Today in Philly Sports History: Stackhouse vs. Hornacek, 1996

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The number of 90s high draft picks that didn't end up panning out for the Sixers is a long and humiliating one, including such inglorious selections as Shawn Bradley (#2), Sharone Wright (#6), Larry Hughes (#8) and Tim Thomas (#7). Jerry Stackhouse, the Sixers' #3 selection in '95 was actually probably one of the better ones, although a high-scoring, low-character swingman wasn't exactly what the Sixers needed to lead them out of the gutter, especially once Allen Iverson arrived the following year to officially take the team's reins. Still, Stack had a solidly memorable rookie campaign, averaging 19 points a game, making first team all-rookie, and on March 20th, 1996, getting into one of the better NBA fistfights of recent years.

Sharpshooter Jeff Hornacek was just a couple years removed from playing in Philadelphia when the Sixers visited the Jazz that day in '96, and was flourishing as the Salt Lake's best deep threat. The Jazz were well on their way to blowing Philly out when Hornacek drove the court on a two-on-one, and received a hard foul from Stackhouse. When Hornacek got up, Stackhouse--who claimed Hornacek hit him with an elbow--started letting the haymakers fly, and got some pretty impressive shots in before being dragged away. Stack was hit with a $7500 fine and a two-game suspension for the incident, while Hornacek was also ejected from the game, costing him an even grand. "I've had a lot of firsts this season," said Stackhouse of the penalty. "This is not one I'm proud of, not proud of at all."

As with many of their disappointing draftees, Jerry Stackhouse's stay with the Sixers was not a particularly long one, lasting just two years into the Iverson era before being traded to the Pistons for some defensive-oriented pieces (including Eric Snow and Theo Ratliff) who eventually would help form the Sixers into one of the league's most formidable teams. Meanwhile, Stack did put up some impressive numbers in Detroit, even leading the league in overall scoring in '00-'01, but never shot a particularly high field goal percentage and rarely led his teams to much in the ways of winning. Recently, he signed with the Bucks to give them depth on their first playoff run in years, averaging eight points a game for them off the bench. 

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