University of San Francisco basketball star Quintin Dailey dies at 49

Quintin Dailey, a brilliant but troubled basketball player who starred at the University of San Francisco, was a first-round draft pick of the Chicago Bulls in 1982 and had a stint with the Clippers in the late ‘80s, died Monday in Las Vegas. He was 49.

Dailey died of hypertensive cardiovascular disease, according to the Clark County coroner’s office.

A 6-foot, 3-inch guard, Dailey played 10 seasons in the NBA and made the 1982-83 All-Rookie team with the Bulls. He signed with the Clippers as a free agent in 1986 and played three seasons in L.A. before moving to Seattle in 1990. He retired in 1992 having averaged 14.2 points per game as a pro.

Dailey was born Jan. 22, 1961, in Baltimore. After both of his parents died when he was a teenager, he went to live with an aunt. A standout player at Cardinal Gibbons High School, Dailey became an All-American at USF.

One of the best offensive players in Dons history, Dailey scored 1,841 points in three seasons at USF, second best in school history at the time. He was named West Coast Conference player of the year in 1981 and 1982 and was an Associated Press All-American in 1982.

But in February 1982, a student nurse accused Dailey of attempted rape in an incident in her campus dormitory room. He pleaded guilty to simple assault and was put on three years’ probation. Before leaving USF for the NBA that spring, Dailey admitted that he had been paid by a school alumnus for a summer job that did not require him to show up. The Rev. John Lo Schiavo, the school’s president, decided to shut down the basketball program rather than face NCAA sanctions. It has since been reinstated.

In recent years Dailey had worked as a supervisor at a community center in Las Vegas for at-risk youth and as a referee for high school basketball games.

Dailey is survived by his daughter, Quinci, and son Quintin, a junior guard for Eastern Michigan.

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