Clifford Eugene Levingston (born January 4, 1961) is an American professional

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 former player.

Professional playing career

A former power forward, Levingston played in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). Levingston starred at Wichita State University, before being drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the 1982 NBA draft. After two seasons with the Pistons, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, with whom he would spend most of his career. In 1986, while playing for the Hawks, Levingston had the rare distinction of "fouling ''into''" an NBA game. In a game where Dominique Wilkins and Antoine Carr were injured, Kevin Willis, Scott Hastings,

Jon Koncak Jon Francis Koncak (born May 17, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. A 7'0" center from Southern Methodist University (SMU), Koncak was selected with the fifth pick in the 1985 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks. Koncak spent t ...

, Spud Webb, and Levingston fouled out of the game. After Doc Rivers was ejected, the Hawks were down to only four players. Under NBA Rule 3-I-b, Levingston, the last player to foul out, was allowed to come back into the game, under the player foul penalty situation, resulting in a non-unsportsmanlike conduct technical foul. After six seasons with the Hawks, Levingston joined the Chicago Bulls, with whom he won two championship rings in 1991 and 1992. From 1992 to 1994, he played with PAOK of the Greek Basket League, and as such he played in the final four of FIBA European League (now called EuroLeague). In 1993, he moved to Virtus Bologna of the Italian Serie A, where he won the national title in 1994. In 1994, he returned to the United States, and joined the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

. He retired from the league in 1995, with career totals of 5,888 points, 4,307 rebounds, and 593 blocked shots.

Coaching career

In 2000, Levingston began his coaching career as an assistant

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

with the

Fort Wayne Fury The Fort Wayne Fury was a professional basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1991 through the cessation of the CBA on February 8, 2001. History The team played at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne ...

of the CBA. In 2001, he served as an assistant coach with the

Dodge City Legend The Dodge City Legend was a professional basketball franchise located in Dodge City, Kansas in the United States Basketball League, a minor league that played in the spring. The Legend won three USBL titles, in 2000, its first season, 2003 and in ...

of the USBL. In 2002, he returned to Dodge City, to serve his first stint as a professional league

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

; that year the Legends won the USBL title, and Levingston was named the USBL Coach of the Year. From 2003 to 2004, Levingston served as an assistant coach for the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...

. In 2004, he coached the St. Louis Flight of the ABA. In 2005, Levingston was hired as an assistant coach of 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 ...

of the CBA; that year, the Steelheads played their best season in franchise history, though they lost the championship game. In 2006, he briefly served as an assistant coach for the

Kansas Cagerz The Kansas Cagerz was a United States Basketball League team in Salina, Kansas. They were founded in 1998 as the Columbus Cagerz in Columbus, Ohio before moving after their inaugural season. The last head coach was Francis Flax. The Kansas Cagerz ...

, and in November, he was officially hired by the

(of the USBL), as head coach for the 2007 season. In the fall of 2007,

Micheal Ray Richardson Micheal "Sugar" Ray Richardson (born April 11, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. He played college basketball for the Montana Grizzlies. The No. 4 overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft, Richardson played in ...

was fired by the

Oklahoma Cavalry The Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry was a professional basketball team based in Lawton, Oklahoma. They played in the Premier Basketball League after having been in the Continental Basketball Association. They have one PBL championship and also were ...

of the CBA. Levingston was hired to replace him. In the fall of 2011, Levingston became an assistant coach for Michigan City Marquette High School, in northern Indiana. In 2012, Levingston was named the 2nd head coach of the Rochester Razorsharks of the Premier Basketball League. He coached the Sharks for one season. In 2020, Levingston was named the 1st head coach of the

Kokomo BobKats The Basketball League (TBL), formerly North America Premier Basketball (NAPB), is a minor league basketball organization. The league began operating in North America in 2018 with eight teams, and expanded to over 44 teams as of 2022. The Bas ...

of the TBL.

Personal life

In 2003, Levingston was sentenced to four months in prison, for failure to pay

child support Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is paid d ...

.Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
Levingston is a cousin of NBA player

Cory Carr Cory Jermaine Carr (born December 5, 1975) is an American-born Israeli retired basketball player, former NBA and Israeli Basketball Premier League player, and head coach of Israeli women's basketball team Israel Girls Basketball Academy. Carr pl ...

.1998-99 Chicago Bulls media guide Levingston is also a cousin of retired MLB player Mark McLemore.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levingston, Cliff 1961 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball coaches from California Basketball players from San Diego Chicago Bulls players Continental Basketball Association coaches Denver Nuggets players Detroit Pistons draft picks Detroit Pistons players P.A.O.K. BC players Power forwards (basketball) United States Basketball League coaches Virtus Bologna players Wichita State Shockers men's basketball players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople