Rajon Rondo

#4
Position: Guard
Height: 6-1
Weight: 171
Date of Birth: February 22, 1986
Hometown: Louisville, KY

From UKAthletics.com:

Cat Scratches
Full Name: Rajon Pierre Rondo
Parents: Amber Rondo
Siblings: Dymon, William, Anton
Date of Birth: Feb. 22, 1986
Place of Birth: Louisville, Ky.
High School Coach: Steve Smith
Mascot: Warriors
Nickname: “Johnny”
Major: Social Work

Questions and Answers
The most interesting thing I did this summer was: Go golfing
My most prized possession is: Life
Most people don’t know this about me, but I: Love to do my toes
When was the last time you were moved to tears? When my girlfriend told me she loved me
What person has influenced you most in life? My Momma
What is your most memorable moment as a basketball player? Holding the assist record at Oak Hill
What is your greatest fear? Not achieving my basketball goals
What is the trait/habit you most hate in yourself? I love myself!
I chose my jersey number because…. I wanted to
Which words or phrases do you most overuse? “I Love You.”
Which talent would you most like to have? Skiing
Who are your heroes in real life? Momma
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Puerto Rico
The most famous person I’ve ever met is: Michael Jordan
Two words that best describe my style of play are: Fast and Furious

From Wikipedia:

Rondo was born on February 22, 1986 in Louisville, Kentucky to Amber Rondo. He has three siblings: Dymon, William and Anton. He had little contact with his father, who left his family when he was seven years old. To support the family, his mother worked the third shift at Philip Morris USA, a tobacco company. Rondo was first interested in football, before his mother steered him towards basketball because she felt that the sport would be less punishing on his skinny frame. After Rondo became serious about basketball, he attended Louisville’s Eastern High School for three years where he played under head coach Doug Bibby. During his junior year, he averaged 27.9 points, 10.0 rebounds and 7.5 assists. He also earned All-State honors and was named the 7th Region Player of the Year. He transferred to Virginia’s Oak Hill
Academy for his senior year where he averaged 21.0 points per game (ppg), 3.0 rebounds per game (rpg) and 12.0 assists per game (apg) and finished the 2003-04 season with a 38-0 record. In his senior year at Oak Hill Academy, Rondo broke Jeff McInnis single-season school record of 303 assists, while averaging a double-double. There, he included two efforts of 27 assists and a single-game school record of 31, merely four away from the all-time national record. He also had a 55 point game in high-school, second highest all-time in Oak Hill Academy, surpassed only by Calvin Duncan with 61. Rondo was named to the McDonald’s All-American Team in 2004 and scored a total of 14 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds in the all-star game. He also participated in the 2004 Jordan Capital Classic game, logging 12 points, 5 assists and 4 steals. He ended his career as Oak Hill Academy’s all-time assists leader in a single season with 494 assists, surpassing Jeff McInnis.

Rondo committed to University of Kentucky over hometown University of Louisville, who spurned Rondo in favor of the higher-rated Sebastian Telfair. Rondo, along with All-Americans Joe Crawford and Randolph Morris, gave Kentucky the top-rated recruiting class for 2004 according to Rivals.com. Rondo led Kentucky to several wins including clutch-shot victories against the University of Louisville, South Carolina and Central Florida, but Kentucky failed to advance to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament in either Rondo’s freshman or sophomore seasons. He was named to the SEC All-Freshmen Team. He set a Kentucky Wildcats record for most steals in single-season, with a total of 87 steals in his freshman year and made at least one steal in every game. He finished his freshman year at Kentucky averaging 8.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.6 steals.

In his sophomore year he had a career high 12 assists against Ole Miss, despite playing just 23 minutes, and 25 points against Louisville. Rondo also set another Kentucky Wildcats record for most rebounds in a game by a guard, with 19 rebounds in an early season loss to Iowa. He was not known for being a shooter, however, going 18-66 from three with a 57.1% FT average. He averaged 11.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game in his sophomore year. Rondo was also named to the 2005 USA Men’s Under-21 World Championship Team, which traveled to Argentina for the FIBA World Championships. He averaged 11.0 ppg and 4.5 apg in the eight-game tournament, garnering much attention from NBA scouts. The USA U-21 team won a gold medal at the Global Games held in Texas in late July.

Following the 2005–06 NCAA season, Rondo announced he would forgo his final two seasons at Kentucky and enter the NBA draft. Rondo was drafted 21st overall by the Phoenix Suns in the 2006 NBA Draft. Phoenix then traded him to the Boston Celtics along with Brian Grant for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ first-round draft pick in the 2007 NBA Draft and cash considerations. He was the first point guard to be chosen in the draft. In another draft-day deal, the Celtics acquired Sebastian Telfair from the Portland Trail Blazers, finally uniting the backcourt Pitino had envisioned at Louisville. He was signed by the Boston Celtics on July 4, 2006.

From Sports Illustrated, May 31, 2004: Who’s No. 1? In recruiting, Kentucky is, thanks to three McDonald’s All-Americans

From Sports Illustrated, November 21, 2005: The Wildcats can go far if their center is eligible and their point gets his points