Vinny Del Negro

Vincent Joseph "Vinny" Del Negro (born August 9, 1966) is a retired American basketball player. He is the current head coach of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers, and was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 2008 until 2010.

Early life

Del Negro was born on August 9, 1966, in Springfield, Massachusetts. His father, Vince, was a two-time junior college All-American, and taught his son to play basketball at a young age. Vinny made the varsity basketball team during his freshman year at Cathedral High School. He caught the attention of the basketball coach at Suffield Academy, who persuaded him to attend Suffield Academy so that he could play basketball for them. Vinny led Suffield Academy to two New England championships. He scored 1,116 points, becoming Suffield Academy's all-time leading scorer.

Playing career

Del Negro played for Jim Valvano at North Carolina State University. As a senior, he was selected to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference team after averaging 15.9 points, 3.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game. In his senior season, Del Negro led the Wolfpack to the 1987 ACC Tournament championship and was named tournament MVP.

Del Negro was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 29th pick in the 1988 NBA Draft. He would play two seasons there before leaving for Italy and Benetton Treviso for another two years...
Read More