by William Menna

Created on: October 05, 2010

The University of Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team plays in the Atlantic 10 Conference of NCAA Division I. The Rams have been to eight NCAA Tournaments and they have sent 13 players to the NBA. Among the best NBA players from the University of Rhode Island are shooting great Cuttino Mobley and active forward Lamar Odom.

Lamar Odom:

The top NBA player from the University of Rhode Island is versatile forward Lamar Odom. Spending one collegiate season with the Rams, Odom led URI to its eighth and most recent NCAA Tournament in 1999. He became the highest draft pick in school history when the Los Angeles Clippers selected him fourth overall in the 1999 NBA Draft. Odom had a strong start to his career; in four seasons with the Clippers, he averaged 15.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game.

After his rookie contract, Odom signed with the Heat in 2003, but spent only one year with the team before being traded to the Lakers. With the Lakers for the last six years, Odom has had his greatest success. He has twice averaged a double-double in points and rebounds. In 2009 and 2010, he was a major contributor to back-to-back NBA Championship teams. Now 11 years into his NBA career and counting, Lamar Odom has lifetime averages of 14.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. He is up to 47th on the NBA's all-time rebounding list with 5,168.

Cuttino Mobley:

A great shooter who enjoyed a strong 11-year career, two-guard Cuttino Mobley was one of the best NBA players from the University of Rhode Island. In his senior season with the Rams, Mobley led URI to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history. He was a second round pick by the Rockets in 1998 and he made an immediate impact as their starting shooting guard. Spending most of his first six seasons in that role, Mobley developed into a major scoring threat. In 2001-02, he averaged a career high 21.7 points per game while knocking down a full two three-pointers per game.

In 11 seasons split between the Rockets, Magic, and Clippers, Mobley totaled 11,964 points with career averages of 16.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.5 threes per game. Mobley had great range and shot .378 from three point territory and .835 from the free throw line for his career. His 1,085 three-point baskets rank in the NBA's all-time top 50.

Sylvester Williams:

Swingman Sly Williams played seven professional seasons as one of the best NBA players from the University of Rhode Island. Williams averaged 21.2 points in three seasons at URI and he led the Rams to their third ever NCAA Tournament in 1978. He was chosen in the first round of the 1979 draft by the Knicks, spending the first four years of his career with the team. His second year was his career year as he averaged 13.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.7 steals for the Knicks. Williams played parts of another three seasons with the Hawks and Celtics, accumulating career totals of 3,327 points and 1,287 rebounds.

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