100. Loren Woods
Loren Woods, a 7'1" center from St. Louis, MO, was born on June 21st, 1978. As a high school senior at Cardinal Ritter, he earned a selection to the 1996 McDonald's All American squad. He then played two seasons of college basketball with Wake Forest before transferring to the University of Arizona, graduating with the Class of 2001. His time with Arizona would see him average 14 points and seven rebounds. The Minnesota TimberWolves chose him in the second round of the 2001 draft, with the 45th overall pick.
Woods played two seasons in the Twin Cities, appearing in 98 games. He scored a total of 190 points with 217 rebounds during his stint. He signed a free agent contract to play with Miami on August 8th, 2003 for $638,679. For Miami, he averaged 13.3 minutes over 38 games, starting two for the Heat at center. He shot 45.8% from the field. On November 18th, in a 105-98 win over the Seattle SuperSonics, he scored 12 points on five-of-six shooting from the field along with nine rebounds. A week later, he again scored 12 points on five-of-six shooting, along with four rebounds and two steals in 29 minutes of a 91-87 win over the New Orleans Hornets. He made a single postseason appearance after the season, playing in two minutes of a 93-63 win against the Hornets. Left unprotected in the expansion draft, he was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats on June 22nd.
Woods played parts of two seasons later on with the Toronto Raptors (82 games), playing in Lithuania in 2006-07 and in seven games for the Houston Rockets the following year. He has also made appearances in Turkey, Spain, Iran, and Lebanon, and is currently signed there with Al Riyadi Beirut. As a side note, Woods marks the halfway point of our countdown, with 99 players above and 99 below. He is the very definition of the "average" Heat player.
All-Time HEATline: One season, 38 games, 13.3 minutes, 3.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.3 steals, 0.5 blocks, 12.3 PER, 1.1 win shares.
99. Otis Thorpe
Thorpe was a 6'9" power forward from Boynton Beach, FL. Born on August 5th, 1962, he played four seasons with the University of Providence, averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds per contest as a senior in 1983-84. He was drafted in the first round of the 1984 draft by the Kansas City Kings, with the ninth overall pick.
Thorpe played four seasons for the Kings, first in Kansas City and later in Sacramento. He scored nearly 16 points with over eight rebounds per contest, playing half an hour per game. Later on he played with the Houston Rockets for parts of seven seasons, playing in the 1992 NBA all-star game. With Houston, he shot 56% from the floor, with 16 points and nine and a half rebounds per game. He then played with the Portland TrailBlazers (34 games), the Detroit Pistons (161 games), the Vancouver Grizzlies (47 games), the Kings (27 games), and the Washington Wizards (49 games).
Thorpe joined the Heat as a free agent during the summer of 1999, signing for one-year/$2,000,000. He played in 51 contests, including one start at power forward. In just over 15 minutes per game, he shot 51.4%, totaling five and a half points and 3.3 rebounds average in each appearance. He finished in double figures 10 times, including two double-doubles. On January 21st, he went seven-for-nine from the field, scoring 14 points with 10 rebounds. In his only start of the season, on April 14th, he made all seven of his field goal attempts, again finishing with 14 along with three rebounds in a 105-101 loss to the Indiana Pacers. He played 136 minutes over 10 postseason appearances, scoring three points with three rebounds per game. On April 29th, he scored 10 points with 10 boards as the Heat eliminated the Pistons, 91-72 in game three of a best-of-three sweep in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
Thorpe joined the Charlotte Hornets for 49 games the following season to close out his professional resume. He retired with over 17,000 points scored and 10,000 rebounds over his NBA career.
All-Time HEATline: One season, 51 games, 15.2 minutes, 5.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.2 blocks, 9.9 PER, 1.2 win shares.
98. Duane Causwell
Duane Causwell was a 7' tall center from Queens Village in New York City, NY. Born on May 31st, 1968, he played three seasons with the Temple Owls in college, averaging 11.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game over his last two seasons. The Sacramento Kings chose him in the first round of the 1990 draft, with the 18th overall pick.
Causwell spent his first seven seasons in Sacramento, playing just under 20 minutes per game and scoring five and a half points, grabbing four and a half rebounds, and blocking one and a half shots per game. He ranks 23rd on the Kings all-time list of games played, with 429. During the 1997 offseason, the Kings traded him for Matt Fish, Gary Grant, and a second round draft pick to the Heat. His first contract in Miami was for three seasons and $4,362,102.
Causwell's first season in Miami would see him play in 37 games, including two starts at center. He scored 2.3 points with 1.8 rebounds and almost one block per game. On March 12th, in a 97-74 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, he scored four points with four blocks and 12 rebounds. April 4th would see him grab 14 rebounds in 21 minutes of a 101-88 win over the Charlotte Hornets. On April 19th, he scored a season high 15 points on seven-of-nine shooting in 34 minutes of a 101-89 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. On May 3rd, he made his only playoff appearance, grabbing two rebounds in five minutes of a game five elimination loss to the New York Knicks, 98-81.
Causwell appeared in a more limited role in 1998-99, appearing just 19 times and scoring a total of 44 points with 35
rebounds and 11 blocks. He only figured in double digits once, in his season's only start, a May 5th, 101-88 win over the Knicks. He finished with 10 and four rebounds.
In 1999-00, Causwell started in two of his 25 appearances, shooting at a 54.1% clip. As in each of his previous Miami seasons, he scored in double digits once. He scored 13 points with six rebounds in a 93-69 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
After signing a one-year, $4,000,000 contract, Causwell shot a career worst 37.6% from the field in his final season, 2000-01. He played in 31 games, starting 14 of them and for the first time in a Heat uniform playing more than a quarter per game. He averaged two and a half points with two and a half rebounds per game. November 24th was the closest he would get to finishing any game category in double figures, when he finished with nine points and nine rebounds in an 85-80 loss to the Cavaliers. He finished his NBA career with a scoreless effort in the playoffs, finishing with three rebounds in five minutes of a 106-80 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
All-Time HEATline: Four seasons, 112 games, 9.5 minutes, 2.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 0.1 assists, 0.2 steals, 0.6 blocks, 8.4 PER, 1.3 win shares.
97. Scott Hastings
Scott Hastings, a 6'10" center from Independence, KS, was born on June 3rd, 1960. He played four seasons in college for the Arkansas Razorbacks, averaging 19 points with six rebounds through his senior season, 1981-82. The New York Knicks chose him in the second round of that year's draft, with the 29th pick overall. He played 21 games for New York before a trade for Rory Sparrow made him an Atlanta Hawk. He spent the majority of his career in Atlanta, appearing in 299 games over most of the next six seasons.
Hastings was left unprotected in the 1988 expansion draft, where the Heat picked him up for a $220,000 contract. He started six games over the course of the season, ranking sixth on the roster with 75 appearances. He shot 43.6% from the floor, averaging just over five points and three rebounds in 16 minutes per game. He scored in double figures 14 times, including one double-double. He scored a season high 17 points with six rebounds in an April 11th, 114-98 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
After just one season in South Beach, Hastings elected to join the Detroit Pistons as a free agent, playing in 67 games for them over the next two seasons. He later joined the Denver Nuggets for two more seasons, playing in 116 contests. He is currently in broadcasting in the Denver area, providing color commentary on the Nuggets, hosting a radio show, and a television golf show during the offseason.
All-Time HEATline: One season, 75 games, 16.1 minutes, 5.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.6 blocks, 9.4 PER, 1.5 win shares.