Kiwane Lemorris Garris (born September 24, 1974) 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. He was listed as a 6'2" (1.88 m), 183 lb (83 kg)

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 ...

. Garris played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

, where his position was

. As a freshman in the 1993–94 season, Garris finished second on the

Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

in scoring, behind

Deon Thomas Deon La velle Thomas (born February 24, 1971) is an American-Israeli former basketball player. As a high school player, he led his team to the Chicago Public League title, and was named Illinois Mr. Basketball. As a college player at the Univers ...

. In the next three seasons, Garris led the team in scoring and free-throw percentage. Garris also led the team in assists in the 1994–95 and 1996–97 seasons. Garris finished his career at Illinois as the second all-time leading scorer, behind former teammate Deon Thomas. Garris finished with 1948 career points, with a career scoring average of 16.8 points per game. During the NBA lockout he played for the US national team in the

1998 FIBA World Championship The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation and hosted in Greece from 29 July to 9 August 1998. The tournament was contested by 16 n ...

, winning the bronze medal.

Career

Although Garris was projected to be a late first round or early second round pick in the NBA Draft, he went undrafted, but signed as a free-agent with 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 had been signed for a brief period by

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

during their 1997 preseason but was

waive A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. Regulatory agencies of state departments or the federal government may issue waivers to exempt companies from certain regulations. For example, a United St ...

d. For the 1997-1998's 28 games he did 8MPG, 2.4 PPG. Playing 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 ...

during 1999–2000, 3 games, 7.7 MPG, 1.3 PPG. In 2002, he was signed by the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

(2002 preseason), but was again

d before the regular season. He has also played with the

Grand Rapids Hoops The Grand Rapids Hoops were a basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Their first season was in 1989 and their final season was in 2003. Professional basketball later returned to Grand ...

of the CBA and for

Alba Berlin Alba Berlin is a German professional basketball club that is based in Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1991, and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the Mercedes ...

in Germany.

Italian League

For nine years he played overseas for the Italian teams Banca Popolare Ragusa (Serie A2, 2001–2002), Porte Garofoli Osimo (Serie A2, 2002–2003), Bipop-Carire Reggio Emilia (Serie A2, 2003–2004,

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

, 2004–2005),

Climamio Bologna Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103, commonly known as Fortitudo Bologna and currently known as Fortitudo Kiğılı Bologna for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball club based in Bologna, Italy and currently plays in the second division. Histor ...

(2005–2006) (reached the Italian championship final and won Italian Supercup) and Armani Jeans Milano (2006–2007). After playing overseas in Italy for nine years from 2001 to 2010, Garris returned home.

Coaching career

He is a former assistant coach at

Prairie State College Prairie State College is a public community college in Chicago Heights, Illinois. It is the only college operated by Illinois Community College District 515. History Founded in 1957 as Bloom Township Junior College, Prairie State College's (PSC ...

and at Mountain View High School in Lawrenceville, GA. He hopes to become one of the assistant coaches at the

. Currently he is the coach of the Fulton Science Academy Private School varsity basketball team.

Personal

Garris has son Kai from a previous relationship.http://www.blackcelebkids.com/2008/08/19/syleena-johnsons-labor-pains/ Kiwane Garris Jr In July 2006 he became engaged to R&B and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer-songwriter

Syleena Johnson Syleena Johnson ( Thompson; September 2, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter from Chicago, Illinois. Personal life Johnson is the daughter of 1960s rhythm and blues, R&B Hi Records singer Syl Johnson and Bre ...

. Johnson is a fellow Chicagoan. On August 1, 2007 after forty-four hours of labor, their son Kiwane Garris Jr was born. On Sunday, February 6, 2011, she gave birth to their second son, Kingston Garris He weighed 8 lb 5oz.https://twitter.com/Syleena_Johnson/status/34370671597326336 Kingston Weighed... He said Italy is "his home away from home".

References

External links

Kiwane Garris player profile
@ NBA.com
Euroleague stats
@ 24sec.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Garris, Kiwane 1974 births Living people African-American basketball players Alba Berlin players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Poland American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American men's basketball players Beşiktaş men's basketball players Denver Nuggets players Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna players George Westinghouse College Prep alumni Grand Rapids Hoops players Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players New Mexico Slam players Olimpia Milano players Orlando Magic players Pallacanestro Reggiana players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Point guards Reyer Venezia players Trotamundos B.B.C. players Undrafted National Basketball Association players United States men's national basketball team players 1998 FIBA World Championship players Basketball players from Chicago 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople