Antonio Maurice Lang (born May 15, 1972) is an American professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player. He played his college basketball at Duke

Duke Blue Devils men's basketball

The Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team is the college basketball program representing Duke University in the Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division I...

, where he won back-to-back NCAA tournaments

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship

The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

 in 1991

1991 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1991 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 14, 1991, and ended with the championship game on April 1 in Indianapolis, Indiana...

 and 1992

1992 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1992 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 19, 1992, and ended with the championship game on April 6 in Minneapolis, Minnesota...

.

Basketball career

Born in Columbia, South Carolina

Columbia, South Carolina

Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...

 and raised in Mobile, Alabama

Mobile, Alabama

Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...

, Lang graduated as valedictorian

Valedictorian

Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...

 from LeFlore High School

LeFlore Magnet High School

John L. LeFlore Magnet High School of Advanced Communication and Fine Arts is a public high school in Mobile, Alabama, United States, enrolling 1400 students in grades 9-12. LeFlore Magnet High School offers academic and artistic programs while being accredited by the Southern Association of...

 in 1990. The year before, he helped the school win a state championship in basketball. Lang had a productive collegiate basketball career, as he was a member of a Duke team that won two championships in three Final Four

Final four

Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...

 appearances. Lang was selected by the Phoenix Suns

Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...

 in the second round (29th overall) in the 1994 NBA Draft

1994 NBA Draft

The 1994 NBA Draft took place on June 29, 1994 in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is notable for the fact that two NBA rookies of the year were picked in the first round, as Jason Kidd and Grant Hill were co-winners of the award for the 1994–95 NBA season...

; however, he saw limited action during his rookie year due to a knee injury. He was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...

 in 1995 along with Dan Majerle

Dan Majerle

Daniel Lewis Majerle is a retired American professional basketball player and currently an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns of the NBA. Known by his fans as "Downtown Dan," "Thunder Dan," and "Dan the Man," he played 14 years in the NBA, primarily with the Phoenix Suns, also with the Miami...

. Lang also had stints with the Toronto Raptors

Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...

, Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...

, and Miami Heat

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...

. In addition, Lang played in the Continental Basketball Association

Continental Basketball Association

The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...

 (with the Fort Wayne Fury

Fort Wayne Fury

The Fort Wayne Fury was a team in the Continental Basketball Association from 1991 through the cessation of the CBA on February 8, 2001.-History:...

 and Grand Rapids Hoops

Grand Rapids Hoops

The Grand Rapids Hoops was a basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Their first season was in 1989, and their final season was in 2003...

) and in the Philippine Basketball Association

Philippine Basketball Association

The Philippine Basketball Association , is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of 10 company-branded franchised teams. It is the first and oldest professional basketball league in Asia and the second oldest in the world after the NBA...

, with the Red Bull Thunder

Red Bull Barako

The Barako Bull Energy Boosters was a professional basketball team of the Philippine Basketball Association that is owned by the Photokina Marketing Corporation...

. Lang began playing in 2001 for the Mitsubishi Melco Dolphins (now the Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins) of the Japan Basketball League

Japan Basketball League

The Japan Basketball League is a professional basketball league in Japan. It lies below the bj league, which is Japan's top basketball competition, but there is no promotion and relegation between bj and the JBL....

. Foot problems, though, prompted Lang to retire from playing basketball in 2006, and he became an assistant coach

Coach (basketball)

Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behaviour of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as well as overall physical conditioning.Coaching is...

 for the Dolphins. On May 19, 2010, Lang was named as the Dolphins' head coach.

External links

• Official website