Mourning, Alonzo
Basketball
b. Feb. 8, 1970, Chesapeake, VA
Very similar in style to the great Bill Russell, the 6-foot-10, 240-pound Mourning was an intimidating defensive center because of his size, reflexes, and leaping ability.
At Georgetown University, he averaged 16.7 points per game and led NCAA Division I schools with 169 blocked shots in 1988-89 and 160 in 1991-92. Mourning was chosen by the expansion Charlotte Hornets in the first round of the 1992 NBA draft. He was the second player selected.
Mourning was named to the league's all-rookie team in 1993 after scoring 1,639 points, blocking 271 shots, and pulling down 805 rebounds in 78 games. He finished second to Shaquille O'Neal in rookie of the year voting.
Nicknamed "Zo," Mourning spent three seasons with Charlotte and was then traded to the Miami Heat. With Miami, he was named the NBA's defensive player of the year in 1999 and 2000. He also played for the Olympic team that won the gold medal in 2000 and was named USA Basketball's male player of the year.
Shortly before the 2000-01 season, Mourning he was diagnosed with focal glomerulosclerosis, a kidney disorder. He missed most of that season while being treated for the illness, but came back to play 75 games in 2001-02. However, he was then forced to sit out all of the following season.
In 2003, he signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Nets. Mourning appeared in only 12 games before announcing his retirement because he required a kidney transplant. He underwent the operation in December. On March 18, 2004, he attended a Nets' game for the first time since his surgery, sitting on the team's bench in street clothes. Although he hasn't totally ruled the possibility of a return to the sport, he has said that it's unlikely.