Sonny Weems

Clarence "Sonny" Weems (born July 8, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

He played college basketball for the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

Ranked as the number one junior college player in the nation by Rivals.com and Street & Smith's, Weems took UAFS to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Championship in 2006.

Weems was named Honorable Mention All-American and was selected for the all-tournament team.

In two seasons at UAFS, Weems led the team to a 62–7 record and back-to-back Bi-State Conference Eastern Division titles.

Weems signed with the Arkansas Razorbacks as a junior, which was also Stan Heath's final season as head coach.

He averaged 11.8 points per game and was named to all-tournament teams at the Old Spice Classic and the SEC Tournament as he helped the Razorbacks to their third consecutive winning season and their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, losing to the USC Trojans in the first round.

Weems played his senior season with a new head coach, John Pelphrey, and was named first team All-SEC after averaging 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

Weems led the Razorbacks to their first NCAA tournament win in nine years with an upset victory of Indiana University.

He finished the game with 31 points, out-dueling the much-heralded freshman Eric Gordon, who was held to only eight points.

After his team lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Weems later won the State Farm College Slam Dunk Championship held at the Final Four.

He was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the 2008 NBA draft and shortly thereafter traded to the Denver Nuggets.

He has since played for the Toronto Raptors, Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA, and has had stints in Lithuania and Russia.

At 6ft 6in, Weems plays both the shooting guard and small forward positions.

In April 2008, Weems accepted an invitation to participate in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, but later decided not to attend.

Instead, Weems worked out with several teams: the Memphis Grizzlies, Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, and Portland Trail Blazers, receiving increased interest because of his high scores in speed and agility drills.

Weems was selected with the 39th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Bulls, but he was traded almost immediately to the Denver Nuggets for a 2009 second-round pick in a three-team trade involving the Portland Trail Blazers.

On December 10, 2008, the Nuggets, for whom he had yet to play because of a surgery for sports hernia and then a groin strain, assigned Weems to their NBA Development League affiliate the Colorado 14ers.

Weems averaged 18.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 10 games for the 14ers.

On December 14, Weems led the 14ers with 20 points, including 9-of-14 field goals, in a 129–108 home win over the Reno Bighorns.

Other notable Weems performances include a team-leading 24 points in a thrilling 99–98 loss to Sioux Falls on December 17, a 26-point effort in a 111–104 loss to the Tulsa 66ers on December 20, 25 points in a 99–95 victory over the 66ers on December 23, and 24 points and 10 rebounds in a 131–120 14ers win over Fort Wayne on December 30.

On January 6, 2009, Weems was recalled by the Denver Nuggets.

Weems scored 4 points in his NBA regular season debut with the Nuggets on January 17, 2009, when he substituted for Anthony Carter with 3:31 remaining in a 106–88 loss to Orlando.

On July 31, 2009, he was traded along with Walter Sharpe and cash considerations to the Milwaukee Bucks for Malik Allen.

On August 18, 2009, Weems was traded by the Bucks to the Toronto Raptors along with Amir Johnson in exchange for Carlos Delfino and Roko Ukić.

On April 7, 2010, Weems was placed in the starting lineup and scored a then career-high 21 points to lead the Raptors, but the Raptors lost the game to the Boston Celtics.

He went on to score a career-high 25 points on November 17, 2010, against the Philadelphia 76ers.

On July 8, 2011, Weems signed a one-year contract with the Lithuanian team Žalgiris Kaunas.

His contract was terminated in March 2012, after he suffered a season-ending ankle injury.

Weems later complained on social media saying that he had to go to U.S. to heal his sore ankle, after not receiving any medical care in Lithuania.

Over 15 games in the EuroLeague, he averaged 15.5 points and 5 rebounds per game.

On July 30, 2012, he signed a three-year contract with CSKA Moscow.

His signing was largely seen as a replacement to former team leader Andrei Kirilenko.

He was an All-EuroLeague First Team selection in 2014.

Weems was born with cleft feet, and as a child, he was told that he might not be able to walk or run.

He stumbled as a youngster and endured painful childhood nights in corrective shoes before finding his stride and becoming a state long-jump and high-jump champion.

Weems played basketball at West Memphis High School where he was named first team all-state as a senior after leading his team to the 5A state championship, and was also a 6–10 high jumper in track and field.

In Weems' high school career, West Memphis posted a record of 68–10.

Weems averaged over 20 points per game as sophomore and junior, and 14.0 rebounds per game as a senior.

After high school, Weems attended junior college at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, and was named 3rd team All-American, as well as all-conference and all-region as a freshman.