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A. J. Slaughter

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A. J. Slaughter
Slaughter with Poland in 2016
No. 3 – Casademont Zaragoza
PositionShooting guard
LeagueLiga ACB
Personal information
Born (1987-08-03) August 3, 1987 (age 37)
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
NationalityAmerican / Polish
Listed height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Listed weight80 kg (176 lb)
Career information
High schoolShelby County
(Shelbyville, Kentucky)
CollegeWestern Kentucky (2006–2010)
NBA draft2010: undrafted
Playing career2010–present
Career history
2010–2011Angelico Biella
2011–2012Dexia Mons-Hainaut
2012–2013Cholet
2013–2014Élan Chalon
2014–2015Panathinaikos
2015–2016Banvit
2016–2017SIG Strasbourg
2017–2019ASVEL
2019–2020Real Betis
2020–2024Gran Canaria
2021Kuwait SC
2023Guaros de Lara
2024Gigantes de Carolina
2024–presentCasademont Zaragoza
Career highlights and awards

Anthony Darrell "A. J." Slaughter (born August 3, 1987) is an American-born naturalized Polish professional basketball player for Casademont Zaragoza of the Liga ACB. He played college basketball for Western Kentucky.

High school

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Slaughter started every game of his high school career at Shelby County, averaging 14.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.7 steals per game. He posted 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals per game during his sophomore year as the Rockets won the district championship, earning District MVP honors and a First-Team All-Region selection as well. Another district title followed in his junior year (18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals per game) with a second First-Team All-Region selection. He contributed 19.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.7 steals per game as a senior to help Shelby County reach the state Sweet 16, leading the Louisville Courier-Journal to name him as their Player of the Year, with a third First-Team All-State selection added.[1]

Rated a three-star recruit by Scout.com,[2] Slaughter received scholarship offers from Vanderbilt and West Virginia but chose Western Kentucky (WKU) of the Sun Belt Conference in the NCAA Division I. Signing his letter of intent on 26 August 2005,[3] he was the first verbal commitment of the 2006 Western Kentucky recruiting class.[4]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
A.J. Slaughter
SG
Shelbyville, Kentucky Shelby County High School (KY) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Aug 26, 2005 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 83 (SG)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Western Kentucky Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  • "2006 Western Kentucky Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  • "2006 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 4, 2015.

College

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Freshman year

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For Slaughter's collegiate debut, he registered 20 minutes and scored a year-high 18 points in a 96–55 defeat of Kennesaw State on 11 November 2006, ending his season with 5 points in the 2007 Sun Belt men's basketball tournament semifinal defeat against Arkansas State.[5] He appeared in all 33 games played, starting an 11 January 2007 game against Florida International University after starter Courtney Lee got injured, playing two more games that season. He finished with 15.9 minutes per game, contributing 200 points (10th best for WKU freshmen) with per game averages of 6.1 points (7th in the team), 1.7 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.9 steals (3rd in team).[1][6][7]

Sophomore year

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Slaughter scored in excess of 10 points on 12 occasions as a sophomore, including a season-high 17 points in a 31 January 2008 game against Arkansas-Little Rock. He helped Western Kentucky win the 2008 Sun Belt men's basketball tournament, earning a place in the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.[1][8][9] In the first-round game against Drake on 21 March 2008, Slaughter posted 10 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists to help the team progress.[1][10] In the Sweet Sixteen loss to top-seeded UCLA on March 27, he added 7 points, 3 assists and 2 steals.[1][11]

Professional career

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After going undrafted in the 2010 NBA draft, Slaughter played for the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Summer League.[12]

On July 26, 2010, he signed a one-year deal with Angelico Biella of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A.[13]

For the 2011–12 season he moved to Belgium and signed with Dexia Mons-Hainaut.

In July 2012, he signed with Cholet Basket of the French LNB Pro A.[14]

In June 2013, he signed a one-year deal with another Pro A side, Élan Chalon.[15]

On July 16, 2014, he signed a two-year deal with Greek giants Panathinaikos.[16][17] On June 30, 2015, he officially terminated his contract with the team.[18]

On July 16, 2015, Slaughter signed with the Turkish club Banvit.[19]

On August 15, 2016, Slaughter signed with French club SIG Strasbourg for the 2016–17 season.[20]

On July 8, 2017, Slaughter signed a two-year contract with French club ASVEL.[21]

On July 1, 2019, Slaughter signed a two-year deal with Spanish club Real Betis Energía Plus.[22] He averaged 13.3 points per game.

On July 12, 2020, he signed with Herbalife Gran Canaria.[23] On July 28, 2020, it was understood that due to a small health issue, AJ Slaughter cannot join the team until the end of September, so both parties decided to terminate their contract by mutual agreement.[24] However, on November 10 he signed with Gran Canaria.[25]

In May 2021, Slaughter signed with Kuwait SC to play in the Gulf Champions Basketball Championship.[26]

In June 2023, Slaughter joined Guaros de Lara of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto (SPB).[27][28]

On June 18, 2024, Slaughter signed with Casademont Zaragoza of the Liga ACB.[29]

In July 2024, Slaughter joined Gigantes de Carolina of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) for 2024 season.[30]

International career

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Slaughter (right) during EuroBasket 2017

In June 2015, Slaughter became a Polish citizen, in order for him to be able to play for the Poland national basketball team at EuroBasket 2015.[31] Slaughter also played for the team during EuroBasket 2017 and EuroBasket 2022, as well as the FIBA World Cup 2019 in China.

