DePaul University Athletics
Hall of Fame & Jersey Retirements
- Induction:
- 2006
Rod Strickland played for DePaul men's basketball from 1985-88 where he graduated as a two-time All-American. He was one of three players in DePaul history to lead the team in assists for three consecutive seasons, graduating with a career 557 assists which rank third all-time for the Blue Demons. Strickland's 204 career steals also remain ranked second all-time at DePaul where he also tallied 1,448 points during his three seasons. Strickland's career 46.4 three-point percentage also ranks among the top-10 in program history. Strickland led DePaul to three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including back-to-back Sweet Sixteen's in 1986 and 1987.
The Bronx native was drafted 19th overall in the 1988 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks where he would launch a 17-year NBA career. Strickland was named to the 1989 NBA All-Rookie Second Team as he began his career with the Knicks and would later also play for the San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers, Washington Wizards, Miami Heat, Minnesota TImberwolves, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors and Houston Rockets. Strickland was the NBA assists leader in 1998 with 801 assists, also earning All-NBA Second Team honors. In 1998 he became the 25th NBA player in history to eclipse 10,000 career points and 5,000 assists. He concluded his NBA career with 14,463 points, 7,987 assists and 4,084 rebounds.
Following his playing career, Strickland served as director of basketball operations at Memphis before also serving in an administrative role at Kentucky and as an assistant coach at USF. Strickland then took over the professional path program as a part of the NBA G League from 2018-22, where he was then named head coach at Long Island where he currently leads the men's basketball program.
Strickland was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.
