Ricky Berry

Ricky Berry
Personal information
Born (1964-10-06)October 6, 1964
Lansing, Michigan
Died August 14, 1989(1989-08-14) (aged 24)
Fair Oaks, California
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight 205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school Live Oak (Morgan Hill, California)
College
NBA draft 1988 / Round: 1 / Pick: 18th overall
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Playing career 1988–1989
Position Small forward
Number 34
Career history
1988–1989 Sacramento Kings
Career highlights and awards
  • 3× First-team All-PCAA (1986–1988)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
1987 Indianapolis Team competition

Ricky Alan Berry (October 6, 1964 – August 14, 1989) was an American professional basketball player in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings.

Ricky Berry was born in Lansing, Michigan in 1964, when his father Bill Berry was a student-athlete at Michigan State University. The Berry family moved to the Sacramento, California area in 1966 when Bill Berry became head coach at a local high school and later Consumnes River Junior College.[1][2] Ricky Berry attended Live Oak High School of Morgan Hill, California when his father became head men's basketball coach at San Jose State in 1979.[3]

Berry was 6'8" and played small forward. After graduating from high school, Berry played for Oregon State in the 1983–84 and transferred to San Jose State in 1984 to play under his father Bill Berry. After sitting out one year per transfer rules, Berry played for the San Jose State Spartans from 1985 to 1988. Ricky Berry was selected 18th overall in the 1988 NBA Draft by the Kings and had a solid rookie season, averaging 11.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists while shooting 40.6% from three-point range.

In the 1989 offseason, and just weeks before his 25th birthday, Berry was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Fair Oaks, California on August 14, 1989, following an argument with his wife. He had displayed no signs of depression and had left a suicide note.

References

  1. ↑ "Bill Berry". NBA. 2002. Archived from the original on February 13, 2005.
  2. ↑ Davidson, Joe (August 14, 2009). "Grief remains 20 years after Ricky Berry suicide". Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on August 17, 2009. . Links only work with JavaScript disabled.
  3. ↑ Geissinger, Steve (August 20, 1989). "What demons drove Kings' Ricky Berry to commit suicide?". Associated Press via Deseret News. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
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