Frank Thomas

Notable Sports Figures
Chronology
1963 Born July 13 in Dallas, Texas
1981 Graduates from Wilmer-Hutchins High School
1981-83 Attends Midland Junior College in Midland, Texas
1983-85 Attends North Carolina State University
1985 Drafted by Detroit Pistons but later cut from the team
1985-91 Plays for Atlanta Hawks
1991-95 Traded by Hawks to Sacramento Kings
1995 Traded by Kings to Hawks
1996 Traded by Hawks to Minnesota Timberwolves
1998 Signed to 10-day contract by Orlando Magic
Although Webb made it onto his junior high school
basketball team, he found himself spending almost all of
his time on the bench, once again hampered by his small
size. When he finally convinced the coach to let him
play, Webb scored twenty points in his first game. At
Wilmer-Hutchins High School, Webb was rejected by
the varsity team and told to play junior varsity ball because
of his size. So discouraged that he almost abandoned
basketball altogether, he decided instead to
devote all his energies to improving his game. When he
eventually made it onto the varsity team, he averaged
twenty-six points a game and as a senior was named
Player of the Year. He also was one of ten Texas high
school players to be named to the All-State team.
Enrolls at Midland Junior College
Despite his impressive high school record, colleges
showed little interest in Webb. Unwilling to give up on
his dream of college, he enrolled at Midland Junior College
and in 1982 led Midland’s basketball team to the
national junior college championship. After seeing
Webb play for Midland, Tom Abatemarco, assistant basketball
coach at North Carolina State University, suggested
to his boss—the late Jim Valvano—that they
invite the diminutive player to visit N.C. State. Despite
his initial misgivings, based on Webb’s small stature,
Valvano was impressed enough by the Texan to offer
him a scholarship. It proved to be a wise decision, for
Webb in 1985 led N.C. State’s Wolfpack to the Sweet 16
in the NCAA Tournament.
Passed over in the NBA draft because of his size, a
disappointed Webb played briefly for the United States
Basketball League. Finally, in the fourth round of the
1985 NBA draft, he was selected by the Detroit Pistons,
only to be cut by the team before the season began.
Given an opportunity to try out for the Atlanta Hawks,
Webb impressed the team’s coaching staff with his incredible
jumping ability and was signed to a contract.
For the next six years, he teamed with Doc Rivers to average
over ten points and five assists a game. In 1986,
Webb blew away the competition—including high-flying
teammate Dominique Wilkins—to win the NBA Slam
Dunk Championship.
Awards and Accomplishments
Webb
1981 Named Player of the Year at Wilmer-Hutchins High School
1981 Named to the Texas All-State High School Team
1982 Led Midland Junior College team to national junior college title
1985 Led N.C. State to Sweet 16 in NCAA Tournament
1986 Wins NBA Slam Dunk Contest
Spends Hours Training
Although Webb somehow made it all look easy, he
made it clear that his performance was the result of
years of hard work and practice. “Most people believe
that I can dunk and play in the NBA because of my
God-given talent,” he said. “This is only half true. I
also spent countless hours training to improve my
jumping ability. I must have tried dunking over 1,000
times before I actually did it. I never gave up on my
goal no matter how impossible it seemed, and neither
should you.”
After six seasons with the Hawks, Webb was traded
from Atlanta to the Sacramento Kings, where he played
from 1991 until 1995, when he was traded back to the
Hawks by the Kings. His second stint with the Hawks
was short-lived. In February 1996 he and Hawks center
Andrew Lang were traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves
in exchange for forward Christian Laettner and
center Sean Rooks. After playing out the remainder of
the 1995-1996 season with the Timberwolves, Webb
left the NBA to play briefly in Italy. In 1998 he returned
to American basketball after signing a ten-day contract
with the Orlando Magic. When the Magic waived
Webb, he announced his retirement from professional
basketball.
Since leaving basketball Webb has kept busy by
making the rounds on the professional speaking circuit.
As founder and president of Spud Webb Enterprises,
headquartered in central Florida, Webb speaks
extensively around the country, focusing on his personal
experiences in overcoming insurmountable obstacles
and achieving the seemingly unachievable. As he tells
audiences, “I never let my size keep me from excelling
in a sport in which the odds of making it to the professional
level are nearly impossible.” At home near Dallas,
Webb today spends most of his free time trying to
perfect his golf game. In an interview with Tony Haynes,
a contributing editor for N.C. State’s GOPACK.com,
Webb said: “I get up and go play golf just about every
day. I live on the golf course. I’ve been bitten by the bug
and am addicted to the game. It wasn’t tough to leave
the game of basketball because no one ever expected
me to be able to play. I still have a passion for watching
the game, but the only thing I miss about it is the
competition and hanging out with the fellows. The
competitiveness is still there to go out and take on any
golf course.”
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