Basketball
| Born: | February 28, 1980 Compton, CA |
|---|---|
| Hometown: | Compton, CA |
| Residence: | Detroit, MI |
| Ht: / Wt: | 6'9" / 215 lbs |
| Event(s): | Men's basketball |
| Position: | Forward |
Beijing bound
Tayshaun Prince is making is Olympic debut in Beijing after first appearing for Team USA at the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament, where the U.S. went 10-0 and qualified for the 2008 Olympics. Prince appeared in nine of the Americans' 10 games and averaged 7.3 points, 5.1 rebounds (second on team) and 2.1 assists in 17.8 minutes a game. He was 26 of 54 from the field (48.1 percent) from the field including 10 of 28 from 3-point range (35.7 percent). Although he can score, he'll be relied upon as a defensive stopper in the Olympics.
Getty Images With plenty of scorers already on the team, Prince will focus on defense for Team USA.
Prince of the Pistons
The 23rd overall pick by the Detroit Pistons in the 2002 NBA Draft, Prince didn't get much playing time his rookie season; he played in just 42 regular season games. But in the five years since, he has appeared in every regular and postseason Pistons game (509) and started all but two of them. Detroit has advanced into the Eastern Conference Finals each year since Prince joined the team, and made it to the NBA Finals in 2004 and 2005, winning the championship in '04. He's averaged 12.4 points a game in his career, but Prince's specialty is defense. He's been named to the NBA's All-Defensive Second team each of the past four years.
One of Kentucky's finest
After being named to the NCAA All-America second team as a junior at Kentucky, Prince tested the waters of the 2001 NBA Draft. But he ultimately decided to return for his senior season, after which he was named to the All-America third team. A three-time team MVP, Prince averaged 13.1 points and 5.6 rebounds a game in 135 career college games. He finished No. 7 in school Kentucky history in scoring (1,775 points), No. 2 in 3-point field goals made (204) and attempted (621) and No. 5 in block shots (142).
Dominguez domination
A 1998 McDonald's All-American while at Dominguez High School in Compton, Calif., Prince also was given the George Yardley Award from the Los Angeles Times that year. The honor annually goes to Southern California's best prep player and had previously included NBA players Baron Davis and Paul Pierce. Prince led Dominguez to a 96-9 record in his three years there, which included a state title in 1997. He graduated high school with a grade-point average of 3.3 and was on the honor roll for three years. Prince has two siblings, Tisha and older brother Tommie, who played basketball at Pepperdine.
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