University of Houston Athletics
Ford Drafted By Phoenix Suns
6/28/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
June 28, 2001
Houston, Texas - In a somewhat surprising move, the Phoenix Suns looked to add some size and muscle to their lineup, and chose the University of Houston's Alton Ford with the 51st pick in the 2001 NBA Draft.
"Ford is a big, physical force (6-9, 275 lbs.) that we feel is someone who can develop," Phoenix president and general manager Bryan Colangelo said. "He has a long way to go, but with a little polishing and some work, we think he's going to have an impact with our team."
Ford averaged 10.8 points and 5.9 rebounds in his freshman season at Houston before becoming one of 58 early entries in this year's draft. He and SMU senior guard Jeryl Sasser were the only two players from the state of Texas selected.
"He had some fairly decent statistics at Houston, but he is a physical specimen that has an NBA body and with the right work and skill development has a chance to make it," Colangelo said.
The Suns surprised Ford with their selection because he had thought he might go higher in the Draft to some teams he has worked out with privately.
"I was surprised I fell to the Suns," Ford said. "From the people I'd been talking to, I thought I might go to the Sacramento Kings at No. 25. I also thought I could go to Vancouver at No. 33 or Dallas at No. 44.
"But, I also knew the Suns had been talking to me all day, so, I knew there was a chance of that too. From the way the Suns have treated me all day, they are the best place I could be going.
Ford was the lone pick for Phoenix after the Orlando Magic exercised their option to take the 18th pick of the NBA Draft as part of the trade that sent Anfernee Hardaway to Phoenix in 1999.
The Magic then sent that pick to Houston as part of a three-team, 11-player deal that included Vancouver in 1999.
"We are excited about him," Phoenix head coach Scott Skiles said. "He the kind of guy you look at and sort of go, "Wow!"
In addition to his physical stature, Ford impressed Colangelo and Skiles with his workouts at the NBA Draft Camp June 4-11 in Chicago.
"One of the tests they do in Chicago was have player bench press 185 pounds as many times as they can," Skiles said. "There were forwards on that list who threw it up maybe six or seven times. He (Ford) is 20 years old and threw it up 21 times, so this is a genuinely strong person."
Although the Suns did not bring Ford into Phoenix for a private workout, he was a player who they had targeted before the Draft.
"He was a guy who we had projected to go in the second round," Skiles said. "We had him high on our list and feel fortunate that we were able to get him here."
Phoenix had brought in UCLA point guard Earl Watson and Eastern Illinois shooting guard Kyle Hill for private workouts. But, Seattle took Watson with the 40th pick and Hill went to Dallas at 44. That left Ford, whom Phoenix vice president for player personnel Dick Van Arsdale had rated between the 25th and 35th picks.
"We feel that he has a good upside," Van Arsdale said. "When you are picking at 51, you have to take a chance on a player. You never know how somebody like this is going to turn out. But, I think the important thing is that this kid hasn't been in shape yet.
"At Houston, I think he weighed about 300 lbs., but in Chicago, he weighed 272. He pretty much bounced Michael Wright around and you know how strong Michael Wright is. He has a chance to be a good player if he's willing to work and do what the coaches tell him.
Skiles feels that Ford also must develop a better low post game in order to be effective in the NBA.
"I think that he is more of a face-up player right now," Skiles said. "I think he will be able to shoot the ball facing up fairly well, but then some of the other things are just going to have to come."
Another thing that impressed Colangelo was Ford's toughness and his agility.
"He's a tough kid," Colangelo said. "We asked (Houston head coach Ray McCallum), 'What would happen if a player in this league gave him an elbow or threw him to the ground?' and he said, "He'd probably knock him out." It's that kind of toughness that were looking to add to this team and something that we talked quite a bit about. It's a weakness or our team and we're looking for a big heavy-duty rebounding type of player.
"The other thing that's surprising is that he's got some agility with the ball. He'll put the ball on the floor and get to the hole. He's an interesting player and he's got a decent outside touch."
Ford was named to the freshman All-American fourth team by Bob Gibbons' All-Star Sports and to the Conference USA all-freshman team by a panel of C-USA coaches and media representatives.
He was a McDonald's high school All-American at Houston's Milby High School after averaging 23.5 points, 15.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots per game as a senior.
