Lester Fonville

American basketball player
Lester Fonville
Personal information
Born (1963-02-15) February 15, 1963 (age 61)
Mound Bayou, Mississippi, U.S.
Listed height7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High schoolJohn F. Kennedy
(Mound Bayou, Mississippi)
College
NBA draft1987: 2nd round, 29th overall pick
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
PositionCenter
Career history
1987–1989Mississippi Jets / Wichita Falls Texans
1990Norwood Flames
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-SWAC (1987)
  • Second-team All-SWAC (1986)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Lester Fonville (born February 15, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. He played at John F. Kennedy High School in his hometown of Mound Bayou, Mississippi, before he spent one year playing collegiately at Lake City Community College.[1] After sitting out one season,[1] he played college basketball with the Jackson State Tigers for three years and emerged as a potential NBA draft candidate.[2] In his senior season, his 3.9 blocks per game were ranked third best in NCAA Division I.[3] Fonville was selected to the second-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in 1986 and the first-team in 1987.[4]

Fonville was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers as the 29th overall pick of the 1987 NBA draft. Although he never played for the Trail Blazers, he signed with the team in April 1988, was on their 1988 playoff roster, and worked out regularly with their Lithuanian prospect, Arvydas Sabonis, prior to the 1988–89 NBA season.[5][6]

Fonville played two seasons in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1987 to 1989. He played for the Mississippi Jets for the 1987–88 season, then stayed with the team the next season as they relocated and became the Wichita Falls Texans. He averaged 3.7 points and 5.3 rebounds over 34 games.[7] He spent the 1990 season with the Norwood Flames of the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL).[8]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1984–85 Jackson State 25 – 17.4 .467 – .489 5.7 .5 .2 2.2 7.1
1985–86 Jackson State 29 – 24.0 .447 – .529 7.8 1.4 .5 3.2 7.3
1986–87 Jackson State 29 26 30.3 .454 – .660 10.3 1.0 .7 3.9 13.7
Career 83 26 24.2 .455 – .599 8.0 1.0 .5 3.1 9.5

References

  1. ^ a b "JSU coach Covington: give the big man time". Clarion-Ledger. December 5, 1984. p. 37.
  2. ^ "Cunningham's Scouting Report". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. 21 June 1987. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  3. ^ "NBA Draft A Pleasant Change For Black Colleges". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. 13 July 1987. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Southwestern Athletic Conference". College Hoopedia. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  5. ^ "Sabonis Is No Bolshevik Playboy, Blazers Say". Deseret News. 12 June 1988. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Transactions". The New York Times. April 21, 1988. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  7. ^ 1989–90 CBA Official Guide and Register, Denver, Colorado: Continental Basketball Association, 1989, p. 258
  8. ^ "Lester Fonville SEABL Player Profile". SportsTG. Retrieved 27 December 2019.

External links

  • College statistics