Carl Isaac Krauser (born May 13, 1981) is an American former 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 ...

player who last played for the

Quebec Kebs The Quebec Kebs (french: Kebs de Quebec) were a professional basketball team located in Laval, Quebec, formerly based in Quebec City, Quebec. The Kebs were part of the National Basketball League of Canada. They also played in the Atlantic Divisi ...

of the

National Basketball League of Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; french: Ligue nationale de basketball du Canada) is a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketb ...

. He was a

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

for the

University of Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facu ...

from 2001 to 2006. Krauser is and weighs .

High school career

Krauser was born on May 13, 1981, to Joyeria Mays and musician Mario Krauser in the Bronxdale housing projects in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, where he lived with over 3,500 other people. By the time he was 13, basketball was a large part of his life. Krauser talked about his competitive drive in a ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

'' article about his peers at the time, "When they lost, they went and got an Icee or a juice. When I lost, I wanted to go play again." He was also known for taken 1000 jump shots every night for practice. He went to dangerous neighborhoods to play at his Boys and Girls club and Rosedale "The Big Park" in the Bronx, and played streetball at

Rucker Park Greg Marius Court at Holcombe Rucker Park is a basketball court in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, at 155th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, just east of the former Polo Grounds site. It is geographically at the base of a large cliff ...

. One nickname he had while living in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

was "Black Magic". Krauser also played with other players who found success in their basketball careers including

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesa ...

Andre Barrett Andre Rashawd Barrett (born February 21, 1982) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Obras Sanitarias of the Liga Nacional de Básquet. He played college basketball for Seton Hall. Professional career Barrett was undra ...

and former

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

star and

NBA 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 St ...

player Jay (Jason) Williams. Krauser's career took another step when he made the New York AAU team, the Broncos. When Krauser was 17, he had to repeat his junior year of high school, but instead of repeating the year at Stevenson High School, where he did not make the freshmen basketball team, he chose to attend St. Thomas More Prep. Krauser left St. Thomas More Prep in Connecticut and switched to Notre Dame Academy in

Fitchburg, Massachusetts Fitchburg is a city in northern Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The third-largest city in the county, its population was 41,946 at the 2020 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private e ...

. After performing better academically, Krauser was heavily recruited by

Hofstra Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New ...

and the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

Jamie Dixon James Patrick Dixon II (born November 10, 1965) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the TCU Horned Frogs men's team, where he played college ball. He previously served as the head coach of the University of Pittsbu ...

, then the assistant coach at Pitt, was able to recruit Krauser successfully. In his final game at Notre Dame Prep, Krauser scored 51 points. Outside of basketball, Krauser was 2-0 as an amateur boxer.

College career

2001-2003

Carl was known for his trademark symbol he made where after scoring a basket, put his hands over his head in the shape of an "X" and claimed it was to represent the Bronx. Krauser's first season at Pitt was the 2001-2002 basketball season. Carl was redshirted for his actual freshman season by former Pitt coach, future

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

head coach,

Ben Howland Benjamin Clark Howland (born May 28, 1957) is an American college basketball coach who most recently served as the men's head coach at Mississippi State University from to 2015 to 2022. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Northern Ar ...

. After spending his first season at Pitt as a redshirt, Krauser came into a stronger Pitt basketball program with guards such as

Julius Page Julius Marvin Page (born February 26, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. An athletic combo guard whose vertical leap was reported to be , he played high school basketball at Turner-Carroll High School in Buffalo, New York ...

and

Brandin Knight Brandin Adar Knight (born December 16, 1981
,

NCAA Tournament in 2002, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen where they lost to

Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in Ash ...

2003-2004

Krauser's sophomore season showed marked improvement from his freshman year. He received an All-American Honorable Mention by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

, the

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

's Most Improved Player, and All-Big East second team honors. Pitt chose him as the team's Most Inspiration Player and the best Free Throw Shooter. Krauser led the team averaging 15.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game in 2003-04. Carl helped to lead the Pitt Panthers to a berth in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

tournament, where the Panthers again made the Sweet Sixteen before falling to the

Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University–Stillwater, Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Stillwater. ...

