Josh Boone

Josh Boone

New Jersey Nets  – No. 2
Power forward
Born	November 21, 1984 (1984-11-21) (age 25) Poughkeepsie, New York
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight	245 lb (111 kg)
League	NBA
Salary	$2,056,968[1]
College	Connecticut
Draft	23rd overall, 2006 New Jersey Nets
Pro career	2006–present
Awards	2004–2005 Big East Defensive Player of the Year
Profile	Info Page

Oscar Joshua "Josh" Boone (born November 21, 1984, in Mount Airy, Maryland) is an American professional basketball player for the New Jersey Nets of the NBA. He was a forward–center for the Connecticut Huskies, where he played for three years. He declared for the 2006 NBA Draft after his junior season, forgoing his final year of college.

High school

He attended South Carroll High School in Sykesville, Maryland, where he averaged 20 points, 14.4 rebounds and seven blocked shots per game. He teamed with Indiana-bound Marshall Strickland to lead South Carroll to a 20–6 record. In his junior year, the team tied Governor Thomas Johnson High School for the league championship. South Carroll then lost in the regional semi-finals to top-ranked Paint Branch High School. The next year, he helped lead the team to only the school's second ever state final four appearance, losing to Gwynn Park in the final four. After graduating, he attended West Nottingham Academy (a small college prep school) in Colora, Maryland, averaging 28 points, 16 rebounds and 9.7 blocks per game.

College

He was a forward/center for the Connecticut Huskies where he played for three years.

Freshman

Named to the Big East All-Rookie Team. Started 37 of 38 games at power forward. Averaged 5.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, and shot .554 from the field, for NCAA Champion Huskies. Scored nine points in both Final Four games, and grabbed 14 rebounds in National Semifinal win over Duke. Averaged 8.0 points and 11.3 rebounds in three Big East Tournament games. Set a Big East Tourney record for rebounds in a game by a freshman with a career-high^{[citation needed]} 16 boards in quarterfinal win at Notre Dame.^[2] In the Huskies season opener vs. Yale, became the 12th freshman under Jim Calhoun to start the season opener.

Sophomore

Big East Defensive Player of the Year and All-Big East Second Team selection. Named NABC and USBWA All-District First Team. Started all 31 games at center. Averaged 12.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks. Recorded a double-double in 11 games. He registered 18 points and 15 rebounds in 75–70 loss to Boston College.^[3] Scored a career-high 22 points and 8 blocked shots in December 30, 2004 win over Quinnipiac.^[4] He topped his career-high with nine blocks, along with seven points and eight rebounds, in win over St. John's on February 5, 2005.^[5]

Junior

All-Big East Honorable Mention and NABC All-District Second Team selection. Started 32 of 34 games at the power forward position. Averaged 10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. He had eight double-doubles on the season. Tallied 13 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in a 98–92 Sweet 16 win over Washington on March 24, 2006.^[6] Had 12 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks in a narrow 75–74 win over Notre Dame on February 21, 2006.^[7] Recorded 17 points and 15 rebounds in a 66–53 win at South Florida on March 1, 2006.^[8]

NBA Draft and Summer League

Josh Boone was picked 23rd overall in the 2006 NBA Draft by the New Jersey Nets. He was picked right behind former UConn teammate, Marcus Williams who was also selected by the Nets. During the 2006 Pepsi Pro Summer League in Orlando he led the league in rebounding (9 rpg) and was 2nd in blocked shots (1.67 bpg).

Injury

After the summer league he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder and was expected to be out for 4–6 months. Although he was expected to be out for 4–6 months, Boone returned much earlier. Boone made his NBA debut December 2, 2006 against the Philadelphia 76ers, playing 2 minutes. Suffering the effects of the injury and missing the pre-season training, Boone had an inconsistent but promising rookie season.

2006–07

Boone averaged 4.2 points per game, 2.80 rebounds per game and 0.3 blocks per game during his rookie season. On December 26, 2006, he had his season high of 12 rebounds against the Detroit Pistons, a game in which he played 30 minutes, the most he had hitherto played. Josh had a then career high 21 points on 10-for-10 shooting, while grabbing 6 rebounds on March 24, 2007 against the Charlotte Bobcats in Charlotte. The following game, on March 28 against the Indiana Pacers, Josh eclipsed his previous career-high by scoring 22 points on 11 for 13 shooting. He also posted his first double-double by grabbing 10 rebounds.

2007–08

In late December 2007, Boone earned his a spot in the starting lineup. He replaced Jason Collins as the starting center and contributed immediately, putting up a double-double almost every night. He currently holds an average of seven points & rebounds per game, and is improving on his defense. He admits that his jump shot still needs work. During the month of January, Boone was the target of a "Hack-a-Shaq" by Golden State Warriors coach Don Nelson.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Notes

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ Huskies face upstart Villanova next
3. ^ BC off to best start in school history
4. ^ (11) CONNECTICUT 123, QUINNIPIAC 71
5. ^ Red Storm shoot season-low 27 percent
6. ^ After slow start, UConn outlasts UW in OT in classic dogfight
7. ^ UConn squanders 19-point lead as Irish rally to force OT
8. ^ No. 2 UConn slips past South Florida despite poor shooting

External links

• Josh Boone Info Page at NBA.com

• Josh Boone Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
• NBA.com player profile
• uconnhuskies.com player profile
• Josh Boone fantasy basketball page