Carson Cunningham (born May 7, 1977) is an American
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
coach and author who is currently an assistant coach for the
Army Black Knights basketball team. He is the former head coach of the
Incarnate Word Cardinals men's basketball
The Incarnate Word Cardinals men's basketball team represents the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, United States. They are currently led by fifth-year head coach Carson Cunningham. Beginning in 2013, the Cardinals made the ...
team.
Playing career
Cunningham was a standout basketball player at
Andrean High School in
Merrillville, Indiana
Merrillville is a town in Ross Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 35,246 at the 2010 census. Merrillville is in east-central Lake County, in the Chicago metropolitan area. On January 1, 2015, Merrillville became the ...
, where he was a four-year letterwinner and a three-time first team all-area selection, as well as first team all-state selection and
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
honorable mention All-American as a senior.
Playing his freshman season of college basketball at
Oregon State, Cunningham averaged 14.9 points per game, earning a place on the 1997
Pacific 10 All-Freshman team. Cunningham would transfer back to the state of Indiana, enrolling at
Purdue
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
to play under
Gene Keady and was part of the Boilermakers
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
Sweet 16 and
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
Elite Eight squads.
Upon graduation, Cunningham played in the
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...
for the
Gary Steelheads
The Gary Steelheads were a professional basketball team. They played in the International Basketball League, Continental Basketball Association, and the United States Basketball League. They were based in Gary, Indiana, United States, and played ...
and
Rockford Lightning from 2001 to 2005, while also playing abroad in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and Estonia.
While in Estonia, he led his club (
Kalev/Cramo in scoring (21.5 ppg) and assists (4.8 apg).
Coaching career
Cunningham got his start in coaching at the high school ranks, taking the helm of his alma mater, Andrean High School for five seasons, where he compiled an 81–39 record, winning four sectional championships before accepting the head coaching position at
NAIA institution
Carroll College
Carroll College is a private Catholic college in Helena, Montana. The college has 21 buildings on a 63-acre campus, has over 35 academic majors, participates in 15 NAIA athletic sports, and is home to All Saints Chapel. The college motto, in L ...
in Montana.
At Carroll, Cunningham inherited a Fighting Saints team that had won just two games, and in five seasons amassed a 107–52 record, including three-straight 20-win seasons, and two
Frontier Conference men's basketball regular season and tournament titles, along with three trips to
NAIA Men's Basketball Championships, and two quarterfinal appearances.
Cunningham was named head coach at
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...
institution
Incarnate Word on March 22, 2018.
Following five straight losing seasons as head coach, Incarnate Word fired Cunningham in 2023.
After his dismissal from Incarnate Word, Cunningham became an assistant coach for the
Army Black Knights basketball team.
Published works
Cunningham is the author of five books, which range from fiction to non-fiction on topics such as Olympic basketball, his experiences in the CBA, athletes who died in combat, the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
, and modern reimagining of
Huckleberry Finn.
Head coaching record
NAIA
NCAA Div I
References
1977 births
Living people
American men's basketball coaches
American men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from Indiana
Basketball players from Indiana
Carroll Fighting Saints men's basketball coaches
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
DePaul University alumni
High school basketball coaches in Indiana
Incarnate Word Cardinals men's basketball coaches
Oregon State Beavers men's basketball players
Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players
Rockford Lightning players
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