2004-2005

In his junior year, Krauser was the leader of team. Pitt had lost both Jaron Brown and Julius Page to graduation, and Krauser was now the floor general for younger players such as freshman guard Ronald Ramon. Some highlights from that season include 31 points against the University of Richmond Spiders, 5 steals against

Robert Morris University Robert Morris University (RMU) is a private university in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1921 and is named after Robert Morris, known as the "financier of the mericanrevolution." It enrolls nearly 5,000 students and offers 60 b ...

, and 15 assists against

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. Krauser received the John Wooden Award in his junior season and was also named as a Naismith All-American and a Bob Cousy Award finalist. He was honored by the Big East with two player of the week awards and by being named to the Second-Team All Big East. Krauser led the Panthers to another NCAA Tournament berth as a 9th seed where they lost to 8th seed University of the Pacific. In the offseason, Krauser entered the 2005 NBA draft but removed his name without hiring an agent so he could retain his

eligibility and play his fifth and final college season at Pitt. Krauser was included in a ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' article where he was ranked as one of the top 10 point guards in the nation, and at midseason was predicted to be selected in the NBA draft.

2005-2006

Pitt finished its non-conference season at 11-0 after beating the then No. 22

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

by 9 points. Pitt was one of the final seven teams as of January 3 to be undefeated. Krauser went on to lead Pitt to a 21-6 regular season, and Pitt finished 6th in the Big East. The Panthers would go on to lose the Big East Championship game against

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

. The Orange made the finals after winning three games in three days. On January 23, 2006 Krauser scored a career-high 32 points against Syracuse.''2013–14 Pitt Men's Basketball Media Guide'', 2013, p. 113. Krauser finished the regular season with 15.0 points per game, 4.7 assists per game, and 4.3 rebounds per game. As a 5 seed, Pitt lost in an upset to #13 seed

Bradley Bradley is an English surname derived from a place name meaning "broad wood" or "broad meadow" in Old English. Like many English surnames Bradley can also be used as a given name and as such has become popular. It is also an Anglicisation of t ...

in the second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament—Krauser's last game at Pitt. Though he struggled down the stretch with his shooting touch, he remained the emotional leader on a quickly maturing team. Krauser wore number 11 while at Pitt in honor of

Isiah Thomas Isiah Lord Thomas III (born April 30, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is an analyst for ''NBA TV''. The 12-time NBA All-Star was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as well as the 75 Grea ...

Professional career

Krauser spent the 2007–08 season as a member of the

Pittsburgh Xplosion The Pittsburgh Xplosion was a professional basketball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh were members of the Continental Basketball Association from 2006 to 2008. Founded in 2004 as the Pittsburgh Hard Hats as a member of the A ...

, of 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 ...

. He was joined by former Pitt player John DeGroat. Halfway through the 2008–09 season, Krauser joined the Romanian basketball club

CSU Asesoft Ploieşti CSU may refer to: * Channel service unit, a Wide area network equivalent of a network interface card * Chari Aviation Services, Chad, by ICAO airline code * Christian Social Union (UK), an Anglican social gospel organisation * Christian Social Un ...

and appeared in 23 games for the team between January 17 and May 23 of the year 2009. He averaged 16.3 minutes and 5.5 points per game. In 2010, Krauser signed with the

Waikato Pistons The Waikato Pistons were a New Zealand basketball team based in Hamilton. The Pistons competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at Hamilton Boys' High School. After sitting out the 2012 NBL season, the Pist ...

of the New Zealand National Basketball League. He appeared in 5 games for the Pistons in the 2010 season averaging 22.6 minutes and 10 points per game. On January 23, 2012, it was announced that the