Mario Little

Mario Little
Free agent
Position Shooting guard
Personal information
Born (1987-12-29) December 29, 1987
Chicago, Illinois
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight 210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school George Washington
(Chicago, Illinois)
College Chipola College (2006–2008)
Kansas (2008–2011)
NBA draft 2011 / Undrafted
Playing career 2011–present
Career history
2011–2012 BC Dnipro-Azot Dniprodzerzhynsk
2012–2015 Tulsa 66ers/Oklahoma City Blue
2015 Bàsquet Manresa
2015–2016 Anyang KGC
2016 TNT KaTropa

Mario Deantwan Little (born December 29, 1987)[1] is an American professional basketball player who last played for TNT KaTropa of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He played college basketball for the University of Kansas.[2]

High school career

Little attended George Washington High School in Chicago, Illinois where as a senior in 2005–06, he averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and three blocks per game, as he earned team MVP honors.[2]

College career

Chipola College (2006–2008)

In his freshman season at Chipola College, Little averaged 8.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game as the Indians finished with a 33-3 overall record. He earned Sixth Man of the Year honors and helped lead Chipola to second-place finish in the 2007 NJCAA National Championship.[2]

In November 2007, Little signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for the University of Kansas in 2008–09.[3]

In his sophomore season, Little led the Chipola Indians to their fifth-straight conference championship and averaged 15.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Chipola finished seventh in the 2008 NJCAA Tournament as little was named both Player of the Year in the Panhandle Conference and an NJCAA All-American.[2]

Kansas (2008–2011)

In his junior season at Kansas, Little appeared in just 23 games due to injury but was named the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year. In those 23 games (three starts), he averaged 4.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.[2][4]

Little decided to redshirt the 2009–10 season in order to give his surgically repaired lower left leg time to heal and become more effective on the perimeter. Despite not playing for the Jayhawks, he did participate in practice throughout the season, as he gained more muscle and became more humble.[5]

In his senior season, Little scored in double digits in three games to begin the year, but on December 16, 2010, Kansas suspended Little indefinitely after he was arrested on charges of battery, criminal damage and criminal trespassing following a pre-dawn fight with his girlfriend and others.[6] He returned to action on January 12, 2011[7] and later recorded a career-high 10 rebounds against Oklahoma State on February 21. In 32 games (one start), he averaged 5.1 points and 2.9 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game.[2][4]

Professional career

In December 2011, Little signed with BC Dnipro-Azot Dniprodzerzhynsk of the Ukraine for the rest of the 2011–12 season.[8] In 20 games for Dnipro, he averaged 11.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

In November 2012, Little was acquired by the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Development League following a successful try-out with the team the previous month.[9] He appeared in just 18 games for Tulsa in 2012–13 and averaged 4.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. He returned to Tulsa in 2013–14 and had a much better season, averaging 18.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals in 50 games.

In July 2014, Little joined the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 2014 NBA Summer League. On November 4, 2014, he was acquired by the Oklahoma City Blue.[10] On January 24, 2015, he was waived by the Blue.[11] On March 3, 2015, he signed with Bàsquet Manresa of Spain for the rest of the 2014–15 ACB season.[12] However, his stint with Manresa lasted just four games as he was replaced in the line-up by D. J. Seeley on April 9 after Little sustained an injury.[13]

In August 2015, Little signed with Anyang KGC of the Korean Basketball League.[14] In 62 games for Anyang in 2015–16, he averaged 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

On June 26, 2016, Little signed with TNT KaTropa for the 2016 PBA Governors' Cup.[15] On August 12, 2016, he was released by the club.[16] In four games for KaTropa, he averaged 15.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

NBA D-League 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
2012–13 Tulsa 66ers 15 1 12.4 .375 .167 1.000 2.1 .9 .4 .3 3.9
2013–14 Tulsa 66ers 50 47 36.2 .417 .366 .849 4.2 2.6 1.1 .2 18.8
2014–15 Oklahoma City Blue 22 19 31.8 .410 .375 .846 3.8 3.0 .9 .2 13.4
Career 87 67 31.0 .413 .356 .852 3.7 2.4 1.0 .2 14.9

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012–13 Tulsa 66ers 3 1 21.5 .500 .286 .333 2.0 .7 .7 .0 7.0
Career 3 1 21.5 .500 .286 .333 2.0 .7 .7 .0 7.0

References

  1. ↑ "DraftExpress NBA Draft Prospect Profile: Mario Little, Stats, Comparisons, and Outlook". DraftExpress.com. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Mario Little - 2010-11 Men's Basketball". kuathletics.com. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  3. ↑ Kansas Men’s Basketball Inks Philadelphia’s Morris Twins and Chicago’s Mario Little on First Day of Fall Signing Period
  4. 1 2 Mario Little Stats
  5. ↑ Mario Little making strides in red-shirt campaign
  6. ↑ Kansas guard Mario Little suspended
  7. ↑ Mario Little Game-by-Game Stats – 2010–11
  8. ↑ DniproAzot release Rinalds Sirsnins, invite Mario Little
  9. ↑ Meet the 66ers - Mario Little
  10. ↑ Oklahoma City Blue Announces Training Camp Roster
  11. ↑ Blue Acquires Rodney Williams
  12. ↑ Manresa adds Mario Little
  13. ↑ Manresa agreed to terms with DJ Seeley
  14. ↑ Mario Little signed a tryout deal in South...
  15. ↑ Badua, Snow (June 26, 2016). "TNT's Mario Little, Marcus Simmons of Phoenix complete 12-import cast for PBA Governors Cup". Spin.ph. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  16. ↑ Dy, Richard (August 12, 2016). "Mychal Lemar Ammons replaces Mario Little as TNT braces for tough stretch". FoxSportsAsia.com. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
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