Mark Eaton (basketball)
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 24, 1957 Inglewood, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) |
| Listed weight | 290 lb (132 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Westminster (Westminster, California) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 1982 / Round: 4 / Pick: 72nd overall |
| Selected by the Utah Jazz | |
| Playing career | 1982–1993 |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 53 |
| Career history | |
| 1982–1993 | Utah Jazz |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 5,216 (6.0 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 6,939 (7.9 rpg) |
| Blocks | 3,064 (3.5 bpg) |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Mark E. Eaton (born January 24, 1957) is an American retired professional basketball player who was a member of the National Basketball Association's Utah Jazz from 1982 to 1993, with one NBA All-Star selection in 1989, and two NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards in 1985 and 1989. Though limited offensively, Eaton's 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) height helped him become one of the best defensive centers in NBA history. Eaton holds the NBA record for most blocks in a season (456) and career average blocked shots per game (3.50).
Eaton was born in Inglewood, California and grew up in Southern California. Despite his height, as a youth he was more interested in playing water polo than basketball. After graduating from Westminster High School, Eaton attended the Arizona Automotive Institute in Phoenix and graduated as a service technician. He worked as an auto mechanic for about three years, and was eventually discovered by Tom Lubin while repairing cars in Anaheim in April 1977. Lubin, a chemistry professor, was an assistant basketball coach at Cypress Junior College, and his encouragement led Eaton to enroll at Cypress and try out for the basketball team. Eaton developed into a solid junior college player. He averaged 14.3 points per game in two seasons at Cypress, and led the school to the California State Title as a sophomore.
After his freshman year at Cypress, he was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the 1979 NBA draft with the 107th pick in the 5th round. He was eligible to be drafted because he was already four years out of high school in 1979. However, he opted to return to college basketball.
Eaton transferred to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1980, but did not see much action in his two seasons with the Bruins. In his senior season, he played just 42 total minutes, averaging 1.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11 games. Eaton was initially disappointed with his inability to play effectively as a Division 1 collegiate player. Wilt Chamberlain, who frequently attended UCLA practices after his retirement from the NBA, saw Eaton's frustration and, on one occasion, personally took him under a basket to explain that Eaton needed to focus on protecting the basket, getting rebounds, and passing the ball to quicker guards, rather than trying to compete with smaller, quicker players in scoring. Eaton has cited Chamberlain's advice as the turning point in his basketball career.
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