John Stockton made his mark as an up and coming point guard at Gonzaga catching the eye of the Utah Jazz who chose him in the first round of the 1984 draft. He played for the Jazz his entire career racking up assists by sending packages to Karl “The Mailman” Malone until he retired in 2003. Stockton was appreciated. The city commemorated him by renaming the street to the Salt Lake City Delta Center “John Stockton Drive.” In 2004, they retired his number 12 jersey. In 2009 he became a Basketball Hall of Famer.
After retirement Stockton became a coach. First, he coached youth teams, splitting his time between several different teams. In 2015 he coached professionally, joining the women’s basketball program at Montana State University for a few years. He’s also been pursuing a business career.
Mark Blount – Real Estate Investor
Mark Blount played for the NBA for ten years. It was the culmination of his childhood dream. First, he struggled to make it to the University of Pittsburgh and, finally, to the NBA. In 2000, Blount, a seven-foot-tall center from Yonkers, New York, was drafted by the Boston Celtics. In 2010 he retired from his career as a solid center for several teams including the Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat. As soon as he retired, he knew he had to make some serious moves if he was going to retain his NBA-star lifestyle. From flipping residential real estate to running Cinnabon shops, Blount’s enthusiasm for the challenge of the real estate business is palpable. “The restaurant business was a learning curve for me, but the real estate [business] is a passion for me,” Blount says.
He opened three Auntie Anne’s shops in Florida, ran them for four years, then sold them for a hefty profit in order to focus on his real estate projects. He and his partners invest in various properties and renovate aging residences for housing. He’s also involved with several philanthropic activities in his local Fort Lauderdale community, like Toys for Tots in Palm Beach Gardens. Advice for other guys who have to leave the court behind, Blount suggests getting into business or taking courses to find an interest in something.
Derrick Coleman – Clean Water Delivery
First-round pick Derrick Coleman became Rookie of the Year for the Nets after they drafted him in 1990. He went on to play for the All-Stars in 1994. Averaging 20 points per game, Coleman had huge potential, but by 2005, with fifteen NBA seasons under his belt, the Pistons released him from his contract due to his part in an infamous on-court brawl in 2004 between the Pacers and the Pistons.
Today you might find him hauling clean water supplies to residents in Flint, Michigan. Since it was discovered in 2014 that the city of Flint had signed up for a contaminated water source, Coleman had been driving 65 miles a day to deliver fresh water supplies to Flint. “I’ve seen the rust and everything that’s in their water,” a concerned Coleman said, rhetorically asking, “How can this happen here in America?” Michigan is Coleman’s hometown. He went back to live there in 2011. Besides supplying clean water, he invested heavily in renovating and revitalizing the city, trying to bring jobs and economic development to Flint, but he invested during poor economic times and lost it all.
Darko Milicic – Apple Farmer
In 2001, Darko Milicic was drafted just one pick behind LeBron James, but Milicic’s NBA career lagged far behind. The Detroit Pistons had high hopes for the 7-foot-tall Serbian, but Milicic did not like playing for the NBA. In fact, he’s already sold his Pistons Championship ring and donated the money to charity. He abruptly retired in 2012. “I was so lost,” Milicic said, “I really came to hate basketball, you know? I just wanted to come back home and live another life.”
And so, he did. After playing briefly for a Serbian basketball team and then giving a kickboxing career a quick shot, he found his true calling. Back at home in his native Serbia he became an apple farmer. He traveled to Italy to study orchard farming and put $8 million into a 125-acre apple farm that yields over 10,000 pounds of fruit per year. He loves it. With sheer excitement in his eyes, he talks about getting into cherry farming.
Detlef Schrempf – Business Development Officer
Detlef Schrempf chose the most practical career path possible after retiring from the NBA in 2001. As a financial advisor, he learned how to best manage his wealth, and he’s done a great job! His net worth is $5 million. He hit the NBA shortly upon migrating from Germany to the U.S. After dominating the high school court when he moved here in his senior year, he led the Washington Huskies to the Pac-10, twice.
As an NBA star, Schrempf racked up scoreboards for the Dallas Mavericks, the Indiana Pacers, and the Seattle SuperSonics for 16 years. He was a two-time Sixth Man of the Year and a three-time All-Star. After retirement he stayed in the league for a couple years as an assistant coach for the Sonics. Coldstream Capital has been pleased to employ Schrempf as a Business Development Officer.