He enrolled at San Jacinto Junior College, where he was teammate of future NBA center Alton Lister.

In 1977 he transferred to NCAA Division I East Carolina University, where he played two seasons, averaging 22.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

As a rookie, he barely had a chance of play on a team with notable players at his position, such as Magic Johnson and Norm Nixon.

On February 13, he was traded along with two future second rounds draft choices to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Mark Landsberger.

[2][3] With the Bulls he gave minutes of rest to Reggie Theus and Ricky Sobers, finishing the season with 8.0 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.