Former NBA star Gilliam dead at 47

PITTSBURGH, July 6 (UPI) -- Armen Gilliam, who starred at UNLV before a standout, 13-year career in the NBA, died of a heart attack while playing basketball, a coroner said. He was 47.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Gilliam, who lived in Bethel Park, Pa., was stricken Tuesday night while playing a pickup game at the L.A. Fitness facility in Bridgeville, Pa. The Allegheny County coroner's office said he was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead at 9:28 p.m., the newspaper said.

After his college career, the 6-foot-9 power forward, nicknamed "The Hammer," was the second overall pick by Phoenix in the 1987 NBA draft. He went on to play for the Suns, Charlotte, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Milwaukee and Utah.

He finished his NBA career with 12,700 points, averaging 13.7 points and 6.9 rebounds in 929 games.

He later was coach at Penn State-Altoona.