A. J. Slaughter

Anthony Darrell "A. J." Slaughter (born August 3, 1987) is an American-born naturalized Polish professional basketball player for Gran Canaria of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroCup. He played college basketball for Western Kentucky.

A. J. Slaughter
Slaughter with Poland in 2016
No. 4 – Gran Canaria
PositionShooting guard
LeagueLiga ACB
EuroCup
Personal information
Born (1987-08-03) August 3, 1987
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
NationalityAmerican / Polish
Listed height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Listed weight80 kg (176 lb)
Career information
High schoolShelby County
(Shelbyville, Kentucky)
CollegeWestern Kentucky (2006–2010)
NBA draft2010: undrafted
Playing career2010–present
Career history
2010–2011Angelico Biella
2011–2012Dexia Mons-Hainaut
2012–2013Cholet
2013–2014Élan Chalon
2014–2015Panathinaikos
2015–2016Banvit
2016–2017SIG Strasbourg
2017–2019ASVEL
2019–2020Real Betis
2020–presentGran Canaria
2021Kuwait SC
Career highlights and awards

High school

Slaughter started every game of his high school career at Shelby County, averaging 14.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.7 steals per game. He posted 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals per game during his sophomore year as the Rockets won the district championship, earning District MVP honors and a First-Team All-Region selection as well. Another district title followed in his junior year (18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals per game) with a second First-Team All-Region selection. He contributed 19.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.7 steals per game as a senior to help Shelby County reach the state Sweet 16, leading the Louisville Courier-Journal to name him as their Player of the Year, with a third First-Team All-State selection added.[1]

Rated a three-star recruit by Scout.com,[2] Slaughter received scholarship offers from Vanderbilt and West Virginia but chose Western Kentucky (WKU) of the Sun Belt Conference in the NCAA Division I. Signing his letter of intent on 26 August 2005,[3] he was the first verbal commitment of the 2006 Western Kentucky recruiting class.[4]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
A.J. Slaughter
SG		 Shelbyville, Kentucky Shelby County High School (KY) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Aug 26, 2005 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 83 (SG)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Western Kentucky Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2015-04-04.
  • "2006 Western Kentucky Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved 2015-04-04.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2015-04-04.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved 2015-04-04.
  • "2006 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2015-04-04.

College

Freshman year

For Slaughter's collegiate debut, he registered 20 minutes and scored a year-high 18 points in a 96–55 defeat of Kennesaw State on 11 November 2006, ending his season with 5 points in the 2007 Sun Belt men's basketball tournament semifinal defeat against Arkansas State.[5] He appeared in all 33 games played, starting an 11 January 2007 game against Florida International University after starter Courtney Lee got injured, playing two more games that season. He finished with 15.9 minutes per game, contributing 200 points (10th best for WKU freshmen) with per game averages of 6.1 points (7th in the team), 1.7 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.9 steals (3rd in team).[1][6][7]

Sophomore year

Slaughter scored in excess of 10 points on 12 occasions as a sophomore, including a season-high 17 points in a 31 January 2008 game against Arkansas-Little Rock. He helped Western Kentucky win the 2008 Sun Belt men's basketball tournament, earning a place in the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.[1][8][9] In the first-round game against Drake on 21 March 2008, Slaughter posted 10 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists to help the team progress.[1][10] In the Sweet Sixteen loss to top-seeded UCLA on March 27, he added 7 points, 3 assists and 2 steals.[1][11]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2010 NBA draft, Slaughter played for the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Summer League.[12]

On July 26, 2010, he signed a one-year deal with Angelico Biella of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A.[13]

For the 2011–12 season he moved to Belgium and signed with Dexia Mons-Hainaut.

In July 2012, he signed with Cholet Basket of the French LNB Pro A.[14]

In June 2013, he signed a one-year deal with another Pro A side, Élan Chalon.[15]

On July 16, 2014, he signed a two-year deal with Greek giants Panathinaikos.[16][17] On June 30, 2015, he officially terminated his contract with the team.[18]

On July 16, 2015, Slaughter signed with the Turkish club Banvit.[19]

On August 15, 2016, Slaughter signed with French club SIG Strasbourg for the 2016–17 season.[20]

On July 8, 2017, Slaughter signed a two-year contract with French club ASVEL.[21]

On July 1, 2019, Slaughter signed a two-year deal with Spanish club Real Betis Energía Plus.[22] He averaged 13.3 points per game.

