2001 Fleer Platinum #248 Alton Ford

Sometimes you wish a player could just hang around a little longer. Alton Ford is one of those guys. Coming to the University of Houston as a High School All American and the Texas High School Player of the Year, expectations were high.

Ford showed flashes of that greatness as a Freshman. He played in 26 games and started 18, including the last 7 where he led the team in scoring and rebounding. His 10.8 points per game ranked him #7 in all-time Freshman scoring and his 5.9 rebounds per game ranked #5 for Freshman. He was even named to the 4th team All American on one list.

But because expectations were so high, they weren't met and areas of improvement were noticeable. But instead of staying in school to improve, he declared for the NBA draft. He was selected by the Phoenix in the 2nd round, played for the Suns in 2001-02 and 2002-03. He then played for the Houston Rockets in 2003-04.

After leaving the NBA, he has played in French, Chinese, Polish, and Bosnian leagues as well as the NBA's D-League.

If he had stayed at UH, would he have been a college star? Would he have developed more in college and been a better pro? We'll never know. But what we do know is that we love our Coogs whether they were at UH for a short time or 4+ years, whether they are Hall of Famers or don't play a minute in the pros. They are part of our Cougar family.

Toay's card is the 2001 Fleer Platinum #248. The design is based on the famous 1986-87 Fleer set which features rookie cards of Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler as well as an Otis Birdsong card. If you want to do a retro card in basketball with a recognizable design, this set is the obvious choice.