Education
Jimmy "Slice" Oliver attended Community College for one year and then transferred to Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana and played under head coach Gene Keady.
Jimmy "Slice" Oliver attended Community College for one year and then transferred to Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana and played under head coach Gene Keady.
He was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round (39th overall) of the 1991 National Basketball Association Draft. The 6"6", 208 lb guard-forward appeared in 31 games in his Sophomore season, playing behind Center Steve Scheffler and alongside guard Matt Painter. He averaged 5.3 points while averaging 18.2 minutes per game in his first eligible season.
Jimmy started his Junior season out receiving more minutes and improved his shooting percentage to nearly 50%, while also improving his points average to 8 a game.
He helped lead the Boilers to a 2nd-place finish in the Big Ten Conference and to the Second Round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament with a 22-8 record. Averaging 19.2 points a game during his Senior year, fourth in the conference, and owning an.861 free throw percentage to lead the conference, he was an All-Big Ten First Team selection.
Jimmy led Purdue to a second straight National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament appearance. He finished his college career with a 40.6% accuracy from 3-point land.
Jimmy led the Boilers in assists (89) and minutes per game (354) in his Senior season.
He played his last collegiate game in the NABC All-America Game at the 1991 National Collegiate Athletic Association Final Four, where he recorded a game-high 25 points. Oliver was selected in the 2nd round with the 39th pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1991 National Basketball Association Draft. Oliver played his rookie season for the Cavaliers, averaging 3.6 ppg in 27 games.
After being invited to the Detroit Piston"s pre-season camp, he joined the College of Business Administration for the 1992-1993 season, where he averaged 17.3 ppg in 15 games.
After one season in the College of Business Administration, Oliver returned to the National Basketball Association for the 1993-1994 season. He played for the Boston Celtics, where he averaged 4.9 ppg and started six of the 44 games he played.
After leaving the league for two seasons, he returned for the expansion draft, where he played a season with the Toronto Raptors for the 1996-1997 season. He finished his last two National Basketball Association seasons with the Washington Bullets(1997-1998) and the Phoenix Suns(1998-1999).
Playing on five different National Basketball Association teams throughout five seasons, he played in a total of 78 games (14 starts) and scored 331 points with 34% three point and.772% free throw accuracy.
He scored 31 points in the final match against Chalon British Columbia.
During the National Basketball Association lockout, Jimmy played for the United States national team in the 1998 International Basketball Federation World Championship, teamed up with the likes of another former Boilermaker, Brad Miller. Jimmy Oliver was the leading scorer of Team United States of America averaging 11.8 points per game, winning the bronze medal.