Tanoka Beard

Tanoka Beard
Player information
Full name	Tanoka Dwight Beard
birthday	29th September 1971 (age 48)
place of birth	Ogden (Utah) , United States
size	205 cm
position	Power Forward / Center
college	Boise State
Clubs as active
1989–1993 Boise State Broncos ( NCAA Div I) 1993–1994 Burghy Rome 1994 DYC Breogán 1994–1995 Ülkerspor 1995–1996 Besançon BCD 1996–1998 Festina Joventut de Badalona 1998–1999 Real Madrid Teka 1999–2000 Pamesa Valencia 2000 Cocodrilos de Caracas 2000–2001 Fenerbahçe Istanbul 2001–2002 DKV Joventut de Badalona 2002 Locomotive Minwody 2003–2007 Žalgiris Kaunas 2007 Hapoel Holon 2008 Brujos de Guayama ( BSN ) 2008 Cariduros de Fajardo (BSN) 2008–2009 Tartu Rock 00000 00000 00000 00000 00000 00000

Tanoka Dwight Beard (born September 29, 1971 in Ogden , Utah ) is a retired American basketball player . After studying Beard played professionally in various countries of Europe and individual leagues in the Caribbean . For more than one season he played for Joventut de Badalona in Spain , where he was twice named MVP of the season in the ACB League , and towards the end of his playing career for Žalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania , where he was also player of the season several times the national and the Baltic Basketball League . In the Žalgiris jersey, he was also appointed to the “All-Euroleague Second Team” of the ten best players in the highest-ranking European club competition in the ULEB Euroleague 2004/05 . Beard holds the record effectiveness value for a single game in the ULEB Euroleague with 63 since 2004 .

Career

College in the United States (1989-1993)

Beard went to study at Boise State University , where he played for the Broncos college team from 1989 on in the NCAA Division I Big Sky Conference . At the Broncos , Beard was named the Big Sky's best freshman . In his senior year, the Broncos won the Big Sky championship tournament in 1993, where Beard was named MVP. In the subsequent only participation in the national NCAA finals in Beard's career, the Broncos clearly lost in the first round to the Commodores of Vanderbilt University . Beard is the Broncos' internal all-time leading scorer with 1,944 points and also leads the category of the best blockers with 160 blocks . In all four seasons he was the top scorer , the best shot blocker and in three of four seasons also the best rebounder of his team. Despite his success in the Big Sky Conference, Beard remained unconsidered at the end of his studies in the 1993 NBA Draft of the highest endowed professional league NBA .

Start as a professional in Europe (1993 to 1996)

After Beard was unable to earn a place in a squad even through training camps of the NBA clubs, he signed his first professional contract with Virtus Burghy from Rome in the Italian Lega Basket Serie A in 1993 . However, this contract was terminated in mid-January 1994 after 14 championship games again, after which Beard joined the club DYC Breogán from Lugo in the Spanish ACB league. They ended the season in 16th place in the table and were eliminated in the play-off eighth final against record champions and defending champions Real Madrid. In the 1994/95 season Beard played in the Türkiye Basketbol Ligi (TBL) for Ülkerspor from Istanbul . Ülkerspor won as second in the main round the final series of the championship against local rivals Fenerbahçe and the first championship in the club's history. In the following season 1995/96 Beard played in the French LNB Pro A for Basket Comté Doubs from Besançon . In the first division promoted Beard achieved a strong double-double per game as the top scorer in the French league with an average of 26 points and best rebounder with an average of 14.3 points despite injuries in the middle of the season . At the end of February 1996, however, Beard was suspended after a physical argument from the club, which was able to secure relegation at the end of the season in third from bottom of the table.

Success in Spain and Turkey (1996 to 2002)

For the 1996/97 season Beard returned to the ACB league and played in Catalonia for Festina Joventut from Badalona . With the traditional club, he improved from 13th place in the previous season to fourth place and won the Copa del Rey cup competition . In the play-off semi-final series for the championship, however, from Beard's point of view, it was again the last stop against Real Madrid. The sports magazine "Gigantes del Basket" named Beard as MVP of the league this season. For the first time Beard stayed beyond the end of the season with a club and was named "Player of the Month" again in April 1998, after he had received this award in February 1997. In the final of the Copa del Rey Joventut could not defend his title against Pamesa Valencia, who won this competition for the first time. In the main round of the championship they finished fourth in front of the defending champions and regional rivals FC Barcelona , who, however, had to admit defeat in four games in the play-off quarter-finals. For the 1998/99 season Beard moved to the capital Madrid to the record champions Real, who had not won a championship since 1994. Real was still qualified for the highest-ranking European club competition FIBA ​​Europaliga and was able to prevail in the round of 16 against Fenerbahçe, but lost the quarter-finals against Fortitudo Teamsystem Bologna . In the months of February to April 1999 Beard was named player of the month in the ACB league three times in a row and was also named MVP of the regular season by the ACB. Equal on points with the main round first FC Barcelona they moved into the play-offs of the national championship, in which they were defeated in the semi-final series Caja San Fernando .

