Dwayne Washington (basketball)

Dwayne Alonzo "Pearl" Washington (January 6, 1964 – April 20, 2016) was an American college and professional basketball player. He was a 6'2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) guard.

Washington grew up in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, where he acquired his nickname as an eight-year-old in a taunting comparison to Earl "the Pearl" Monroe.^[1]

He was a playground phenomenon from Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn, and was rated as the number 1 overall high school player in the United States 1983.^[2] He brought his flashy play to Syracuse University and the Carrier Dome. The Pearl was the master of the "shake and bake", in which he would leave his defensive opposition standing still while he drove by them for a layup.

Washington was drafted by the New Jersey Nets in the 1st round (13th pick) of the 1986 NBA draft. In two seasons with the Nets he averaged 9 points per game. In 1988 the Miami Heat selected him in their expansion draft. He played 54 games for the Heat before being released. Following his release, Washington played for the Rapid City Thrillers and San Jose Jammers in the Continental Basketball Association.^[3]

Washington had surgery on August 27, 2015 at Crouse Hospital in Syracuse to address a malignant brain tumor.^[4]

On April 20, 2016 Washington died at the age of 52 from cancer.^[5]

References

↑ Vecsey, George. "SPORTS OF THE TIMES; The Pearl Fits In At Syracuse", The New York Times, March 9, 1984. Accessed December 5, 2007. "This part of the legend does survive: Washington admits that when he was 8 years old at the Howard Housing Project in Brownsville, his elders asked him: Who do you think you are, the Pearl?"
↑ hot
↑ 1991-92 Official CBA Guide and Register, page 329
↑ Christian Red and Kevin Armstrong (2015-08-31). "Syracuse basketball star Dwayne 'Pearl' Washington has malignant brain tumor". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
↑ AP Staff (2016-04-20). "Former Syracuse basketball star Pearl Washington dies at 52". latimes.com. Retrieved 2016-04-20.

External links

1986 NBA Draft

First round	Brad Daugherty Len Bias Chris Washburn Chuck Person Kenny Walker William Bedford Roy Tarpley Ron Harper Brad Sellers Johnny Dawkins John Salley John Williams Dwayne Washington Walter Berry Dell Curry Maurice Martin Harold Pressley Mark Alarie Billy Thompson Buck Johnson Anthony Jones Scott Skiles Ken Barlow Arvydas Sabonis

Second round	Mark Price Greg Dreiling Dennis Rodman Larry Krystkowiak Johnny Newman Nate McMillan Joe Ward Cedric Henderson Kevin Duckworth Johnny Rogers Milt Wagner Steve Mitchell Panagiotis Fasoulas Lemone Lampley Rafael Addison Augusto Binelli Otis Smith Ron Kellogg Dave Feitl David Wingate Keith Smith Jeff Hornacek Michael Jackson

1985 NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-Americans

First Team	Johnny Dawkins Patrick Ewing Keith Lee Xavier McDaniel Chris Mullin Wayman Tisdale

Second Team	Len Bias Jon Koncak Mark Price Kenny Walker Dwayne Washington

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