Tony Farmer (basketball, born 1994)

Tony Farmer (born March 24, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Indios de San Francisco de Macorís of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto. Farmer was a top-100 ESPN recruit with NBA potential,[1] but his career was brought to a halt when he was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping charges in 2012.[2] After his release in 2015, he played college basketball at Lee College and participated in the 2017 NBA draft, where he went undrafted.

Tony Farmer
Indios de San Francisco de Macorís
PositionSmall forward
LeagueLiga Nacional de Baloncesto
Personal information
Born (1994-03-24) March 24, 1994 (age 30)
Cleveland, Ohio
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High schoolGarfield Heights
(Garfield Heights, Ohio)
CollegeLee (2015–2017)
NBA draft2017: undrafted
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2019Yakima SunKings
2019–2020Al Rayyan
2020Halcones de Ciudad Obregón
2021Pichincha de Potosí
2021Riachuelo de La Rioja
2022–2023Halcones de Ciudad Obregón
2023Al Salam
2023Al Manama
2023–2024Al Nawair
2024Halcones de Ciudad Obregón
2024–presentIndios de San Francisco de Macorís
Career highlights and awards
  • CIBACOPA All-Star (2022, 2024)
  • CIBACOPA scoring leader (2024)

Early life and education

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Farmer excelled at Garfield Heights High School outside of Cleveland, Ohio, graduating in 2012. He was rated among the top 100 high school players in the U.S.[2] In his senior year, Farmer was being recruited by several Division I schools, including a handful in the Big Ten.[3]

College career

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Farmer planned to enroll at Lincoln College, but was refused admission.[4] He eventually signed to play with Lee College, a community college in Baytown, Texas.[5] As a freshman in 2015–16, he made 31 appearances for the Runnin’ Rebels, averaging 16.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists a contest.[6] In 2016–17, Farmer scored 17.4 points per outing, while pulling down 9.5 rebounds and dishing out 3.2 assists a game.[7]

After the conclusion of his sophomore year, Farmer turned pro and put his name in the 2017 NBA draft.[8] He would ultimately be undrafted that year.[9]

Professional career

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Yakima SunKings (2018–2019)

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In the 2018 season, Farmer played two games for the Yakima SunKings of the NAPB.[10]

Al Rayyan (2019–2020)

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Farmer signed with Al Rayyan of the Qatari Basketball League on November 12, 2019.[11] He averaged 19.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in 16 games played.[12]

Halcones de Ciudad Obregón (2020)

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In 2020, Farmer played two games with Mexican team Halcones de Ciudad Obregón of the Circuito de Baloncesto de la Costa del Pacífico (CIBACOPA) before the league was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13]

Pichincha de Potosí (2021)

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Farmer played with Bolivian team Pichincha de Potosí in 2021, leading them to an appearance in the league finals.[14]

Riachuelo de La Rioja (2021)

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In September 2021, Farmer signed with Riachuelo de La Rioja in Argentina.[15]

Second stint with the Halcones (2022–2023)

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Farmer returned to the Halcones de Ciudad Obregón for the 2022 CIBACOPA season.[16] He earned All-Star honors.[17] Farmer returned to the Halcones for the 2023 season.

Al Salam (2023)

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He made his debut for Al Salam in Saudi Arabia in October 2023. Farmer appeared in five games for the team, averaging 21.4 points as well as 7.4 rebounds per contest.[18]

Al Manama (2023)

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Farmer moved to Al Manama of Bahrain in November 2023.[19] In three appearances, he averaged 14.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.0 assist, and 1.0 steal per game.[20]

Al Nawair (2023–2024)

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Farmer joined Al Nawair of Syria in December 2023.[20]

Third stint with the Halcones (2024)

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Farmer returned to the Halcones de Ciudad Obregón for the 2024 CIBACOPA season.[21] He again earned All-Star honors.[22] Farmer led the league in scoring with 23.1 point per game.[23]

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In May 2012, Farmer was indicted by a grand jury on charges of kidnapping, assault and robbery against his former girlfriend in Bedford Heights.[3]

In August 2012, Farmer pled guilty to all three charges and was sentenced to three years imprisonment. In June 2015, he was released from prison.[24][25]

In September 2020, police in Kenner, Louisiana, issued a warrant for Farmer's arrest on felony domestic abuse battery.[26]

References

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  1. ^ "Former top-100 ESPN recruit wanted in Louisiana". ESPN.com. 2020-09-04. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  2. ^ a b "Garfield Heights basketball standout Tony Farmer sentenced to 3 years in prison for kidnapping and assault". cleveland.com. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  3. ^ a b "Garfield Heights school basketball standout indicted for kidnapping, felonious assault and robbery". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  4. ^ "The tale of one-time star Tony Farmer | Deep(ish) Thoughts". Deep(ish) Thoughts. 2016-08-20. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  5. ^ "Former Garfield Heights basketball star Tony Farmer to play for Lee College (Texas) instead of Lincoln". cleveland.com. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  6. ^ "NJCAA". NJCAA. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  7. ^ "NJCAA". NJCAA. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  8. ^ Helin, Kurt (2017-05-25). "After 73 underclassmen pull out of NBA draft, here are the final early entries". ProBasketballTalk. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  9. ^ "2017 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  10. ^ SunKings, Yakima. "Team Statistics – Yakima SunKings". sunkingsbasketball.com. Retrieved 2018-09-29.
  11. ^ "Al Rayyan lands Tony Farmer". Asia-Basket. November 12, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  12. ^ Chelidze, Dimitri (March 7, 2020). "Tony Farmer (ex Al Rayyan) agreed terms with Obregon". Asia-Basket. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  13. ^ "Los Halcones de Obregón inician el vuelo en la campaña 2020 del Cibacopa" (in Spanish). tribuna.com.mx. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  14. ^ Colque, Henry (August 31, 2021). "Nacional Potosi se corona como el nuevo campeón de la Libobásquet". Liboadictos (in Spanish). Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  15. ^ "Riachuelo de La Rioja signs Tony Farmer, ex Pichincha". Latinbasket (in Spanish). September 21, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  16. ^ Valenzuela, Luis A. (March 9, 2022). "Presentan Halcones su temporada 2022 del CIBACOPA". VA Noticias y Deportes (in Spanish). Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  17. ^ Rojas, Roberto; Hernández Molina, Nestor (May 7, 2022). "Cibacopa: Listas las selecciones para el juego de estrellas". Debate.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  18. ^ "Tony Farmer". Asia-basket.com. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  19. ^ "Manama's target: Getting better every game with targets on their backs". FIBA. 2023-11-21. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
  20. ^ a b Abdul Hamid Addasi (December 22, 2023). "Tony Farmer (ex Al-Manama) joins Al Nawaeer". asia-basket.com. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  21. ^ Luna, Joel (February 21, 2024). "Tony Farmer está de regreso con Halcones de Ciudad Obregón". Diario del Yaqui (in Spanish). Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  22. ^ Arrieta, Oscar (12 April 2024). "¡Todo listo! Estos son los jugadores que participarán en el Juego de Estrellas Cibacopa 2024". Línea Directa Portal (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  23. ^ "Leaders". CIBACOPA. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  24. ^ "Former Garfield Heights basketball standout Tony Farmer signs with Lincoln College 2 months after being released from prison". cleveland.com. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  25. ^ "Tony Farmer, a former top-100 ESPN recruit, wanted in Louisiana". ESPN. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  26. ^ T.J. Quinn (4 September 2020). "Tony Farmer, a former top-100 ESPN recruit, wanted in Louisiana". ESPN. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
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