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Darryl Eugene "D. J." Strawberry Jr. (born June 15, 1985) is an American-born naturalized Cameroonian[1] former professional basketball player. He is the son of former Major League Baseball player Darryl Strawberry.

High school career

While living in Corona, California, Strawberry attended Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana.[2] During Strawberry's senior year at Mater Dei, he defended future NBA superstar LeBron James in a nationally televised matchup against St. Vincent–St. Mary High School of Akron, Ohio. Strawberry was lauded for his efforts, which included holding James to a 33% shooting performance (8 for 24 from the field), and 0 for 8 from beyond the three-point line).[3]

Considered a four-star recruit by 247Sports, Strawberry was listed as the No. 15 shooting guard and the No. 84 player in the nation in 2003.[4]

College career

Strawberry assumed the role of a swingman for the Maryland Terrapins, and he was much valued for his on-the-ball defense. He averaged nearly 2 steals per game, leading his team in that category. He was also valued for his off-the-bench intensity; it is felt that Maryland's absence from the 2005 NCAA tournament was due in no small part to a season-ending ACL injury Strawberry suffered in mid-January of that year.

While he was primarily a swingman, a lack of depth pressed Strawberry into the role of point guard during his junior year. He had various degrees of success in this new role, leading the team in assists(4.0 per game). Strawberry received Honorable Mention All-ACC Freshman honors. During his junior year, he received Honorable Mention All-ACC Defensive Team honors, becoming the eighth player in Maryland history to lead the team in both steals and assists. In his senior season, Strawberry was voted to second team All-ACC.

Professional career

Strawberry was drafted by the Phoenix Suns with the 59th selection in the 2007 NBA draft. He was signed on August 28, 2007 to a two-year contract.[5]

NBA D-League

On December 18, 2007, it was announced he was assigned to the Albuquerque Thunderbirds of the NBA D-League.[6] He was named Performer of the Week for the week ending January 6. Strawberry was recalled to the Suns in place of another rookie, Alando Tucker, on January 10, 2008.[7]

2008–09 season

On August 25, 2008, he was traded to the Houston Rockets for Sean Singletary,[8] but was waived on October 24.[9] Six days later, he signed with the Italian club Fortitudo Bologna for the rest of the season.[10]

In April, 2009, he suffered a meniscus injury to his left knee, ending his season in Italy.[11] He then returned to the United States for surgery, and in July, 2009 he began a 6-month program in Los Angeles.

2009–present

In January 2010, Strawberry joined the Reno Bighorns of the NBA D-League.[12]

In July 2010, Strawberry joined the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2010 NBA summer league.[13] On September 17, 2010, he was signed by the New Orleans Hornets to a non-guaranteed one-year deal.[14] However, he was later waived by the Hornets on October 20.[15] Afterwards, Strawberry re-signed with the Reno Bighorns.[16] On January 18, 2011, he signed with Lietuvos rytas of Lithuania until the end of the 2010–11 season.[17]

On August 26, 2011, Strawberry signed a two-year deal with the Israeli club Hapoel Migdal.[18] After one season in which he averaged 15.6 points in the Israeli League, he parted ways with Hapoel on June 25, 2012.[19]

On September 20, 2012, Strawberry signed with the Croatian club Cibona.[20] On June 22, 2013, Strawberry signed with the Capitanes de Arecibo of Puerto Rico for the 2013 BSN season.[21] On July 12, 2013, he re-signed with Cibona.[22] On December 25, 2013, he was released by Cibona due to financial problems of the club.[23] Two days later, he signed with Pau-Lacq-Orthez of France for the rest of the season.[24]

On June 27, 2014, he signed with Piratas de Quebradillas of Puerto Rico for the 2014 BSN season.[25] On July 2, 2014, he signed a one-year deal with Pınar Karşıyaka of the Turkish Basketball League.[26]

On July 2, 2015, he signed a two-year contract with the Greek club and EuroLeague powerhouse Olympiacos.[27] After one season, he parted ways with Olympiacos.[28]

On July 22, 2016, Strawberry signed with Turkish club Beşiktaş for the 2016–17 season.[29] On July 3, 2017, he re-signed with Beşiktaş for one more season.[30]

On July 29, 2018, Strawberry signed a one-year deal with Herbalife Gran Canaria of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague.[31]

On October 31, 2019, he signed with Orléans Loiret Basket of the French Pro A.[32]

