Charles Washington Criss Jr. (born November 6, 1948) 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 (appro ...

player and coach. A 5'8"

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

from

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

, Criss began his professional career in the

Eastern 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 ...

(EBA). He won an EBA championship with the

Hartford Capitols The Hartford Capitols were a professional basketball team in the Eastern Professional Basketball League (later re-named the Eastern Basketball Association) from 1966 through 1974. The Capitols played on weekends only and played at various venues a ...

in 1974. He earned league Most Valuable Player honors with the Scranton Apollos in 1976 and 1977. Criss won a second EBA championship with the Apollos in 1977. He then played for the

Washington Generals The Washington Generals are an American basketball team who play exhibition games against the Harlem Globetrotters. The team has also played under several aliases in their history as the Globetrotters' perennial opponents. Function The Gener ...

. He joined the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

of the

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

the following year, and played eight seasons in the league with the Hawks, San Diego Clippers and

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

.Stats at Basketball-Reference
/ref> When he entered the NBA, Criss was the league's shortest active player.
/ref> In his NBA career, Criss averaged 8.5

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

and 3.2

assists per game In basketball, an assist is attributed to a player who passes the ball to a teammate in a way that leads directly to a score by field goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the basket. An assist is also credited when a basket is awarded due ...

, with perhaps his best year being his first in 1978, posting averages of 11 points and 4 assists in 77 matches. During the

1980 NBA playoffs The 1980 NBA playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1979–80 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Philade ...

, Criss averaged 14 points and 4.4 assists per game, as the Hawks eventually lost to the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. On February 20, 1982, while on the Clippers, Criss scored a career-best 34 points and recorded 8 assists during a 118–101 win over the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. After retiring as a player, he worked as a golf instructor, an Atlanta Hawks television

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

and a basketball summer camp coordinator. Criss was head coach of the Atlanta Eagles in the

United States Basketball League The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

(USBL) during the 1991 season.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" ,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 77 , , - , , 25.1 , , .999 , , - , , .999 , , 30.2 , , 1.8 , , 3.4 , , 0.6 , , 19.4 , - , align="left" , 1978–79 , align="left" ,

, 54 , , - , , 16.3 , , .377 , , - , , .779 , , 1.1 , , 2.6 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 5.3 , - , align="left" , 1979–80 , align="left" ,

, 81 , , - , , 22.1 , , .431 , , .059 , , .811 , , 1.4 , , 3.0 , , 0.9 , , 0.0 , , 8.3 , - , align="left" , 1980–81 , align="left" ,

, 66 , , - , , 25.9 , , .454 , , .048 , , .864 , , 1.5 , , 4.3 , , 0.9 , , 0.0 , , 9.5 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

, 27 , , 0 , , 20.4 , , .400 , , .250 , , .890 , , 1.4 , , 2.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 8.7 , - , align="left" , 1981–82 , align="left" ,

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, 28 , , 20 , , 30.0 , , .479 , , .381 , , .884 , , 1.6 , , 4.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 12.9 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 66 , , 0 , , 14.0 , , .451 , , .194 , , .895 , , 1.2 , , 1.9 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 6.2 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

, 6 , , 0 , , 17.8 , , .367 , , .167 , , .636 , , 1.5 , , 2.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 5.0 , - , align="left" , 1983–84 , align="left" ,

, 9 , , 0 , , 12.0 , , .409 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.2 , , 2.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 2.6 , - , align="left" , 1984–85 , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 2 , , 28.8 , , .412 , , .000 , , .669 , , 3.5 , , 5.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 4.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 418 , , 22 , , 21.4 , , .432 , , .179 , , .831 , , 1.4 , , 3.2 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 8.5

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 1977–78 , align="left" ,

, 2 , , - , , 32.5 , , .417 , , - , , .778 , , 2.0 , , 1.5 , , 2.0 , , 0.5 , , 13.5 , - , align="left" , 1978–79 , align="left" ,

, 9 , , - , , 11.0 , , .414 , , - , , .900 , , 0.6 , , 1.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 3.7 , - , align="left" , 1979–80 , align="left" ,

, 5 , , - , , 30.4 , , .492 , , .333 , , .917 , , 1.0 , , 4.4 , , 1.2 , , 0.0 , , 14.0 , - , align="left" , 1982–83 , align="left" ,

, 9 , , - , , 12.9 , , .441 , , .000 , , .944 , , 1.6 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 5.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 25 , , - , , 17.3 , , .452 , , .250 , , .898 , , 1.1 , , 2.1 , , 0.9 , , 0.0 , , 7.1

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Criss, Charlie 1948 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen African-American basketball coaches Albuquerque Silvers players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Hartford Capitols players Lancaster Lightning players Milwaukee Bucks players NBA broadcasters New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball players NMJC Thunderbirds men's basketball players People from Valhalla, New York Sportspeople from Mount Pleasant, New York Basketball players from Westchester County, New York Point guards San Diego Clippers players Undrafted NBA players Washington Generals players

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links