Bernie Fryer

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Bernie Fryer
Bernie Fryer (right) talking with Raja Bell of the Phoenix Suns.
Bernie Fryer (right) talking with Raja Bell of the Phoenix Suns.
Position Guard
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg)
Born December 25, 1949 (1949-12-25) (age 58)
Bellingham, Washington
Nationality USA
College BYU
Draft 7th round, 1972
Phoenix Suns
Pro career 1973–1975
Former teams Portland Trail Blazers
(1973–1974) (NBA)
Spirits of St. Louis
(1974–1975) (ABA)
New Orleans Jazz
(1975) (NBA)

Bernie W. Fryer (born December 25, 1949 in Bellingham, Washington)[1] is a retired American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and American Basketball Association (ABA) for two seasons from 1973 to 1975[2] and referee for twenty-eight seasons from 1978 to 2007.[1]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Fryer attended Port Angeles High School in Port Angeles, Washington. In high school, he participated in football and basketball and was named an "All-American" in both sports during his junior and senior season.[1] Following high school, he attended and graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1972.[1] At BYU, he played basketball and was selected to the All-Western Athletic Conference team from 1970 to 1972.[1]

[edit] Professional basketball career

Fryer was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the seventh round of the 1972 NBA Draft.[2] He never played for the Suns, however, making his NBA debut with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1973.[2] He played 80 games for the Blazers during the 1973-74 season[2], and he was named to the All-Rookie Second Team after averaging 7.0 points and 3.5 assists per game.[2][3] The following season, he split time between the New Orleans Jazz of the NBA and the ABA's Spirits of St. Louis, scoring 157 combined NBA/ABA points before retiring in 1975.[2] Over his playing career, he averaged 6.3 points, 3.0 assists and 1.8 rebounds with the Trail Blazers and Jazz in the NBA and 7.8 points, 2.9 assists and 2.4 rebounds in nine games for the St. Louis Spirits in the ABA.[1]

[edit] NBA officiating career

After retiring as a player, Fryer embarked upon a lengthy career as an NBA referee, beginning in 1978. As of the beginning of the 2006-07 NBA season, he officiated 1,649 regular season, 145 playoff, and 11 NBA Finals games as well as the 1998 All-Star Game.[1] He was also one of two former NBA players (Leon Wood) who officiated in the league.[4] During a 2002 playoff game between the Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic, Fryer and his officiating crew disallowed a field goal made by the Hornets Baron Davis.[5] Davis received an inbound pass with 0.7 seconds remaining and successfully made the shot before the buzzer sounded.[5] This incident led Commissioner David Stern to consider the use of instant replay in NBA games.[5] Considered one of the top-rated referees in the league, he retired in 2007 following Game 3 of the 2007 NBA Finals.[6] It was reported that Fryer was dissatisfied over the current state of management of officials.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Bernie Fryer #7. National Basketball Referees Association. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Bernie Fryer. Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
  3. ^ Did You Know?. National Basketball Association. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.
  4. ^ Brunner, Conrad. "Where Are They Now? Haywoode Workman", Indiana Pacers. Retrieved on 2007-08-03. 
  5. ^ a b c Sheridan, Chris. "Stern: League will look at instant replay", Associated Press, 2002-04-29. Retrieved on 2007-08-08. 
  6. ^ a b Bucher, Ric. "NBA officials see themselves in no-win situations", ESPN.com, 2007-08-03. Retrieved on 2007-08-03.