Carl English

Personal background

When he was five, English lost his parents in a house fire. He had four brothers, from whom he was separated following his parents' death. He went to live with his aunt and uncle in Patrick's Cove-Angels Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador following this incident. Basketball became an outlet and English would spend hours shooting on an outdoor hoop that backed onto a remote highway.

As English improved at basketball he sought to attract interest from American colleges so he moved to the Greater Toronto Area, where he lived with his cousin, and attended Oakville's Saint Thomas of Aquinas High School. Due to a school dispute affecting extra-curricular activities, he went mostly unnoticed until the summer of 1999, when English toured with a Canadian All-Star team and caught the eye of a few Division I schools. Baylor, Notre Dame and Hawaii were all impressed by what they saw: a six-foot five-inch (196 cm) athlete with significant range on his jump shot. English had the option of returning for another year of high school but chose a late summer scholarship offer from the NCAA Division I University of Hawaii. He became the third native Newfoundlander to play Division I basketball, following brothers Tim Beckett (who played four years at Hofstra University) and Steve Beckett (who played one year, 1996–97, at the University of New Hampshire. Like English, the Becketts also left Newfoundland to attract interest from US schools, transferring from Mount Pearl Senior High to Long Island Lutheran High School.

With his bags packed for Hawaii, his uncle, Junior, died on a fishing trip.

Carl is married to his childhood sweetheart, Mandy English (born Dohey).

College career

As a freshman, English played in two games before undergoing season-ending surgery on his left ankle. He made his only field goal attempt and sank both free throw attempts. He was granted a medical redshirt.

He averaged 15.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists as a sophomore, starting all 33 games. English ranked ninth in the WAC in scoring and fourth in field goal percentage, having scored 20 or more points eight times. Memorable games include a season-high 33 points against Fresno State, five three-point shots on 11-for-16 shooting for 28 points against Tulsa and tallying 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists at SMU. English posted first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in the championship game of the WAC Tournament at Tulsa, en route to being named Second Team All-WAC.

As a junior, he started 31 games to average 19.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He ranked second in the WAC and 48th in the nation in scoring and scored 20 or more points 11 times and surpassed the 30-point mark three times to obtain the fifth-highest single-season point total in school history. He posted season-high 33 points against Tulsa, registered 30 points against Rice and Fresno State, scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against Louisiana Tech and tallied 17 points, seven rebounds and season-high six assists against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. English finished the season on the First Team All-WAC, NABC District 13 Second Team, and USBWA District 9 First Team.

Carl was a dominant player for the University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and led them to the NCAA tournament two times, and currently ranks 7th on their all-time scoring list. He holds the school’s single-season record for most three-point field goals with 89 and ranks second in school history in three-pointers made (162), fourth in three-pointers attempted (414) and fifth in career three-point percentage (.391). He posted 20 career 20-point games, four 30-point games and scored in double figures 59 times. Dick Vitale loved the Canadian’s game and his Hawaii Rainbow Warriors got their shine on in the 2001 and 2002 NCAA tournament. ESPN Magazine and USA Today both ran feature stories on English.

English opted to forgo his final year of NCAA eligibility and declare himself eligible for the 2003 NBA Draft amidst speculation that he was likely to be a late first-round draft pick. While he initially did not hire an agent, positive early feedback led him to sign with Toronto-based agent Harold Cipin, a highly surprising choice given Cipin's low profile and lack of experience representing NBA players or other professional athletes. This was a critical decision as it rendered English ineligible to return to Hawaii for his final year of eligibility and put him at a significant disadvantage against players represented by more established agents. Prior to the draft, English expected to go anywhere from 21st to 35th, according to draft boards and mock drafts.

Professional career

English, however, went undrafted. The problems started at the Chicago pre-draft workouts. English slipped out of the first round because NBA GMs thought he was too slow to play the “1” spot and too small to line-up at off-guard. Without a true position, his accomplishments at Hawaii were quickly forgotten. To make matters worse, Cipin had arranged for the media to attend English's NBA Draft party at a downtown Toronto venue, forcing English to face the draft disappointment in full public view.

The Indiana Pacers had scouted English and invited the guard to their 2003–04 training camp. In a highly confusing move, English's agent Cipin announced that English had signed a two-year guaranteed contract with the Pacers from which he would stand to earn about $1 million and told the media that Pacers GM Larry Bird had fallen in love with English's game. Unfortunately Cipin either misunderstood or misrepresented the nature of English's contract as it was not in fact a guaranteed contract. English was released shortly thereafter as the Pacers already had 16 guaranteed contracts and stuck with second round pick James Jones instead of English. English received only minor compensation rather than the guaranteed salary Cipin had earlier announced.

In the 2003–04 basketball season, he played for the Charleston Lowgators of the NBA D-League. In the 2004–05 basketball season, English followed the franchise to Florida as it became the Florida Flame. Then, in the 2005–06 season, he went to Italy as Virtus Bologna enrolled him to play in the country's top basketball league. He was released after 25 games, averaging 19.9 minutes and 7.6 points-per-game.

In 2006–07 he signed with KK Zadar from Croatia, where he was an All-Star Game MVP in the Adriatic League. He helped win the Croatian Cup while posting over 20 points per game.

For the 2007–08 season he moved to Spain, English then posted averages of 15.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists on 40% long-range shooting for CB Gran Canaria, resulting in performing strongly in league play. In 2009, he left CB Gran Canaria and joined Caja Laboral for the 2009–10 season, where he averaged 9.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in the ACB League. On 3 August 2010, he signed with DKV Joventut. In August 2011 he moved to Cajasol Sevilla.

One year later, he signs for CB Estudiantes leaving the team in 2013 without finishing the season.

Another year later, on March 2014, English agreed terms with Iberostar Tenerife.

On 5 November 2014 he signed with AEK Athens of the Greek Basketball League.

Canadian national team

English has been part of Canada Basketball since 2000. He has been a crucial component of the Canadian national basketball team in recent years and spent the summer of 2008 playing with the Canadian national team, trying to help them qualify for the 2008 Olympics.

The following summer English also participated in the 2009 FIBA Americas Championship, he helped lead Canada to a 4th-place finish losing in the 3rd place game to Argentina.

Regular Season

Note: Only games in the primary domestic competitions are included. Therefore, games in cup or European competitions are left out.