Adam Harrington (basketball)
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men’s basketball | ||
Competitor for  United States |
||
| FIBA Americas U18 Championship | ||
| Gold | 1998 Puerto Plata | Team competition |
Adam Philip Harrington (born July 5, 1980 in Bernardston, MA) is an American professional basketball player. He played collegiately at Auburn University and North Carolina State University. He has played professionally in the United States, Europe, and China.
Early career
Harrington attended Pioneer Valley Regional School in Northfield, Massachusetts. Because his high school housed grades 7 through 12 in the same building Harrington started playing on the varsity basketball team in eighth grade. Harrington made an immediate impact, as a 13 year old, eighth grader, he hit four three-point baskets late in a game to lead his team to the Western Massachusetts Tournament Finals. By the time his career was finished Harrington would record a total of 2,347 points scored, he was a member of 3 Western Massachusetts sectional winners and two Massachusetts State Championship teams. Over his career his team record for games he played in was 96-7. Harrington was awarded the 1998 Gatorade Massachusetts High School Basketball boys Player of the Year, the 1998 USA Today Massachusetts Boys Basketball Player of the Year, he was named a Parade Magazine Third-Team All American and was ranked as the third best high school shooting guard, and overall 18th best player in the country.
College career
After a stellar high school career and interest from many of the nation's top college programs, Harrington signed a national letter of intent to play at North Carolina State University under then coach, Herb Sendek. Harrington started the 1998-1999 season with the Wolfpack coming off the bench but by mid-season was a regular in the starting lineup. He ended the season as the team's leading scorer, averaging 11.6 points per game on a team that finished 19-14 and reached the NIT Tournament. Harrington left N.C. State after his freshman season and transferred to Auburn University. After sitting out the 1999-2000 season per NCAA regulations Harrington had a solid season with the Tigers in 2000-2001. He played in 31 games, starting 22 of them and averaged 15.5 points and 2.4 assists per game. His numbers slumped a bit in the 2001-2002 season as he played in 28 games, starting only 15 of them, averaging 10.1 points per game. Harrington declared himself eligible for the 2002 NBA draft, leaving school after his junior season.
Professional career
After not being drafted in the 2002 NBA Draft Harrington would play with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Summer League before signing a free agent contract with the Dallas Mavericks on October 1, 2002. He would play in 13 games with the Mavericks, averaging 0.8 points per game. He would be released by the Mavericks on January 7, 2003 and signed with the Denver Nuggets on March 23, 2003 and played with them for the remainder of the season, playing in 6 games and averaging 3.2 points per game.
In the 2003-2004 season Harrington would start by playing in China for the Shaanxi Kylins for a six game stint before returning to the United States to play for the Columbus Riverdragons of the NBA Development League. He would play in 17 games with the Riverdragons and would average 11.2 points per game and would finish 3rd in the league in 3 Point Field Goal percentage and 9th in the league in Free Throw percentage.
Harrington would play the entire 2004-2005 season again with the Columbus Riverdragons. He would play in 35 games and average 11.2 points per game and was in the top 10 in the league in most 3 point shooting categories.
In the 2005-2006 season Harrington would again play internationally, this time in Europe, beginning the season playing in Spain for CB Gran Canaria and in eight games would average 9.8 points per game. After being waived by Gran Canaria he was picked up by Bnei HaSharon in Israel playing 12 games with them and averaging 18.6 points per game, he would end the season back in Spain with Cantabria Baloncesto and would play in 3 games averaging 9.7 points per game.
Harrington again spent the 2006-2007 season in Europe starting with the Brose Baskets.[1] in Germany. He would struggle a bit and only average 7.1 points per game in 11 games before moving to Croatia to play for Cedevita Zagreb. Harrington had a great remainder to the season averaging 15.1 points per game in 11 games.
In 2007-2008 Harrington would return to the U.S. and play again in the NBA Developmental League for the Tulsa 66ers. He would play in 41 games before a knee injury kept him out of the final games of the season. He would start 32 of the 41 games and would average 16 points per game. He also won the league's 3-point Shooting Contest held in New Orleans as part of the inaugural D-League Dream Factory Friday Night skills competition. The contest was held in conjunction with the NBA's All Star weekend.
Harington returned to Europe for the 2008-2009 season and would play for Limoges CSP Elite of France. He averaged 13.6 points per game before an ankle injury shortened his season to just 13 games. Before being hobbled by the injury Harrington had been averaging 18.5 points per game, however his averages took a significant hit after the injury limited his playing time.
For the 2009-2010 season Harrington was signed to a NBA Development League contract and was allocated to the Springfield Armor based on territorial rights, to be part of their inaugural campaign. Harrington would serve as somewhat of a hometown favorite as he grew up only about 45 miles from Springfield. However, after an 0-7 start with the team and only averaging 8.3 points per game Harrington was cut by the Armor on December 17, 2009.[2] On January 6, 2010 it was announced that Harrington had signed with Kotwica Kołobrzeg of the Dominet Bank Ekstraliga in Poland.[3] He would finish the season with Kotwica playing in their last 10 games of the season and averaged 9.8 points per game.
