Dirk Minniefield

Who is Dirk Minniefield?

Dirk DeWayne Minniefield is an American retired professional basketball player. While at Lafayette High School in Lexington, he was named the 1979 Kentucky "Mr. Basketball", an honor given to the top high school player in the state of Kentucky. In addition to "Mr. Basketball", he was also named a McDonald's and Parade High School All-American. Minniefield played his college ball at the University of Kentucky, where he became a member of the 1,000 point club. In 1983, he was drafted in the second round by the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. The 6 ft 3 in, 180 lb guard played three seasons in NBA, making stops in Cleveland, Houston, Golden State, and Boston.

Minniefield began regularly using marijuana at age 14. Minniefield, who has been sober since the early 1990s, told a group of top high school prospects in 2007 that "My younger kids have never seen me take a drink. They don't know the daddy the older kids know. They know a totally different guy.".

His drug problem continued into college. He admitted to having carried a vial of cocaine with him regularly during his senior year at UK, and frequently took hits of the drug before games. Most notably, he admitted in 2007 that he and several teammates had gone to a park in Knoxville, Tennessee the night before Kentucky's showdown with Louisville in the 1983 NCAA Mideast Regional final and smoked marijuana. He also said that he smoked more marijuana after returning to his hotel room.