Alphonso Gene Ford (October 31, 1971 – September 4, 2004) was an American professional basketball player. A 1.92 m (6 ft 3 in) tall, 98 kg (216 lbs.) shooting guard, he was one of the greatest scorers in college basketball history. After a short stint in the NBA, he played professionally in Europe. Ford confirmed his tremendous scoring ability in the EuroLeague, and became a reference in the matter, notwithstanding his chronic health issues. He was the EuroLeague Top Scorer twice (2001, 2002), and earned an All-EuroLeague selection three times. The competition's leading scorer award bears his name, in his honor. Early years Ford was a high school star player for Amanda Elzy High School in Greenwood, Mississippi. Upon entering college basketball at Mississippi Valley State University, Ford led the entire NCAA Division I in freshman scoring, during the 1989–90 season, with a 29.9 points per game average. In his sophomore year, he averaged 32.7 points per game. He became the first player in NCAA Division I history to average 25 points per game in four straight seasons. With 3,165 career points scored in the NCAA Division I, he is 5th on the all-time scoring list, behind only Pete Maravich, Freeman Williams, Lionel Simmons, and Chris Clemons. Professional career NBA and CBA Ford played five games in the 1994–95 NBA season for the Philadelphia 76ers, who selected him 32nd overall in the 1993 NBA draft. Before that, he had played six games for the Seattle SuperSonics, in 1993–94. During both the 1993–94 and 1994–95 NBA seasons, Ford played in the Continental Basketball Association, for the Tri-City Chinook. He averaged 22.8 points per game in his rookie year, and demonstrated right away the fact that he was an extraordinary scorer. His performances earned him every possible honor, as he was selected to the CBA All League Team, named Rookie of the Year and played the CBA All-Star Game. The 1994–95 CBA season was not very much different, with Ford scoring 24 points per game and playing the All-Star Game once again. Europe First steps towards European stardom In the 1995–96 season, Ford signed with Spanish first division club Peñas Huesca. However, although he played great basketball and averaged 25.1 points per game in the Spanish League, he could not prevent the team's relegation. The next season was for Ford the opportunity to show his skills, in what was at the time