In the 1999/2000 season Beard then played for Pamesa from Valencia . After taking part in four all-star games in the Spanish league from 1996 to 1999, he played at the “FIBA EuroStars Game” in Moscow at the end of December 1999 after he had canceled a year earlier. When it was last held in this form, Beard's West selection lost, as in all previous events, against the East selection. Six weeks later, Beard and Pamesa lost the final of the Copa del Rey against Adecco Estudiantes , who also threw Pamesa, who was sixth in the main round, out of the race for the championship title in the first play-off round. As in the previous year, Beard was the best rebounder in the ACB and, thanks to 10.4 rebounds per game, achieved a double-double per game in the ACB league this season. In the 2000/01 season Beard returned to Istanbul, but played there for Fenerbahçe. In the TBL he also scored a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds per game and was again the best rebounder in the league. As the main round fifth, however, they were eliminated in the first play-off round against Türk Telekomspor . For the 2001/02 season Beard was again obliged by DKV Joventut de Badalona, ​​who had regularly missed the play-offs since the departure of Beard in 1998. With the team, Beard improved to ninth place in the final table, but missed a victory in the play-offs. Because of his high effectiveness values , Beard was once again voted Player of the Month four times and finally again MVP of the season, although DKB Joventut missed the play-offs.

Successes in Lithuania and end of career (2002 to 2009)

For the 2002/03 season Beard first moved to the Russian Super League to locomotive from Minwody . Here he stayed only a few months until December 2002. In January 2003 Beard was then committed by the Lithuanian record champions Žalgiris from Kaunas . With this club he also returned to the highest-ranking European club competition, which Žalgiris had won only once in 1999, when Beard failed in the quarter-finals with Real Madrid. In the meantime, however, the most important European competition had changed to the organization of the ULEB , after the Spanish league and its clubs in particular split off from the old FIBA Europe competition in 2000. In three missions for Žalgiris Beard could not achieve that they qualified for the intermediate round of the ULEB Euroleague 2002/03 . In the Lithuanian league Žalgiris was able to get the championship title back from arch rivals Lietuvos rytas Vilnius and defend it in the following 2003/04 season, in which Beard was named MVP of the Lithuanian league. In the ULEB Euroleague 2003/04 Žalgiris, in which the national legend Arvydas Sabonis played his last active season after returning from the NBA, successfully survived the preliminary round, with Beard in the away defeat against Fortitudo Skipper Bologna an all-time record effectiveness value for scored a single game of 63. In the last game of the second round, Žalgiris still had a chance of reaching the Final Four when Maccabi Tel Aviv faced an away win. However, Beard made an unfortunate figure when Giedrius Gustas missed two free throws two seconds before the end of a three-point lead and Beard moved too early on the second free throw. Maccabi regained possession of the ball with a throw-in under their own basket without wasting time. Derrick Sharp caught the long throw into the front field , who equalized with a successful throw from behind the three-point line and forced extra time, in which Maccabi won the game and was able to win the Euroleague title for the first time in front of a home crowd in the Final Four while Žalgiris was eliminated.

In the 2004/05 season, in addition to the national championship, the Baltic Basketball League was introduced, which Beard won with Žalgiris and was also recognized as the MVP of the season and the final round in this league. In the ULEB Euroleague 2004/05 Žalgiris remained in the intermediate round of the 16 best teams without a win. Nevertheless, Beard, who had been MVP of the week twice in the Euroleague, was accepted into the "All-Euroleague Second Team" of the ten best players of the regular season. In the 2005/06 season Žalgiris lost his title in the Baltic league and national championship to Lietuvos rytas, of which you could only get the championship title back a year later in 2007. In the ULEB Euroleague 2005/06 , as in the previous year, they remained in the intermediate round without a win and in the following ULEB Euroleague 2006/07 they only won two games in 14 preliminary round games. Beard was once again honored as Player of the Season in the Lithuanian League. At the beginning of the following season there was a scandal when Beard did not agree with the decisions of coach Grigas. Shortly thereafter, it was agreed to split and dissolve the contract.