In June 2020, he signed for one term at Liga ACB team UCAM Murcia.[33] Strawberry parted ways with the team on June 30, 2021.[34]

He re-joined Orléans Loiret Basket on December 6, 2021.[35]

On January 30, 2022, Strawberry signed with Zamalek SC of the Egyptian Basketball Super League.[36] On February 12, he made his debut for the team when he recorded 5 points and 3 rebounds against Burgos in the 2022 FIBA Intercontinental Cup semifinal.[37]

Cameroon national team

In 2017, Strawberry was cleared to play with the senior men's Cameroon national basketball team.[38]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007–08 Phoenix 33 0 8.2 .315 .240 .474 .8 .9 .4 .2 2.2
Career 33 0 8.2 .315 .240 .474 .8 .9 .4 .1 2.2

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007–08 Phoenix 1 0 5.0 .000 .000 .000 1.0 .0 .0 .0 .0
Career 1 0 5.0 .000 .000 .000 1.0 .0 .0 .0 .0

References

  1. ^ D.J. STRAWBERRY basketball profile Nationality: USA-Cameroonian.
  2. ^ "D.J. Strawberry". University of Maryland. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  3. ^ "ESPN.com: NBA - LeBron James good enough as top-ranked Irish roll". www.espn.com. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  4. ^ D. J. Strawberry Recruiting Profile
  5. ^ Suns sign D.J. Strawberry.
  6. ^ Phoenix recalls D-League performer of the week Tucker.
  7. ^ Tucker heads to D-League, Strawberry is recalled.
  8. ^ Suns trade Strawberry to Rockets for rookie guard Singletary.
  9. ^ Rockets waive DJ Strawberry
  10. ^ Fortitudo Bologna lands D.J. Strawberry.
  11. ^ Fortitudo, Strawberry to undero surgery
  12. ^ Reno Bighorns announce they have acquired two new players
  13. ^ Lakers 2010 Summer League Schedule and Roster | THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS
  14. ^ HORNETS SIGN D.J. STRAWBERRY AND DARRYL WATKINS
  15. ^ New Orleans Hornets waive guard D.J. Strawberry, roster now stands at 15
  16. ^ "Bighorns Re-Sign D.J. Strawberry". KOLOTV.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  17. ^ Lietuvos Rytas tops backcourt with Strawberry
  18. ^ Hapoel Migdal lands DJ Strawberry for two years
  19. ^ Strawberry, Randle, Bradley and Thomas leave Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem
  20. ^ "Cibona officially pens a deal with DJ Strawberry". Sportando. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  21. ^ "Capitanes de Arecibo sign DJ Strawberry". Sportando. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
  22. ^ "Cibona keep DJ Strawberry". Sportando.com. July 12, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  23. ^ "Cibona otpustila američki dvojac" (in Croatian). Crosarka.com. Archived from the original on December 29, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  24. ^ "Pau-Orthez announced DJ Strawberry". Sportando.net. December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  25. ^ "DJ Strawberry signs with Piratas de Quebradillas". Sportando.com. June 27, 2014. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  26. ^ "Pinar Karsiyaka lands DJ Strwarberry". Sportando.com. July 2, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  27. ^ "Olympiacos adds Strawberry flavor to roster". Euroleague.net. July 2, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  28. ^ "Strawberry won't continue in Olympiacos". Eurohoops.net. June 6, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  29. ^ "Besiktas announced D.J Strawberry". Eurohoops.net. July 22, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  30. ^ Besiktas re-signs DJ Strawberry
  31. ^ "Herbalife Gran Canaria tabs DJ Strawberry - Club Baloncesto Gran Canaria". Club Baloncesto Gran Canaria. July 29, 2018. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  32. ^ "Orleans ink D.J. Strawberry". Sportando. October 31, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  33. ^ "DJ Strawberry es la primera pieza del nuevo proyecto del UCAM Murcia". Marca (in Spanish). June 6, 2020.
  34. ^ "DJ Strawberry, UCAM Murcia part ways". Sportando. June 30, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  35. ^ Skerletic, Dario (December 6, 2021). "DJ Strawberry returns to Orleans". Sportando. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  36. ^ Skerletic, Dario (January 30, 2022). "Zamalek SC signs DJ Strawberry". Sportando. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  37. ^ "Zamalek v Hereda San Pablo Burgos boxscore - FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2022 - 11 February". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  38. ^ DJ Strawberry can play for Cameroon at AfroBasket

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