Former University of San Francisco basketball star and NBA player Quintin Dailey died on Monday in Las Vegas. He was 49.

Dailey died in his sleep at his home, according to the Las Vegas Journal Review. A cause of death has not been confirmed.

Dailey, who remains the all-time single-season scoring leader in Bay Area Division I history, was also one of the reasons why USF stunned the sports world by shutting down its basketball program.

Dailey pled guilty in 1982 to attempted assault on a USF nursing student and received three years’ probation. Original charges included attempted assault with intent to rape. That and others were dropped.

In August 1982, shortly after Dailey was sentenced, and in the midst of NCAA inquiries, USF shut down its program. Did not restart it until 1886-87.

He then had a tumultuous 10-year NBA career after being drafted No. 7 overall by the Chicago Bulls in 1982. Dailey averaged 14.1 points per game during his pro career, but had off-court troubles that included violating the NBA’s drug policy twice for cocaine use.

Former USF coach Pete Barry, who coached Dailey’s final two years with the Dons, was shocked and saddened to learn of Dailey’s death, which was confirmed by USF’s athletic department.

“He was a great young man that somewhere along the line . . . things happen,” said Barry, who now lives in Groton, Conn,, after retiring in June 2009 following 19 seasons as coach at the Coast Guard Academy. “To this day no one really understands the whys and the hows. To me, he was an impeccable athlete I was fortunate to coach.

“Quintin had a great smile and was a great teammate, which goes by the wayside when you hear another side. But I believed in him.”

Dailey averaged 25.2 points as a junior in 1981-82 — his 755 points scored are the most in a single season by any Bay Area Division I player. He is the No. 7 all-time scorer in Bay Area history with 1,841 points — most by any player who played just three seasons.

“As a true baketball player, he was probably one of the all-time great players to come out of the West Coast Athletic Conference, without question. He did incredible things. There was really no weakness in his game. He could score, he could defend, he knew how to play, he was unselfish. He was the whole package.”

Near the end of Dailey’s career, he expressed frustration that his troubles at USF had continued to haunt him.

“Sometimes, I think I’ll be glad when basketball is over for me, because people bring that up,” he said of the USF incident, while a member of the Seattle SuperSonics in 1990. “I hope it will end. I’ve grown up.

“Everyone makes me remember that; I think that’s wrong,” Dailey told the Seattle Times. “Why do they want to keep the fires going? I know I caused pain for others, but that happened eight years ago.”

Dailey who had been working as a supervisor at the Parkdale Community Center in Las Vegas, working with at-risk kids, is survived by his daughter, Quincy, and a son, Quintin, who plays for Eastern Michigan’s basketball team.

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