Jeff Ayres

Jeff Ayres

Jeff Ayres (then Jeff Pendergraph) in 2008 with the Arizona State Sun Devils
No. 11 – San Antonio Spurs
Position Power forward / Center
League NBA
Personal information
Born April 29, 1987
Ontario, California
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight 250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High school Etiwanda
(Rancho Cucamonga, California)
College Arizona State (2005–2009)
NBA draft 2009 / Round: 2 / Pick: 31st overall
Selected by the Sacramento Kings
Pro career 2009–present
Career history
2009–2010 Portland Trail Blazers
2011–2013 Indiana Pacers
2013–present San Antonio Spurs
Career highlights and awards

Jeffrey Curtis "Jeff" Ayres (born Jeffrey Curtis Orcutt on April 29, 1987),[1][2] formerly known as Jeff Pendergraph, is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Etiwanda High School in Rancho Cucamonga and played college basketball for Arizona State University.[3]

College career

In his sophomore season at ASU (2006–07), Pendergraph grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds in a 52–36 victory over Colgate on December 19, 2006.[4] On January 2, 2009, as a senior (2008–09), he scored a career-high 31 points, along with a game-high 11 rebounds, in a 90–60 win over Stanford. Twenty-one of those points were tallied in the first half.[5]

NBA career

He signed a contract with the Portland Trail Blazers on September 8, 2009.[6] His first game in the NBA came with the Blazers on December 22, 2009, against the Dallas Mavericks, in which he scored only two (2) points in 4 minutes of playing time.

Pendergraph scored a career-high 23 points on the last regular season game of the 2009–10 NBA season on April 14, 2010, against the Golden State Warriors.[7] He was waived by the Trail Blazers prior to the start of the 2011 season after suffering a season-ending knee injury during a pre-season game against the Utah Jazz.[8]

He was signed by the Indiana Pacers for the 2011–12 season. Before the start of the season he was sidelined with a mild sprain in his knee, suffered when he injured it during a December 10, 2011 practice.[9] Pendergraph got his first start for the Indiana Pacers on April 23, 2012. In 18 minutes of play he scored 10 points with 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocks.

Pendergraph was ejected from Game 7 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals by referee Ken Mauer after a shoving match with Miami Heat guard Norris Cole, who was also ejected in the fourth quarter.[10] Flo Rida's manager was also ejected after an ongoing verbal spat with Pendergraph.

On July 11, 2013, Pendergraph signed with the San Antonio Spurs.[11] On June 15, 2014, Ayres won his first NBA championship after the Spurs defeated the Miami Heat 4 games to 1 in the 2014 NBA Finals.

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2009–10 Portland 39 4 10.4 .662 .000 .900 2.5 .0 .2 .4 2.7
2011–12 Indiana 20 1 5.3 .417 .000 .571 1.6 .2 .2 .1 1.7
2012–13 Indiana 37 0 10.0 .484 .500 .913 2.8 .4 .2 .3 3.9
2013–14 San Antonio 73 10 13.0 .580 .000 .691 3.5 .8 .2 .3 3.3
2014–15 San Antonio 51 0 7.5 .579 .000 .750 2.3 .3 .2 .2 2.7
Career 220 15 10.1 .554 .500 .766 2.8 .4 .2 .3 3.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010 Portland 3 0 5.7 .500 .000 .750 .7 .0 .7 1.0 2.3
2012 Indiana 4 0 2.3 .333 .000 .000 .5 .0 .0 .0 .5
2013 Indiana 9 0 7.9 .333 .000 .000 2.0 .1 .0 .2 1.8
2014 San Antonio 17 0 3.8 .462 .000 .625 1.1 .3 .0 .0 1.0
Career 33 0 4.9 .386 .000 .667 1.2 .2 .1 .2 1.3

Personal life

In August 2013, Pendergraph made an Arizona court filing to change his name to Jeff Ayres, replacing the surname of his stepfather with that of his biological father.[2] The change was formally announced in September 2013.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ CA Birth Index
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jeff McDonald (September 18, 2013). "For Spur formerly known as Pendergraph, the name's the thing". San Antonio Express-News. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Jeff Pendergraph Arizona State bio". NBA.com. 2010-01-05. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  4. ↑ Colgate Raiders vs. Arizona State Sun Devils – Recap – December 19, 2006 – ESPN
  5. ↑ Arizona State Sun Devils vs. Stanford Cardinal – Recap – January 02, 2009 – ESPN
  6. ↑ "Trail Blazers Sign Jeff Pendergraph". NBA.com. 2009-09-08. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
  7. ↑ "Warriors 122 Blazers 116". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Trail Blazers waive Jeff Pendergraph" (Press release). Portland Trail Blazers. October 25, 2010. Retrieved October 25, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Pendergraph 'tweaks' knee that sidelined him all of last season". IndianaStar.com. December 18, 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
  10. ↑ Norris Cole, Jeff Pendergraph, Flo Rida's manager ejected from Game 7
  11. ↑ Spurs Sign Jeff Pendergraph
  12. ↑ "Spurs Forward Jeff Pendergraph Changes Last Name to Ayres". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. September 19, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2013.

External links