Controversial Former Bulls Player Quintin Dailey Dead At 49

Quintin Dailey was controversial from the day former Bulls GM Rod Thorn drafted him with the seventh pick in the 1982 NBA draft.

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Yesterday, Dailey died of hypertensive cardiovascular disease in Las Vegas. He was just 49 years old.

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There was no question that Dailey had basketball talent; at the University of San Francisco he scored 1841 points, second-best in school history, and led the team with 25.2 points per game in the 1981-82 season, still a USF record. Here's why the draft pick was controversial:

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In 1982, Mr. Dailey pleaded guilty to attempted assault of a USF nursing student and received three years' probation. During the police investigation, Mr. Dailey said he had received thousands of dollars from a USF booster (or boosters).↵

↵The program had been on probation only a few years earlier and the scandal involving Mr. Dailey proved to be the last straw for Rev. John LoSchiavo, then USF's president. He eliminated the basketball program; it was revived for the 1985-86 season.

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In these times, when college and pro athletes cross the police blotter on seemingly a daily basis, incidents like these seem almost commonplace. Nearly 30 years ago when they happened, they were scandalous and led to protests from women's groups outside Bulls games. After his 10-year NBA career, Dailey, for his part, tried to redeem himself, as the Tribune link above indicates:

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After his retirement in 1992, Dailey settled in Las Vegas. But instead of succumbing to that city's temptations, Dailey sought redemption. He worked as a youth supervisor for at-risk kids for the Clark County Park and Recreations Department and also officiated youth basketball games.

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He leaves two children, daughter Quinci, and son Quintin Jr., a 6-3 junior guard at Eastern Michigan. The younger Quintin tweeted on Monday:

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