Geno Marcellus Carlisle (born August 13, 1976) 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. The 6' 3", 200-lb.

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 ...

born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

played in several leagues throughout the world.Willamette Week , “Almost Famous” , November 17th, 2004
/ref>

Collegiate career

Carlisle began his collegiate basketball career at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

in 1994. His stellar skills stood out despite the team's overall poor performance, as he started 20 of 26 games as a freshman during the 1994–95 season and led the team in scoring 14 times. As a sophomore, he averaged 19.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists, and ranked second in the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Conference in scoring. He scored 39 points in one game against

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, and made a school-record 17

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the Key (basketball), restricted ...

s (out of 20 attempted) in the process. He was named to the All-Big Ten First Team after the season, but the team's overall record during his two seasons was 12–42. After starting as the Wildcats point guard for two seasons, he left the school to transfer to the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. During the summer of 1996, Carlisle was selected, along with the likes of

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Big Fundamental", he is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time and one of the greatest players in NBA histor ...

Paul Pierce Paul Anthony Pierce (born October 13, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), predominantly with the Boston Celtics. He was most recently an analyst on ESPN ...

and

Chauncey Billups Chauncey Ray Billups (born September 25, 1976) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 17 seasons in the NBA. Afte ...

, to participate in

USA Basketball USA Basketball (USAB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States Olympi ...

's Select 22-and-under team. The team competed against Dream Team III in an exhibition contest in advance of the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Auburn Hills, Michigan Auburn Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 21,412 at the 2010 census. Before incorporating as a city in 1983, the area was part of the now-defunct Pontiac Township. It is home to Oakland University ...

on July 6, and lost 96–90. Carlisle was scoreless in 6 minutes of play. Carlisle sat out the 1996–1997 season at Cal, as required by

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 ...

transfer rules. During his junior season (1997–1998), he led the team in scoring and was named to the Pac-10 All-Newcomer team. As a senior, he averaged 15.9 points and 3.9 assists, and led the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

to the post-season

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

title in March 1999. Carlisle converted a three-point play with 4.7 seconds left to lift the Bears to a 61–60 victory over Clemson in the tournament's championship game. He led the team in assists, and set a career high with 10 against

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

, and scored at least 25 points six times, with a season-high of 29 in a win over

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. Carlisle made 27 consecutive free throws from February 29 to March 6. He was selected honorable mention All-

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

and was team co-Most Valuable Player of the Year. *While at Northwestern, Geno was quoted as saying: "It may sound cocky, but the only player in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

who is better than me is

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

Professional career

Carlisle was not selected in the NBA Draft, and instead began his professional career in basketball's minor leagues. He played in the 1999–2000 season for the

Rockford Lightning The Rockford Lightning was a basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association. They were based in Rockford, Illinois. History The Lightning were the oldest team in the CBA, originally existing as the Lancaster Red Roses fro ...

of the CBA, where he averaged 10.6 points in a reserve role. In 2000, he moved to

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

to play for Marinos de Oriente. In 2000–01, he started the season with the San Diego Wildfire in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

, averaging 22.8 points, before moving on to Rooster Varese in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, where he averaged 24.7 points in 10 games, and later Adecco Estudiantes Madrid for the ACB playoffs. In 2001–02, he started the season with the ABA's Las Vegas Slam, but shortly moved back to Italy to play for De Vizia Scandone Avellino, where he appeared in 6 games and averaged 17.7 points. During the 2002–2003 season, he played briefly for the

Mobile Revelers The Mobile Revelers were a National Basketball Development League (NBDL) team based in Mobile, Alabama. Playing their home games at the Mobile Civic Center, the Revelers was a charter franchise in the 2001–2002 NBDL season, 2001-02 season and fo ...

of the

NBDL The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

, as well as Italy's Carife Ferrara (Serie A2). In 2003–2004, Carlisle played for the ABA's

Long Beach Jam Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great time, duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music ...

, as well as Venezuela's Guaiqueríes de Margarita and

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

's Al Kuwait SC. In 2005, he returned to the Jam and, in 2006, joined the

Yakama Sun Kings The Yakima SunKings are a basketball team located in Yakima, Washington, covering the central Washington sports market of Yakima, Tri-Cities, and Ellensburg and plays at the Yakima SunDome. The team competed in the Continental Basketball Associ ...

of the CBA. Though he spent many seasons with foreign teams and in the minor leagues, Carlisle continued to pursue his goal of making an

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 ...

roster. He played for 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 ...

in the 2001 Rocky Mountain Summer League and for the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

in the 2004 Pepsi Pro Summer League. He also spent 6 games with the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

during the

2004-05 NBA season A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on th ...

.NBA.com: Geno Carlisle Bio
/ref> In 2006/07, he played in Portugal for Benfica.

Personal life

Geno's father, Clarence, was selected by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

in the

1973 NBA Draft The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...

, but was cut from the team the day before the season began.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlisle, Geno 1976 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Anaheim Arsenal players Basketball players from Grand Rapids, Michigan California Golden Bears men's basketball players CB Estudiantes players Dafnis B.C. players Karşıyaka basketball players Liga ACB players Long Beach Jam players Mobile Revelers players Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball players Pallacanestro Varese players Portland Trail Blazers players San Diego Wildfire players S.L. Benfica basketball players Undrafted National Basketball Association players Point guards