Summary
Tanoka Dwight Beard (born September 29, 1971) is an American former[1] professional basketball player and coach.[2] During his career, he was able to play both the power forward and center positions. He earned an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in 2005, while leading the competition in rebounds, with an average of 10.6 per game. He won various European national domestic league championships and national domestic cup titles, in three different European countries.
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 29, 1971 Ogden, Utah |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 267 lb (121 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Bonneville (Washington Terrace, Utah) |
| College | Boise State (1989–1993) |
| NBA draft | 1993: undrafted |
| Playing career | 1993–2009 |
| Position | Center / power forward |
| Number | 6 |
| Coaching career | 2012–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1993–1994 | Lottomatica Roma |
| 1994 | Leche Río Breogán |
| 1994–1995 | Ülkerspor |
| 1995–1996 | Besançon BCD |
| 1996–1998 | Joventut Badalona |
| 1998–1999 | Real Madrid |
| 1999–2000 | Pamesa Valencia |
| 2000–2001 | Fenerbahçe |
| 2001–2002 | Joventut Badalona |
| 2002 | Lokomotiv MV |
| 2003–2007 | Žalgiris Kaunas |
| 2007–2008 | Hapoel Holon |
| 2008 | Guayama Wizards |
| 2008 | Fajardo Cariduros |
| 2008–2009 | Tartu Ülikool/Rock |
| As coach: | |
| 2012–2014 | Layton Christian Academy (assistant) |
| 2014–2018 | American Preparatory Academy (assistant) |
| 2018–2019 | Layton Christian Academy (assistant) |
| 2019– | Ben Lomond High |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
| |
High school edit
Beard attended Bonneville High School, in Washington Terrace, Utah, where he played high school basketball.
College career edit
After high school, Beard played college basketball at Boise State University, with the Boise State Broncos, from 1989 to 1993. He was named the Big Sky Conference's Freshman of the Year in 1990. He was named to the Big Sky Conference's First Team in 1991, 1992, and 1993. He was also named the MVP of the Big Sky Conference Tournament in 1993.
Over his four year college career, Beard averaged 17.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. In his senior season, he averaged 21.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.[3] Beard was named to the school's all-time basketball team in 2007.[4]
Professional career edit
Beard was twice named the Liga ACB's (Spain's top-tier level league) Most Valuable Player, in 1999 and 2002. He also holds the EuroLeague record, for the highest Performance Index Rating (PIR), in a single game, with 63. He achieved the record while he was a member of Žalgiris Kaunas, in a EuroLeague 2003–04 season game against Fortitudo Bologna, on 22 January 2004. In that game, Beard recorded 35 points, 19 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, in 38 minutes of playing time.[5]
Coaching career edit
After he retired from playing pro club basketball, Beard began working as a basketball coach in 2012.[6] In 2013, he opened up a basketball academy youth club called Ogden Pride Youth Basketball Club, in Ogden, Utah.
Awards and achievements edit
Clubs edit
Ülkerspor edit
- Turkish Super League Champion: (1994–95)
Joventut Badalona edit
- Spanish King's Cup Winner: (1996–97)
Žalgiris Kaunas edit
- 4× Lithuanian League Champion: (2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07)
- Baltic League Champion: (2004–05)
- Lithuanian Federation Cup Winner: (2006–07)
Personal edit
- 5× Spanish League All-Star: (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001)
- 13× Spanish League Player of the Week: (1996–02)
- 10× Spanish League Player of the Month: (1997–02)
- 2× FIBA EuroStar: (1998–99, 1999–00)
- Led the Spanish League in rebounding: (1998–99, 1999–00, 2001–02)
- 2× Spanish League MVP: (1998–99, 2001–02)
- Led the Turkish Super League in rebounding: (2000–01)
- 5× EuroLeague MVP of the Round: (2003–07)
- 5× Lithuanian League All-Star: (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
- PIR record in a single EuroLeague game: (2004)
- 2× Lithuanian All-Star Game MVP: (2003–04, 2004–05)
- 4× Lithuanian League MVP: (2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07)
- Lithuanian League Finals MVP: (2003–04, 2006–07)
- Baltic League MVP: (2004–05)
- Baltic League Final Four MVP: (2004–05)
- All-EuroLeague Second Team: (2004–05)
- 2× Led the EuroLeague in rebounding: (2004–05, 2006–07)
- Led the Lithuanian League in rebounding: (2004–05)
- 2× Baltic League All-Star: (2006, 2007)
- Baltic League All Star Game MVP: (2007)
Musical career edit
During 2005–06 season with Žalgiris, Beard recorded a track and a music video, with duo Linas and Simona, named "I Love U". This song was released on the album with the same name, on 22 July 2005, and in two weeks, it reached number 1 on the Lithuanian M-1 radio station. The lead singer of the duo, Linas Adomaitis, produced Beard's album, which has never been released.
EuroLeague career statistics edit
| 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 | PIR | Performance Index Rating |
| Bold | Career high |
| Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | Žalgiris Kaunas | 3 | 2 | 30.0 | .629 | .000 | .875 | 13.3 | 1.7 | 1.7 | .3 | 17.0 | 27.3 |
| 2003–04 | Žalgiris Kaunas | 20 | 10 | 26.0 | .561 | .000 | .696 | 7.6 | .7 | 1.1 | .8 | 14.6 | 17.4 |
| 2004–05 | Žalgiris Kaunas | 20 | 20 | 32.5 | .578 | .333 | .771 | 10.6 | 1.3 | 1.5 | .4 | 18.0 | 21.9 |
| 2005–06 | Žalgiris Kaunas | 14 | 13 | 27.8 | .429 | .130 | .781 | 8.1 | 2.1 | .9 | .3 | 13.6 | 15.4 |
| 2006–07 | Žalgiris Kaunas | 14 | 14 | 31.0 | .547 | .214 | .667 | 9.9 | 1.6 | .9 | .6 | 14.5 | 18.3 |
| 2007–08 | Žalgiris Kaunas | 2 | 0 | 19.7 | .308 | .000 | .500 | 4.0 | .5 | 1.5 | .5 | 5.5 | 4.0 |
| Career | 73 | 59 | 29.1 | .536 | .188 | .730 | 9.1 | 1.3 | 1.1 | .5 | 15.2 | 18.5 |
References edit
- ^ "Former pro basketball player strives to be role model for young athletes". Standard-Examiner. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
- ^ "Week 11 MVP: Tanoka Beard, Zalgiris Kaunas". Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
- ^ Tanoka Beard Position: Center 6-9 (206cm) School: Boise State.
- ^ Beard Selected To All-Time Basketball Team.
- ^ 2003-04 Regular Season Round 10 JANUARY 22, 2004 CET: 20:40.
- ^ Ben Lomond hires former pro player, Bonneville alum Tanoka Beard as boys hoops coach.
External links edit
- Euroleague.net profile
- FIBA Europe profile
- Eurobasket.com profile
- Italian League profile (in Italian)
- Spanish League profile (in Spanish)
- Spanish League archive profile (in Spanish)
- Turkish Super League profile
- Tanoka Beard at twitter.com
- Linas&Simona - "I Love U" (feat. Tanoka Beard) at YouTube.com