Spencer Dinwiddie

Spencer Dinwiddie (born April 6, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Windy City Bulls of the NBA Development League. He played college basketball for the Colorado Buffaloes and earned first-team all-conference honors in the Pac-12 as a junior in 2013. He missed most of his senior year after injuring his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Dinwiddie recovered and was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the second round of the 2014 NBA draft. After two seasons with the Pistons, he was traded to the Chicago Bulls in June 2016.

High school career

At William Howard Taft High School, Dinwiddie was sometimes recognized as one of the greatest standout athletes since Jordan Farmar. He averaged 5.9 points and 4.1 assists as the starting point guard alongside a fellow 2014 draftee in DeAndre Daniels at the conclusion of his junior season. Dinwiddie maximized his game as he began his ultimate year representing the school, averaging 11.2 points and 7.7 assists. He was eventually known as one of the most skilled passers in school history, helping him become the John R. Wooden California High School Player of the Year in 2011. However, Long Beach Poly's Ryan Anderson was named California Mr. Basketball. Dinwiddie became just one of seven players before him that won the prestigious award as a senior. The powerful duo consisting of Daniels and Dinwiddie won the city championship this season as well. This final season at Taft helped Dinwiddie gain the attention of colleges around the country, though he chose to attend Colorado rather than Harvard, Oregon, Santa Clara, or UNLV.

Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Dinwiddie was listed as the No. 25 point guard and the No. 146 player in the nation in 2011.^[1]

College career

Freshman

In the first regular season game for Colorado, Dinwiddie made his collegiate debut in a 32-pt victory over Fort Lewis with seven points and seven rebounds. He shot just 2-for-9 from the field.^[2] Dinwiddie finally reached double figures in his sixth appearance, which was against Georgia. This was the first time he had shot over .500 on field goals up till then. The California native would lead the team to this win and make three key free throws in the final seconds.^[3] After becoming a significant part of the program, Dinwiddie teamed with fellow freshman, Askia Booker, forming another feared duo on his new team. They combined for 677 points, making school history by scoring over 250 points each. At the conclusion of the season, they were the only Buffaloes to do so. Dinwiddie became a member of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament Championship Team due to his instant success on the balanced team. He led Colorado in free-throw percentage and ranked third among freshman in that category.^[4] By the end of the regular season, Dinwiddie had helped the team earn its first NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament berth since the 2002-03 season.^[5] Shooting three-pointers at a 43.8% clip, Dinwiddie was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team with other big names such as Tony Wroten.^[6] He was the only Pac-12 freshman to shoot for a field-goal percentage of over .400 total.

Sophomore

The departures of Carlon Brown and Nate Tomlinson were instrumental in Dinwiddie's breakout sophomore season. Leading the team in assists, they reached the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament for the second consecutive season, in which they reached the second round. It was the first time the team had reached back-to-back tournaments since the 1963 season. The Buffaloes won the 2012 Charleston Classic, in which Dinwiddie took the role as starting small forward in the final three rounds. He was just one of two players– the other being Askia Booker– to start all thirty-three games. By the end of the season, Booker and Dinwiddie became the highest sophomore scoring tandem in school history. Dinwiddie led the team in assists twenty times and was the top scorer on fifteen different occasions. He recorded 29 points in a home win over Colorado State, which marked his own career-high scoring record. On February 10, 2012, Dinwiddie recorded a perfect game against Oregon State. He shot six-for-six from the field, 4-for-4 from beyond the arc, and 8-for-8 on free throws. This set the school record for most points scored without missing a single shot.^[7] He made the remark, "I see over people and I shoot over people... for the smaller point guards, they don't really get to contest me." The Taft graduate stood 6'6" by the end of the season.^[8]

Junior

Dinwiddie continued to act as the leader of the Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball team through the beginning of his junior year. He helped the team win 14 of their first 16 regular season games, which made them one of the most successful underdogs in the country, most notably toppling the Kansas Jayhawks due to a game-winner from Askia Booker.^[9] Dinwiddie was considered the catalyst for the unanticipated run from his team, however. On November 21, 2012, he shot a career-best 14-for-15 from the charity stripe against Santa Barbara. Colorado managed to win each game in which their top scorer scored 20 or more points total.

On January 12, 2014, Dinwiddie suffered a career-threatening ACL injury against Washington, forcing him to sit out for the remainder of the season. As his junior season was completely cut short, the team finished the year just 7-8. Dinwiddie reportedly made contact with Russ Paine, who helped Adrian Peterson recover from his ACL injury and become the 2012 NFL MVP.^[10][11]

On April 24, 2014, Dinwiddie declared for the NBA draft, foregoing his final year of college eligibility.^[12]

Professional career

Detroit Pistons (2014–2016)

Dinwiddie on assignment with Grand Rapids Drive in 2016

On June 26, 2014, Dinwiddie was selected with the 38th overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2014 NBA draft.^[13] On July 21, he signed a three-year deal with the Pistons.^[14][15] He made his NBA debut on October 29 in a 89–79 loss to the Denver Nuggets, recording one assist in seven minutes of action.^[16] On February 20, 2015, Dinwiddie had a then season-best game with 12 points and 9 assists as he made his first career start against the Chicago Bulls following the Pistons' trade deadline deal of D. J. Augustin to Oklahoma City.^[17] He went on to record 20 points and 8 assists off the bench against the Washington Wizards on February 28 after starter Reggie Jackson was benched for the last 13 minutes of the game.^[18]

During his rookie and sophomore seasons, Dinwiddie has had multiple assignments with the Grand Rapids Drive, the Pistons' D-League affiliate.^[19][20]

On June 17, 2016, Dinwiddie was traded to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Cameron Bairstow.^[21] He was waived by the Bulls on July 7,^[22] re-signed on July 28,^[23] and waived again on October 21 after appearing in five preseason games.^[24]

Windy City Bulls (2016–present)

On November 1, 2016, he was acquired by the Windy City Bulls of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of Chicago.^[25]

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

National team career

Following his sophomore season, Dinwiddie became just one of twelve American college athletes to take part in the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia. The team missed out on the medal round, but Dinwiddie managed to dish a team-high 44 assists, becoming the only Pac-12 player on the roster. Dinwiddie set the Summer Universiade record for the highest assists average due to the performance.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spencer Dinwiddie.

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com
• Colorado bio