Derrick Allen Mahorn

Not highly recruited out of Hartford’s Weaver High School, Rickey Mahorn enrolled at Hampton in 1976. He averaged 5.5 points as a freshman but was better known for his dogged defense. A mid-season injury to the team’s starting center thrust the sophomore Mahorn into the limelight. His first big game was against rival Virginia State at Mahorn’s high school alma mater in December 1977 where he exploded for 37 points and 18 rebounds. The rest is history as he averaged 24.0, 22.8 and 27.6 points the next three seasons. By the end of his career, he owned 18 school records and was named to 19 all-star teams while averaging 20.3 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. The Pirates had suffered 12 consecutive losing seasons before Coach Hank Ford and Assistant Coach Robert Wilson came on the scene. In Mahorn’s final three seasons, Hampton posted a 69-23 (.750) record. Following his senior season, Mahorn wowed NBA scouts with his skills at the Final Four Coaches All Star Game, Portsmouth Invitational Tournament and Aloha Classic. He was the 35th pick in the 1980 NBA Draft by Washington where he toiled for five seasons. During his 18-year NBA career he also played for Detroit (six), Philadelphia (three) and New Jersey (four). He helped lead the Pistons to the NBA title and was dubbed the “Baddest bad boy of them all,” by Piston announcer George Blaha. He and Piston teammate Bill Lambeer were labeled, “McFilthy and McNasty” for their aggressive and inflexible defensive play. In 2015, 35 years after he left college, Mahorn fulfilled a promise he made to his late mother by earning his bachelor’s degree from Hampton. The longtime Piston’s radio analyst co-hosts NBA Radio on Sirius XM. He also coaches the Detroit Amplifiers Big3 team. He and his wife, Donyale, have six children including daughters Moyah, Alexandria, Jordan and Kameron along with sons Derrick II and Blake.

• Became a Hampton star after arriving unrecruited from Weaver High School. Enrolling in 1976, he averaged 24.0, 22.8, and 27.6 points over his final three seasons, owned 18 school records, and averaged 20.3 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. Hampton went 69-23 in those three seasons.
• Drafted 35th overall by Washington in 1980. He played five seasons with the Bullets, then Detroit (six), Philadelphia (three), and New Jersey (four) across an 18-year NBA career.
• Won an NBA title with Detroit’s Bad Boys. Pistons announcer George Blaha called him the “Baddest bad boy of them all.” He and teammate Bill Lambeer were labeled “McFilthy and McNasty.”
• Earned his Hampton degree in 2015. Thirty-five years after he left college, he fulfilled a promise to his late mother by completing his bachelor’s degree.
• Stayed in basketball as a broadcaster and coach. He co-hosts NBA Radio on Sirius XM and coaches the Detroit Amplifiers in the Big3.