Tony Bland
Position: Guard
Height/Weight: 6-5 / 201
Birthdate: January 27, 1980 (Los Angeles, Calif.)
High
School: Westchester HS (Los Angeles, Calif.)
College: San Diego State
Pro Career Highlights: Played in Russia in 2004-05 with Ural Great Perm, averaging 10.3 points and 4.2 assists in nine games. Participated in NBA training camp in the fall of 2004 with the Sacramento Kings. Played in the USBL in the summer of 2004, starting with the Westchester Wildfire before moving on to the Brevard Blue Ducks. Averaged 18.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.7 assists in 29 total games. Named USBL Rookie of the Year.
College Highlights: Earned Second Team
All-Mountain West Conference honors as a senior. Finished collegiate career as
San Diego State's 18th all-time leading scorer with 1,012 points in only two seasons.
Also ranks sixth all-time in scoring average (16.1 ppg) and ninth in minutes played
(2,182). Played first two seasons at Syracuse before transferring to San Diego
State, where he sat out the 2000-01 season under NCAA transfer rules. Amassed
1,368 points, 331 rebounds, 319 assists, and 127 steals at the Division I level.
Started 95 of 127 career games.
Senior (2002-03): Averaged a team-high
16.4 points (sixth in the MWC) and 3.4 assists (fourth). Started all 30 games.
Led the team in scoring 18 times, including a season-high 29 point performance
vs. Loyola Marymount. Posted 28 points on 11-for-13 shooting vs. Air Force. Tallied
21 points, five assists, and four rebounds vs. UNLV. Scored 19 points vs. Colorado
State, and hit for 25 points in the rematch. Led team with 17 points in a win
over UC Santa Barbara in the first round of the post-season NIT.
Junior
(2001-02): Averaged 15.7 points (seventh in the MWC) and 3.4 assists (fourth).
Became the first player in Mountain West Conference history to rank in the league's
top ten in scoring and assists, and the top twenty in rebounding in the same season.
Started 32 of 33 games. Led the team in scoring nine times. Registered a career-high
33 points to go with six rebounds and five assists vs. Houston. Shot 10-for-14
from the field on his way to 23 points at Colorado State. Tallied 24 points and
a season-high nine assists vs. Norfolk state.
Sophomore (2000-01): At Syracuse averaged 6.7 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. Started all 32 games. Scored in double figures 11 times. Scored season-high 22 points vs. West Virginia. Sank 4-for-9 from behind three-point range and dished out six assists vs. Notre Dame.
Freshman (1999-00): Averaged 4.4 points and 1.6 assists in 15.7 minutes a contest. Started once in 32 appearances. Scored in double figures five times, with a season-high 15 points vs. Chaminade.
Personal: Majored in sociology.
