Richie Adams
{{short description|American basketball player}}
{{for|the American songwriter|Ritchie Adams}}
{{Distinguish|Rich Adams}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Richie Adams
| image =
| image_size =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 9
| weight_lb =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1963|3|15}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = American
| high_school = Benjamin Franklin
(Harlem, New York)
| college = UNLV (1981–1985)
| draftyear = 1985
| draftround = 4
| draftpick = 81
| draftteam = Washington Bullets
| career_start =
| career_end =
| career_number =
| career_position = Center
| years1 =
| team1 =
| highlights =
- 2× PCAA Player of the Year (1984, 1985)
- 2× First-team All-PCAA (1984, 1985)
}}
Richie Adams (born March 15, 1963)1986–87 CBA Official Guide and register, page 214 is an American former basketball player known for his college basketball career at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) as well as for his manslaughter conviction of a 15-year-old girl later in his life.{{Cite news|last=Halbfinger|first=David M.|date=1998-09-29|title=Former Basketball Star Is Convicted in the Slaying of a Teen-Age Girl (Published 1998)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/29/nyregion/former-basketball-star-is-convicted-in-the-slaying-of-a-teen-age-girl.html|access-date=2020-10-30|issn=0362-4331}}
Early life
Adams grew up in the Andrew Jackson Housing Projects in the Bronx, New York.{{cite news| last =Carp| first =Steve| title =Adams faces life behind bars| newspaper =Las Vegas Sun| date =October 5, 1998| url =http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/1998/oct/05/adams-faces-life-behind-bars/| accessdate = November 19, 2012}} At age 13 he discovered his love for basketball after flying to Hawaii to play in a tournament. He enrolled at Benjamin Franklin High School (BFHS) in East Harlem where he would play with future National Basketball Association (NBA) player Walter Berry as well as Gary Springer, Kenny Hutchinson and Lonnie Green, all of whom were jointly credited with making BFHS the country's top-ranked team in the fall of 1979.{{Cite news| last = Mallozzi| first = Vincent M.| title = Like Fathers, Like Sons Is Goal for Iona Pair| newspaper = The New York Times| date = March 3, 2006| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/03/sports/ncaabasketball/03iona.html| accessdate = November 18, 2012}} He played at the Entertainer's Basketball Classic at Rucker Park.{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WEkupIjTKcEC&q=entertainers+basketball+classic&pg=PT157 |title = Asphalt Gods: An Oral History of the Rucker Tournament|isbn = 9780385506762|last1 = Mallozzi|first1 = Vincent M.|date = 2003-06-17| publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing }}
College career
After earning his GED from a Massachusetts junior college, Adams enrolled at UNLV to play for the Jerry Tarkanian-coached Runnin' Rebels basketball team.{{cite web| last =Alvarez | first =Lizette|author2=Mallozzi, Vincent M. | title =FROM SCHOOLYARD LEGEND TO KID ON THE RUN : RICHIE ADAMS, EX-UNLV STAR AND AN NBA PROSPECT, NOW HIDES OUT FROM DRUG DEALERS.| publisher =Daily News (Los Angeles)| date =November 17, 1996| url =http://www.thefreelibrary.com/FROM+SCHOOLYARD+LEGEND+TO+KID+ON+THE+RUN+%3A+RICHIE+ADAMS,+EX-UNLV+STAR...-a084003336| accessdate = November 18, 2012}} A {{height|ft=6|in=9}} center, he was known as an athletic player with great leaping ability who rose to prominence out of seemingly nowhere. Other than taking one season off during school to deal with family issues back in New York, Adams starred at UNLV. During his career he scored 1,168 points and grabbed 623 rebounds (his rebound total was a school-record at the time).{{cite news |last=Cyphers |first=Luke |date=October 20, 1996 |title=Richie To Rags From NBA Prospect To A Murder Suspect |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/1996/10/20/richie-to-rags-from-nba-prospect-to-a-murder-suspect/ |accessdate=2025-04-20 |newspaper=New York Daily News}} In one game against Utah State, Adams scored 37 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, and it was speculated that during Adams' prime he could out-rebound Dennis Rodman. The 1983–84 and 1984–85 seasons, his junior and senior seasons, respectively, Adams was named the back-to-back Pacific Coast Athletic Association Player of the Year. He averaged 12.7 points and 6.7 rebounds his junior year and 16.1 and 7.9 as a senior.
Professional career
After his collegiate career ended, the Washington Bullets selected him in the fourth round (81st overall) in the 1985 NBA draft.{{cite web| title =1985 NBA Draft| work =basketball-reference.com| publisher =Sports Reference, LLC| year=2012| url =https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1985.html| accessdate = November 18, 2012}} Adams never made the final roster, getting cut in training camp, and his professional career consisted of a short stint in the United States Basketball League as well as a select few games in South America. Adams also had a short stint in the Continental Basketball Association, splitting the 1985–86 season between the Bay State Bombardiers and Baltimore Lightning.
Legal troubles and murder conviction
Adams was never able to escape the street mentality in which he grew up.{{cite web| last =Steele| first =Ben| title = Order Of The Court: Examining the history of basketball one game at a time → Fallen Stars| publisher =Blogspot| date =February 23, 2010| url =http://orderofthecourt.blogspot.com/2010/02/fallen-stars.html| accessdate = November 18, 2012}} He was on a self-destructive path throughout college and that continued even after he was drafted by an NBA team; one day after Adams was chosen by the Bullets, he was arrested for car theft in the Bronx. He was charged with holding up a woman in Manhattan, for purse-snatching, and again for another car theft. Adams used drugs heavily (specifically cocaine) and spent most of his earned basketball money on them.
In 1996, Adams was arrested for manslaughter after Norma Rodriguez, a 15-year-old high school girl, was found dead from a violent stomping on October 15 of the same year. Authorities traced Adams to the crime, and two years later he was convicted of manslaughter and given a 25-year jail sentence. He began originally serving his sentence in Rikers Island Prison before getting moved to upstate New York. His sentence will not be through until 2023.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Big West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Richie}}
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:American murderers of children
Category:American people convicted of manslaughter
Category:Baltimore Lightning players
Category:Bay State Bombardiers players
Category:Basketball players from the Bronx
Category:UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball players
Category:Washington Bullets draft picks