Athletes - Luther Head

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	Athletes - Luther Head

Luther Head (born November 26, 1982 in Chicago), is a professional basketball player who plays for the Houston Rockets. Standing 6'3" (1.91 m) and weighing 185 lb (84 kg), Head plays primarily point guard but played shooting guard and small forward as a college basketball star at the University of Illinois.

Personal

Head was raised along with four younger brothers and sisters by his mother Bonnie Gallion. His favorite movie is Ocean's Eleven, his favorite book is Of Mice and Men, and he enjoys listening to rap music and R&B. His favorite quote is "You always miss one hundred percent of the shots you don't take". Head is a member of the Christian volunteer organization Young Life.

High school

Head attended Manley Academy in Chicago where he averaged over 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds per game as a junior. Those numbers earned him All-City honors and he was selected MVP of the Blue Division of the Chicago Public League. Led by Head and head coach Bo Delaney, Manley had a perfect 12-0 record and won the conference championship in the Blue-West Division. Manley finished 26-7 overall, losing to state runner-up Chicago Westinghouse in the Public League quarterfinals. During the season, Head posted 10 triple-doubles, a testament to his versatility. In a game against Chicago Wells, Head broke the city record and recorded the second-highest number of assists in a game with 25, earning Prep Player of the Week honors from the Chicago Tribune. That game also earned him Gatorade Prep Player of the Week honors. During the IHSA State Playoffs, Head scored 20 points and contributed 15 assists against Marshall in a first-round playoff victory. He would then post a triple-double in a second-round win over Steinmetz. During the summer, Head attended the Adidas ABCD Camp in New Jersey.

As a senior, Head averaged 22 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals in the rugged Red-West Division of the Chicago Public League. He would earn First-Team All-State honors in 2001 from the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, Associated Press and Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. Head was also selected to play in the Wendy's All-Star Classic as a senior. He played primarily point guard in high school but occasionally played shooting guard to compliment his abilities. Head also finished sixth in the voting for Mr. Basketball in the state of Illinois following his senior year. However, to many college scouts, Head's senior year was seen as a disappointment as a few of his statistics dropped since junior year. Nevertheless, he would sign his letter of intent to play college basketball for the University of Illinois where he became the first Illinois recruit out of the Chicago Public League since 1994.

College

Freshman Year

As a freshman at the University of Illinois, Head saw limited playing time. Coach Bill Self had a veteran team so he had little use for a freshman like Head. However, his playing time would increase as the season progressed and he started 13 games, including 11 of the last 12. He would average 4.5 points in 16.6 minutes per game for the season while shooting 51 percent from the field (63-of-124). That season showed Head's individual talent for shooting and defense. He was second on the team with 34 steals. He showed his potential to become an eventual offensive force when he scored a season-high 19 points in an NCAA Tournament first-round win over San Diego State, hitting 8-of-11 shots, including three treys. In that same game, he tallied four assists and three steals against the Aztecs. His season-high for assists was six against Kansas in Sweet Sixteen which proved that he could perform on the national stage against even the best teams in the nation. During the season, Head scored 14 points twice, against Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois where he hit 7-of-9 shots against EIU along with a season-high three treys against WIU. In a game against Missouri, Head was 3-for-3 from the field and finished with eight points. He scored 13 points against Michigan on perfect 5-for-5 shooting, including 2-of-2 on 3-pointers.

Sophomore Year

A pelvic injury slowed Head during the season and caused him to miss seven games, but he still started eight games and played more than 20 minutes per contest. The arrival of two freshmen point guards, Dee Brown and Deron Williams, prevented Head from becoming a consistent starter and pushed him to the shooting guard and small forward positions. He improved as his injury healed and shot 58.5 percent (24-of-41) from the floor in his last 10 games while hitting 48 percent (12-of-25) of his shots from beyond the arc in his last 11 games. Head improved to become the fourth leading scorer on the team averaging 7.9 points per game. His shooting also improved as he shot 42.4 percent from 3-point land (28-of-66) and 51.9 percent of his shots from the floor (68-of-131). He proved that he could be a capable scorer if given consistent minutes as he scored in double figures nine times, including five times during Big Ten play. He scored a season-high 16 points in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal win over Indiana. In that game, Head hit 5-of-6 shots including two 3-pointers against the Hoosiers. Head averaged 9.7 points in Illinois' three Big Ten Tournament victories while hitting a remarkable 69.2 percent of his shots. In those three games he scored 15 points against Purdue, hitting 5-of-9 shots and three 3-pointers, his three 3-pointers at Michigan State, and had 11 points along with a season-high seven rebounds against Ohio State. In a game against Eastern Illinois, Head posted a season-high five assists. Head also hit all five of his shots in a game against Western Illinois, scoring 11 points.

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