournament. February 1, 2018, accessed May 21, 2020 . 
3. ↑ In paradise. Retrieved May 21, 2020 .