Eric Moreland (born December 24, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Oregon State University.
Video Eric Moreland
High school career
Following his graduation from Hightower High School in January 2010, Moreland enrolled at Ocean Academy in Bayville, New Jersey for one semester where he averaged 15.5 points and 2.6 blocks per game.
Maps Eric Moreland
College career
Although originally being recruited by Oregon State, Moreland signed with UTEP in January 2010 upon his graduation from Hightower High. However, following the release of UTEP's head coach Tony Barbee in March 2010, Moreland was released from his scholarship and signed with Oregon State in May 2010. In August 2010, the NCAA cleared him to play immediately with four years of eligibility.
Moreland played four games in 2010-11 before suffering a season-ending left shoulder injury against Colorado on December 4, 2010 that required surgery. On August 4, 2011, he was granted medical hardship, allowing him to retain four years of college eligibility.
In his redshirted freshman season in 2011-12, Moreland played in all 36 games and started 17. He led the Pac-12 in blocked shots, the first Oregon State player to lead the conference in that category since Nick DeWitz in 2005-06. In addition, he broke the Oregon State single-season record with 69 blocked shots that was held by Scott Haskin (68 in 1991-92) and shattered the Oregon State freshman blocked shots record that was set the season before by Devon Collier (23). In 36 games, he averaged 5.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 20.5 minutes per game.
In his sophomore season, Moreland earned Pac-12 All-Defensive Honorable Mention honors. He was also named the Pac-12 Player of the Week on December 24, 2012 after posting two double-doubles and averaging 17.0 points and 11.5 rebounds in wins over Howard and San Diego. In 29 games (22 starts), he averaged 9.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.5 blocks in 30.7 minutes per game.
In his junior season, Moreland played just 20 games after he was suspended for the first 12 games for a violation of team rules. He went on to earn Pac-12 All-Defensive Honorable Mention honors for the second straight year after he became just the third player in Oregon State history to average double-figure rebounds in multiple seasons. In 20 games (19 starts), he averaged 8.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 2.0 blocks in 29.4 minutes per game.
On April 12, 2014, Moreland declared for the NBA draft, foregoing his final year of college eligibility. He finished his Oregon State career as the all-time leader in blocked shots (184) and blocked shots average (2.07), and fifth all-time in rebounds (762) and sixth in rebounding average (8.6).
Professional career
Sacramento Kings (2014-2016)
After going undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft, Moreland joined the Sacramento Kings for the 2014 NBA Summer League. On July 30, 2014, he signed with the Kings and went on to receive multiple assignments to the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League before being ruled out for the rest of the 2014-15 season on January 1, 2015 due to a labral tear in his left shoulder. He recovered in time to participate in the 2015 NBA Summer League, where he averaged 6.4 points and 8.0 rebounds in five games. On July 29, 2015, Moreland was waived by the Kings, only to be re-signed by the team for training camp on September 9. On December 16, 2015, he was ruled out indefinitely after sustaining a fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot during practice earlier that day. Five days later, he was ruled out for eight weeks after undergoing successful surgery on his left foot. On March 19, 2016, he was assigned to the Reno Bighorns. He was later recalled by the Kings on April 1.
Canton Charge (2016-2017)
On September 26, 2016, Moreland signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. After being waived by the Cavaliers on October 3, 2016, he was acquired by the Canton Charge of the NBA Development League on November 1, 2016. On February 6, 2017, he was named in the Eastern Conference All-Star team for the 2017 NBA D-League All-Star Game. At the season's end, he was named to the All-NBA D-League Third Team and NBA D-League All-Defensive Team.
Detroit Pistons (2017-present)
On July 6, 2017, Moreland signed with the Detroit Pistons. On January 6, 2018, in a 108-101 win over the Houston Rockets, Moreland replaced the injured Andre Drummond at center for the first start of his career and set career highs with eight points, four assists and 36 minutes.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
Personal life
Moreland is the son of Louis and Verlarne Moreland, and has one brother, Louis Truscott, and one sister, Jelisa. He graduated in March 2014 with a degree in Human Development and Family Science.
References
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com
- Eric Moreland at osubeavers.com
Source of the article : Wikipedia