Carl English

Infobox NBA Player
name = Carl English
nickname =


height_ft = 6
height_in = 5
weight_lbs= 205
league = ACB
team = CB Gran Canaria
position = Guard
birth_date = birth date and age|1981|2|2
birth_place = St. John's, Newfoundland
highschool = Long Island Lutheran
college = Hawaii
nationality = Canadian
draft = undrafted
draft_team =
draft_year = 2003
former_teams = Florida Flame (2003-2005)
Virtus Bologna (2005-2006)
Zadar (2006-2007)
CB Gran Canaria (2007-2008)
career_start = 2000
career_end =
awards =

Carl Jerome English (born 2 February, 1981 in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada) is a Canadian professional basketball player at the shooting guard position, currently playing with Spain's Kalise Gran Canaria, in the ACB. He stands 6'5" tall and weighs 205 pounds and had unsuccessful tryouts for the NBA, with the Indiana Pacers (2003) and the Seattle SuperSonics (2004).

Personal background

When he was five, English lost his parents in a house fire. He had four brothers, from whom he was separated following his parents' death. He went to live with his aunt and uncle in Patrick's Cove-Angels Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador following this incident. Basketball became an outlet and English would spend hours shooting on an outdoor hoop that backed onto a remote highway.

As English improved at basketball he sought to attract interest from American colleges so he moved to the Greater Toronto Area, where he lived with his cousin, and attended Oakville's Saint Thomas of Aquinas High School. Due to a school dispute affecting extra-curricular activities, he went mostly unnoticed until the summer of 1999, when English toured with a Canadian All-Star team and caught the eye of a few Division I schools. Baylor, Notre Dame and Hawaii were all impressed by what they saw: a six-foot five-inch athlete with crazy range on his jump shot. English had the option of returning for another year of high school but chose a late summer scholarship offer from the NCAA Division I University of Hawaii. He became the third native Newfoundlander to play Division I basketball, following brothers Tim Beckett (who played four years at Hofstra University) and Steve Beckett (who played one year, 1996-97, at the University of New Hampshire [ [http://statsheet.com/mcb/teams/new-hampshire/players?season=1996-1997 New Hampshire Wildcats Player Stats - College Basketball - StatSheet.com ] ] ). Like English, the Becketts had also left Newfoundland to attract interest from US schools, transferring from Mount Pearl Senior High to Long Island Lutheran High School.

With his bags packed for Hawaii, English had to overcome another family tragedy. Uncle Junior passed away on a fishing trip.

College career

As a freshman, English played in two games before undergoing season-ending surgery on his left ankle. He made his only field goal attempt and sank both free throw attempts. He was granted a medical redshirt.

He averaged 15.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists as a sophomore, starting all 33 games. English ranked ninth in the WAC in scoring and fourth in field goal percentage, having scored 20 or more points eight times. Memorable games include a season-high 33 points against Fresno State, five three-point shots on 11-for-16 shooting for 28 points against Tulsa and tallying 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists at SMU. English posted first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the championship game of the WAC Tournament at Tulsa, en route to being named Second Team All-WAC.

As a junior, he started 31 games to average 19.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He ranked second in the WAC and 48th in the nation in scoring and scored 20 or more points 11 times and surpassed the 30-point mark three times to obtain the fifth-highest single-season point total in school history. He posted season-high 33 points against Tulsa, registered 30 points against Rice and Fresno State, scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against Louisiana Tech and tallied 17 points, seven rebounds and season-high six assists against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. English finished the season on the First Team All-WAC, NABC District 13 Second Team, and USBWA District 9 First Team. [ [http://www.nba.com/dleague/players/carl_english.html NBA Development League: Carl English ] ]

Carl was a dominant player for the University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and led them to the NCAA tournament two times, and currently ranks 7th on their all-time scoring list. He holds the school’s single-season record for most three-point field goals with 89 and ranks second in school history in three-pointers made (162), fourth in three-pointers attempted (414) and fifth in career three-point percentage (.391). He posted 20 career 20-point games, four 30-point games and scored in double figures 59 times. Dick Vitale loved the Canadian’s game and his Hawaii Rainmakers got their shine on in the 2001 and 2002 NCAA tournament. ESPN Magazine and USA Today both ran feature stories on English.

English opted to forego his final year of NCAA eligibility and declare himself eligible for the 2003 NBA Draft amidst speculation that he was likely to be a late first-round draft pick. [http://www.nba.com/draft2003/profiles/EnglishCarl.html NBA Draft Profile] He didn't hire an agent and expected to go anywhere from 21 to 35, according to draft boards and mock drafts. [http://theondeckcircle.net/2008/03/25/interview-with-carl-english/ Interview with Carl English « The On Deck Circle ] ]

Professional career

English, however, went undrafted. The problems started at the Chicago pre-draft workouts. English slipped out of the first round because NBA GMs thought he was too slow to play the “1” spot and too small to line-up at off-guard. Without a true position, his accomplishments at Hawaii were quickly forgotten.

The Indiana Pacers had scouted English and invited the guard to their 2003-2004 training camp. Unfortunately, his NBA dream came down to numbers. The Pacers already had 16 guaranteed contracts and stuck with second round pick James Jones instead of English.

In the 2003-2004 basketball season, he played for the Charleston Lowgators of the NBA D-League. In the 2004-2005 basketball season, English followed the franchise to Florida as it became the Florida Flame. Then, in the 2005-2006 season, he went to Italy as Virtus Bologna enrolled him to play in the country's top basketball league. He was released after 25 games, averaging 19.9 minutes and 7.6 points-per-game.

In 2006-2007 he signed with KK Zadar from Croatia, where we was an All-Star Game MVP in the Adriatic League. He helped win the Croatian Cup while posting over 20 points per game. For the 2007-2008 season, English then posted averages of 15.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists on 40% long-range shooting for Kalise Gran Canaria, resulting in performing strongly in league play.

English has been part of the Canadian national team since 2000. He has been a crucial component of Team Canada in recent years and spent the summer of 2008 playing with the Canadian national basketball team, trying to help them qualify for the 2008 Olympics. [ [http://www.basketball.ca/en/hm/inside.php?id=1490&sid=149 Canadian National Team Profile] ]

Notes