Personal

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His father, Anthony "Tony" Slaughter, played basketball for Murray State from 1980 to 1981.[32] His two sisters Toni and Antonita also played basketball collegiately, both for Louisville; the latter was a graduate assistant at Drury University as of 2015.[33][34]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "A.J. Slaughter". Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
  2. ^ "A.J. Slaughter Profile". Scout.com. Fox Sports. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
  3. ^ "A.J. Slaughter". Rivals.com. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
  4. ^ Stapleton, OJ (August 26, 2005). "Prep star picks Tops- Slaughter commits to Western Kentucky". Bowling Green Daily News. NewsBank. Retrieved December 12, 2009.
  5. ^ "WKU-ASU Recap". Sun Belt Conference. March 5, 2007. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
  6. ^ "Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Statistics - 2006-07". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. 2009. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  7. ^ "Brazelton drives WKU past Cajuns Lee sits out second game with ankle injury". Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer. NewsBank. January 14, 2007. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
  8. ^ "A.J. Slaughter Game Log 2007–2008 season". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved December 12, 2009.[dead link]
  9. ^ "WKU-MT Recap". Sun Belt Conference. March 11, 2008. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  10. ^ "Rogers' desperation 26-foot 3 in OT lifts No. 12 W. Kentucky past No. 5 Drake". ESPN. Associated Press. March 21, 2008. Archived from the original on September 3, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  11. ^ "Love's career-high 29 help UCLA hang on, advance to Elite Eight". ESPN. Associated Press. March 27, 2008. Archived from the original on January 29, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  12. ^ NBA Summer League Rosters - Vegas
  13. ^ "Angelico Biella signs rookie AJ Slaughter". Archived from the original on July 23, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  14. ^ "AJ Slaughter moves to Cholet". Archived from the original on July 23, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  15. ^ "ELAN CHALON adds Slaughter, Brockman". Eurocupbasketball.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved August 17, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  16. ^ "A.J.Slaughter in Panathinaikos". Panathinaikos B.C. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  17. ^ "Panathinaikos signs Slaughter at guard". Euroleague. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  18. ^ "ΜΠΑΣΚΕΤ - Ελλάδα - Basket League - Οριστικά τέλος ο Σλότερ - Novasports.gr". Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015. Οριστικά τέλος ο Έι Τζέι Σλότερ.
  19. ^ "Banvit tabs Slaughter". Eurocupbasketball.com. July 16, 2015. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  20. ^ Strasbourg adds A.J. Slaughter
  21. ^ "Après D. NELSON, A.J SLAUGHTER signe à l'ASVEL !". Asvelbasket.com (in French). July 8, 2017. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  22. ^ "A.J. Slaughter, primer fichaje del Real Betis Energía Plus para la próxima temporada". realbetisbalompie (in European Spanish). July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  23. ^ Borghesan, Ennio Terrasi (July 12, 2020). "Herbalife Gran Canaria announces AJ Slaughter". Sportando. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  24. ^ Lupo, Nicola (July 28, 2020). "AJ Slaughter, Gran Canaria part ways". Sportando. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  25. ^ Skerletic, Dario (November 10, 2020). "Herbalife Gran Canaria ink AJ Slaughter". Sportando. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  26. ^ "Elmedin Kikanović odabrao zanimljivu destinaciju za nastavak karijere". Avaz.ba (in Bosnian). May 27, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  27. ^ "AJ SLAUGHTER SERÍA EL NUEVO JUGADOR DE GUAROS DE LARA". CANCHA LATINA. June 8, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  28. ^ "A. J. Slaughter, el fichaje de jeraquía para Guaros en búsqueda de volver a ser campeón". Sports Venezuela. June 9, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  29. ^ "AJ SLAUGHTER SE UNE A LOS GUARDIANES DE ZARAGOZA". Basket Zaragoza. June 18, 2024. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  30. ^ "BSN: Gigantes anuncian sus nuevos refuerzos para la postemporada". Primera Hora. July 13, 2024. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  31. ^ "Poland trim preliminary squad". EuroBasket 2015. FIBA Europe. June 12, 2015. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  32. ^ Herbst, Rob (November 22, 2008). "WKU Hoops: Toppers learning ropes in old rivalry: McDonald lost three to Racers as WKU assistant". Bowling Green Daily News. McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. Retrieved December 6, 2009.[permanent dead link]
  33. ^ "Toni Slaughter". Louisville Cardinals. Archived from the original on June 23, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  34. ^ "2014-15 Women's Basketball Coaching Staff". Drury University. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
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