Syracuse basketball great Dwayne ‘Pearl’ Washington dies at 52

Dwayne “Pearl” Washington, who captivated college basketball fans with his flair, deft ball-handling skills and creativity as a Syracuse point guard and later was an original member of the Miami Heat, died Wednesday after a battle with cancer. He was 52.

Washington was beset with medical problems since a brain tumor was first diagnosed in 1995. He had surgery last August after a recurrence of the tumor. In recent weeks, he needed a wheelchair to move around and required continuous medical care.

Washington was born on Jan. 24, 1964, and was a New York City playground legend growing up in Brooklyn. He got his nickname as an 8-year-old when he was compared to former NBA star Earl “the Pearl” Monroe.

He was the nation’s was the most highly recruited basketball player after averaging 35 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as a senior at Boys and Girls High.

He committed to Syracuse and averaged 15.6 points, 6.7 assists and 2.7 rebounds for the Orangemen and — with Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin and others — were among the brightest stars during the Big East Conference’s halcyon years in the 1980s and 1990s.

He was named first-team Big East three times and is the only player to do that who played only three years in college.

“There was no better guy and there’s nobody who has meant more to our basketball program than Dwayne Washington,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told The Associated Press last fall.

His signature move was the crossover dribble that froze defenders.

Washington was drafted 13th overall by New Jersey in 1986, but his game and undersized frame (6-2) did not translate well to the NBA.

He averaged 8.9 points and 3.6 assists in two seasons with the Nets, including 71 starts.

The Heat took him in the 1988 expansion draft and Washington scored a team-leading 16 points in the Heat’s first regular-season game, a 111-91 loss to the Clippers.

Washington appeared in 54 games, including eight starts, during the Heat’s inaugural season, averaging 7.6 points, 4.2 assists and shooting 42.4 percent from the field.

The Heat did not retain him and he spent the next two seasons playing in the Continental Basketball Association before his career ended.

Washington is the second confirmed player who has died from the original Heat team, which went 15-67 under coach Ron Rothstein.

Pat Cummings, also a member of that team, died of what were reported to be natural causes in 2012, at age 55.

This story was originally published by the Miami Herald.

This story was originally published April 20, 2016 at 1:44 PM with the headline "Syracuse basketball great Dwayne ‘Pearl’ Washington dies at 52."