On July 12, 2020, he signed with Herbalife Gran Canaria.[23] On July 28, 2020, it was understood that due to a small health issue, AJ Slaughter cannot join the team until the end of September, so both parties decided to terminate their contract by mutual agreement.[24] However, on November 10 he signed with Gran Canaria.[25]

In May 2021, Slaughter signed with Kuwait SC to play in the Gulf Champions Basketball Championship.[26]

International career
Slaughter (right) during EuroBasket 2017

In June 2015, Slaughter became a Polish citizen, in order for him to be able to play for the Poland national basketball team at EuroBasket 2015.[27] Slaughter also played for the team during EuroBasket 2017 and EuroBasket 2022, as well as the FIBA World Cup 2019 in China.

Personal

His father, Anthony "Tony" Slaughter, played basketball for Murray State from 1980 to 1981.[28] His two sisters Toni and Antonita also played basketball collegiately, both for Louisville, the latter was a graduate assistant at Drury University as of 2015.[29][30]

References
  1. "A.J. Slaughter". Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  2. "A.J. Slaughter Profile". Scout.com. Fox Sports. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  3. "A.J. Slaughter". Rivals.com. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  4. Stapleton, OJ (26 August 2005). "Prep star picks Tops- Slaughter commits to Western Kentucky". Bowling Green Daily News. NewsBank. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  5. "WKU-ASU Recap". Sun Belt Conference. 5 March 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  6. "Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Statistics - 2006-07". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. 2009. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  7. "Brazelton drives WKU past Cajuns Lee sits out second game with ankle injury". Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer. NewsBank. 14 January 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  8. "A.J. Slaughter Game Log 2007-2008 season". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  9. "WKU-MT Recap". Sun Belt Conference. 11 March 2008. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  10. "Rogers' desperation 26-foot 3 in OT lifts No. 12 W. Kentucky past No. 5 Drake". ESPN. Associated Press. 21 March 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  11. "Love's career-high 29 help UCLA hang on, advance to Elite Eight". ESPN. Associated Press. 27 March 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  12. NBA Summer League Rosters - Vegas
  13. "Angelico Biella signs rookie AJ Slaughter". Archived from the original on 2014-07-23. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  14. "AJ Slaughter moves to Cholet". Archived from the original on 2014-07-23. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  15. "ELAN CHALON adds Slaughter, Brockman". Eurocupbasketball.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  16. "A.J.Slaughter in Panathinaikos". Panathinaikos B.C. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  17. "Panathinaikos signs Slaughter at guard". Euroleague. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  18. "ΜΠΑΣΚΕΤ - Ελλάδα - Basket League - Οριστικά τέλος ο Σλότερ - Novasports.gr". Archived from the original on 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2015-06-30. Οριστικά τέλος ο Έι Τζέι Σλότερ.
  19. "Banvit tabs Slaughter". Eurocupbasketball.com. July 16, 2015. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  20. Strasbourg adds A.J. Slaughter
  21. "Après D. NELSON, A.J SLAUGHTER signe à l'ASVEL !". Asvelbasket.com (in French). July 8, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  22. "A.J. Slaughter, primer fichaje del Real Betis Energía Plus para la próxima temporada". realbetisbalompie (in European Spanish). 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  23. Borghesan, Ennio Terrasi (July 12, 2020). "Herbalife Gran Canaria announces AJ Slaughter". Sportando. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  24. Lupo, Nicola (July 28, 2020). "AJ Slaughter, Gran Canaria part ways". Sportando. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  25. Skerletic, Dario (November 10, 2020). "Herbalife Gran Canaria ink AJ Slaughter". Sportando. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  26. "Elmedin Kikanović odabrao zanimljivu destinaciju za nastavak karijere". Avaz.ba (in Bosnian). 27 May 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  27. "Poland trim preliminary squad". EuroBasket 2015. FIBA Europe. 12 June 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-06-23. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  28. Herbst, Rob (22 November 2008). "WKU Hoops: Toppers learning ropes in old rivalry: McDonald lost three to Racers as WKU assistant". Bowling Green Daily News. McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
  29. "Toni Slaughter". Louisville Cardinals. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  30. "2014-15 Women's Basketball Coaching Staff". Drury University. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
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