Pittsburgh native and former Bethel Park basketball player Armon Gilliam died Tuesday. He was 47. Gilliam collapsed while playing basketball at a Bridgeville gym.
↵Gilliam was a top player for UNLV in the mid-1980s, and in 1987, he played with the Runnin' Rebels in the Final Four.
↵↵↵"Armon was the catalyst on that team," [former UNLV coach Jerry] Tarkanian said. "He outworked everyone. That's how he made himself into an NBA player. When he first got here, he had to redshirt because he didn't graduate from junior college. There was this place here called the Sporting House. I was getting reports from there that he was there until midnight working on his game."
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Gilliam was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the second overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft. He had a 14-year career with the Suns, Charlotte Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz, finishing with 13.7 points per game. He returned to Bethel Park after he retired.