Mark Eaton (basketball player)

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Basketball player
Mark Eaton
Mark Eaton 1988-89.jpg

Mark Eaton (ca.1988)
Player information
Full name Mark E. Eaton
birthday 24th January 1957 (age 63)
place of birth Westminster , California , USA
size 224 cm
Weight 125 kg
position center
college UCLA
NBA draft 1982 , 72. Pick, Utah Jazz
Clubs as active
1982-1993 Utah Jazz United StatesUnited States

Mark E. Eaton (born January 24, 1957 in Westminster , California) is a retired American basketball player for the Utah Jazz in the NBA . The 2.24 meter tall Eaton played at the Jazz Center from 1982 to 1993 and won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award twice .

Career

By the time he was 21, Eaton had never played basketball at high school or college level but was a trained auto mechanic . Thanks to his extraordinary height of 2.24 meters, he came to Cypress College ( California ) in 1978 . He stayed there until 1980 and set a new university record with 599 rebounds. With ten blocks in one game, he set another high from Cypress College, with which Eric Pauley tied years later . In 1980 Eaton moved to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Eaton only got 6.5 minutes of playing time per game over the course of his two years and posted an average of 1.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 30 missions. After completing his four college years, he was not considered a talent in the 1982 NBA draft and was selected only 72nd by the Utah Jazz .

Eaton immediately established itself as one of the most powerful shot blockers in NBA history. After deflecting 275 and 351 attempts to throw in the first two years, he set the NBA record of 456 blocks (5.56 per game), which is still valid today, in 1984/85. He then won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award . Together with his new colleagues Karl Malone and point guard John Stockton , Eaton laid the foundation for the rise of jazz to the annual playoff participant. Eaton was again named NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1988/89 and for the only time in the NBA All-Star Game .

Eaton is the only player since the beginning of the 1983/84 season who managed a double-double of rebounds and blocks in one game , while at the same time he scored exactly nine points and missed a triple-double by just one point. Eaton achieved this “feat” three times in its career.

The physically strong Eaton, known for his good timing when blocking opponent's throws, suffered more and more from knee and back problems in his later career and finally ended his career in 1993 at the age of 36. The Jazz honored their longtime center by withdrawing their jersey number 53.

Private life

Eaton is married to his wife Teri, with whom he has several children, and lives in Park City . After retiring, he got involved in charity in his “Mark Eaton Standing Tall” foundation, which supports socially disadvantaged children.

Web links

Commons : Mark Eaton  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Cypress College Athletics. Retrieved August 22, 2020 (English).
  2. ↑ He's the Next Prospect at Academy of Tall: Basketball: Eric Pauley, 6-foot-10, is getting attention at Cypress College, a school that has turned out Mark Eaton and Swen Nater. January 8, 1991. Retrieved August 22, 2020 (American English).
  3. ^ Mark Eaton College Stats. Retrieved August 22, 2020 (English).
  4. ^ The Art of the Near Triple Double
personal data
SURNAME Eaton, Mark
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eaton, Mark E.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American basketball player
DATE OF BIRTH January 24, 1957
PLACE OF BIRTH Westminster , California