Florida State University Athletics
Florida State Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2004
Sam Cassell enjoyed an outstanding high school career at Dunbar, including being named Baltimore Player of the Year. He averaged 22 points and nine assists and earned all-conference and all-city honors. His junior college career at San Jacinto was also impressive. He was named JC All-American, the best Junior College player by Hoop Scope and the top JC prospect at any position by Dick Vitale's Basketball Magazine.
Sam signed with the Seminoles his junior year, proving to be every bit the star basketball experts predicted. Cassell went on to lead the Seminoles to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 1992 and Elite Eight in 1993. As a senior, he set a school record with 97 steals and dished out 170 assists. He averaged over 18 points, nearly five assists, 4.3 rebounds and over two steals a game. Sam was named to the All-ACC second team twice and checks in at #19 on the all-time FSU scoring list after just two seasons wearing the garnet and gold.
The 6-3 guard was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the first round of the 1993 NBA draft. He quickly made his mark in the NBA, making several clutch baskets and avering over nine points per game in the playoffs which aided Houston in taking the Championship title in seven games. The following year, Cassell was again a pivotal performer as the Rockets rallied from series deficits against Utah and Phoenix before ultimately sweeping Orlando in the NBA Championship Series.
After three seasons and two championship rings with Houston, Sam was traded several times before settling in Milwaukee for five years. He was a Minnesota Timberwolf for two seasons and currently plays for the Los Angeles Clippers. In 13 NBA seasons, the Baltimore native averages over 16 points, and six assists per game and was named to the NBA All-Star team in 2004.