After leaving Kaunas, Beard played five championship games for Hapoel from Cholon in the Israeli Ligat ha'Al . His debut at Hapoel Holon was unfortunate after a fireworks exploded right next to the players' bench in the game against Hapoel Jerusalem and injured a security guard. Four weeks after his last assignment in mid-December 2007, Beard was released from his contract with Hapoel Holon, while at the end of the season the team not only won the first place in the main round with the future German champion and NBA professional PJ Tucker , but also Maccabi Tel Aviv was able to dethrone in the championship final. After Beard had already played for the Cocodrilos from Caracas in the Venezuelan league during the European summer break in 2000 , he now went to Puerto Rico to the Baloncesto Superior Nacional , where he played for the Brujos from Guayama and Cariduros from Fajardo . In the late summer of 2008 he returned to Europe at the age of 37 and played for the Estonian master Tartu Rock again in the Baltic States . With the team, however, he failed already in the first qualifying round for the Eurocup 2008/09 at the Austrian cup winner Allianz Swans Gmunden . In the subsequent EuroChallenge 2008/09 , too, things went only a little better when they were eliminated after the preliminary round. In the Baltic league, Tartu Rock reached the Final Four tournament for the first time, where the host could still occupy third place in the semifinals after a defeat against Beard's former team Žalgiris. In the national championship, however, they missed the title defense when they lost in the final series against the constant competitor BK Kalev / Cramo , against whom they had won the quarter-final series of the Baltic league. Then Beard was no longer professionally active.

Web links

Commons : Tanoka Beard  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• BEARD, TANOKA - Statistics on the websites of the ULEB ( English )
• ACB.COM: Beard, Tanoka - player profile on the websites of the ACB League ( Spanish )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} According to his profile at FIBA ​​Europe (English) Beard was born in Baltimore (Maryland).
2. ↑ ^{a b} EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL STATISTICAL RECORDS - Individual Records / Performance Index Rating: Single-Game Records. ULEB , accessed on May 30, 2014 (English, list of the best). 
3. ^ Boise State 2013–14 Men's Basketball Media Guide - Conference Tournament Awards. (PDF (83 MB)) Boise State University , November 2, 2013, p. 109 , accessed May 30, 2014 . 
4. ^ Boise State 2013-14 Men's Basketball Media Guide - Individual Career Records. (PDF (83 MB)) Boise State University , November 2, 2013, pp. 65 to 68 , accessed on May 30, 2014 . 
5. ↑ Boise State 2013–14 Men's Basketball Media Guide - Yearly Leaders. (PDF (83 MB)) Boise State University , November 2, 2013, pp. 72 to 75 , accessed on May 30, 2014 . 
6. ↑ Legabasket: Tanoka Beard. Lega Basket Serie A , accessed May 30, 2014 (Italian, player profile). 
7. ↑ Tanoka Beard - Turkish Basketball League Player. TBLStat.net, accessed on May 30, 2014 (English, TBL player statistics). 
8. ↑ Tanoka Beard, MVP de la temporada 98-99. Liga ACB , October 26, 2005, accessed May 30, 2014 (Spanish, media info). 
9. ↑ East All-Stars - West All-Stars / FIBA ​​EuroStars 1999. FIBA Europe , December 28, 1999, accessed on May 30, 2014 (English, game statistics). 
10. ↑ Beard establece una nueva marca de rating con 66 puntos. Liga ACB , January 22, 2004, accessed May 30, 2014 (Spanish). 
11. ^ One shot that changed Euroleague history. YouTube , accessed on May 29, 2014 ( ULEB upload of April 8, 2014). 
12. ↑ Tanoka Beard leaves the Euroleague. (No longer available online.) BallinEurope.com, November 11, 2007, archived from the original on May 31, 2014 ; accessed on May 30, 2014 (blog post). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
13. ↑ Israel Basketball / 2007-08 Season / Hapoel Holon / Tanoka Beard. Ligat ha'Al , accessed May 30, 2014 (English, player statistics). 
14. ↑ Joshua Halickman: Firecracker tragedy halts Malha match. The Jerusalem Post , November 11, 2007, accessed May 30, 2014 . 
15. ^ Allon Sinai: Hapoel looks for first away win of season. The Jerusalem Post , January 20, 2008, accessed May 30, 2014 . 
16. ↑ bsnpr.com - Jugadores: Beard, Tanoka. Baloncesto Superior Nacional , accessed May 30, 2014 (Spanish, player statistics). 
17. ↑ Tartu Rock lands Tanoka Beard. ULEB , August 27, 2008, accessed May 30, 2014 . 
18. ↑ EuroCup Quali 08: Match report - qualification. Allianz Swans Gmunden , accessed on May 30, 2014 (match report as blog posting and media information).