Eldridge David Recasner (born December 14, 1967) 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. In college, he was a three-time All-Pac-10 Conference

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 ...

for the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

. After college, he played in a variety of professional leagues such as 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 ...

(CBA), Europe and the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

before entering the NBA. He subsequently played for several

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 ...

(NBA) teams including 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 Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

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

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 ...

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

and

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

. In the 1994–95 season, his fifth season after college, he earned the CBA

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

award while leading the

Yakima Sun Kings The Yakima SunKings were 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 Assoc ...

to the league championship. After that CBA season was completed, he signed to play in the NBA at the end of the

1994–95 NBA season The 1994–95 NBA season was the 49th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Houston Rockets defeating the Orlando Magic 4–0 in the NBA Finals to be crowned champions. Notable occurrences *The Housto ...

for the Nuggets. The following season, he earned a spot on the roster of the two-time defending champion Rockets. He played in the NBA for seven more seasons. He had a career 41%

three-point shot A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two ...

field goal percentage Field goal percentage in basketball is the ratio of field goals made to field goals attempted. Its abbreviation is FG%. Although three-point field goal percentage is often calculated separately, three-point field goals are included in the gene ...

and 89%

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 restricted area. Free throws ...

percentage in eight NBA

seasons A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

. In each of his first four full seasons in the NBA, he shot at least 40% from the three-point line, but he suffered injuries as a passenger during an accident in an automobile driven by Derrick Coleman before the 1999–2000 season and never achieved the same level of success after the accident. He later became an assistant coach for the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team has played its home games in the Sanford Pentagon since the 2013–14 ...

Amateur career

Born in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, Recasner was introduced to basketball in fifth grade by his uncles. His first organized game was in junior high school. During the first game, Recasner scored on the wrong basket because he had learned the game on a half-court one-basket

basketball court In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor ...

. While growing up, he admired Dr. J, George Gervin, and

Marques Johnson Marques Kevin Johnson (born February 8, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player and character actor who is a basketball analyst for the Milwaukee Bucks on Bally Sports Wisconsin. He played as a small forward in the National B ...

. He attended Alfred Lawless High School in New Orleans and was a high school teammate with Robert Pack. Recasner was a senior when Pack was a sophomore. Recasner was a better professional prospect than Pack and outscored

Gary Payton Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who was a point guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely considered one of the greatest point guards of all time, he is best know ...

five of nine times when the two

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

s opposed each other in college. In junior high, Recasner wore jersey number 32 before switching to number 14 in high school in honor of his birthday, December 14, 1967. Recasner attended

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

where he played for the Huskies. He

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

ed during his freshman 1985–86 season. Recasner was a member of the 1990 class at Washington, and he was a three-time All-Pac-10

who was selected to the Washington Huskies all-20th-century team. He was the first three-time

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the Huskies. He led the Pac-10 in free throw shooting as a senior (88.4%). Recasner was an

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

major at Washington by his own account, but another account claims he was a black history major. Recasner once scored 29 points against the undefeated and number one ranked

Arizona Wildcats men's basketball The Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team is the college basketball, intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. They compete in the Big 12 Conference, Big 12 of NCAA Division I and are coac ...

team while guarding

Sean Elliott Sean Michael Elliott (born February 2, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who starred as a small forward in both the college and professional ranks. He attended the University of Arizona, where he had a standout career a ...

. The Wildcats won the game while scoring the most points the Huskies had ever given up (109).

Professional career

Recasner, a , guard, was never selected in the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

. However, after spending the 1990–91 season with TTL Bamberg in Germany, he played in the Global Basketball Association in 1991–92. He also played in the

(PBA) for the Presto Ice Cream Kings together with Allan Caidic, Vergel Meneses, Onchie dela Cruz and others while he played during the Third Conference. Then, he returned to

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

to play in the

(CBA) during the 1992–93 and 1994–95 seasons. He played in the CBA for the franchise located in

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the state's 11th most populous city. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The ...

, which was near to the

Seattle metropolitan area The Seattle metropolitan area is an urban conglomeration in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington that comprises Seattle, its surrounding Satellite city, satellites and suburbs. The United States Census Bureau defines the Seattle–T ...

where the University of Washington was located. He played in Turkey in 1993–94. After leading the

to the CBA championships as the CBA Most Valuable Player, he signed to a 10-day contract with the Denver Nuggets on March 3, 1995, and played in three games. For the

1995–96 NBA season The 1995–96 NBA season was the 50th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), though the 50th anniversary was not celebrated until the following season. The Chicago Bulls defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Fina ...

he signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the Houston Rockets. He signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Hawks for the 1996–97 and 1997–98 seasons. He then signed with the Charlotte Hornets in January of the 1998–99 season where he stayed for parts of four seasons. He ended his career with two 10-day contracts for the L.A. Clippers in January 2002 after having been waived by the team. Recasner himself considers being signed by the two-time defending NBA Champions Houston Rockets the highlight of his career. At that point he had gone from playing in the CBA to the best team in the NBA. Recasner earned the starting

spot over Kenny Smith and

Sam Cassell Samuel James Cassell Sr. (born November 18, 1969) is an American professional basketball coach and former point guard who serves as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drafted 24th overall in th ...

. In one of his first games as a starter, he went five for six from the three-point line in the fourth quarter against 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. Unfortunately, by the end of the season the Rockets had several players injured and several CBA players on their roster. His most productive seasons were the two seasons with Atlanta where he totaled over 250 rebounds, 200 assists and nearly 1000

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 ...

in 130 games. He played in four post-seasons with three teams. Three of the four teams advanced to the second round of the

NBA playoffs The NBA playoffs is the annual Playoffs, postseason Tournament#Knockout tournaments, tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) held to determine the league champion. Since 1949, the four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held afte ...

. Recasner posted a career 41% (239–584)

and ranked in the league's top 10 during the 1997–98 season with a 62–148 (.419) shooting percentage. His 1995–96 season three point statistics were better at 81–191 (.424), but he did not rank in the top 10 that season. He also posted an 89% (235–265) career

percentage. In a 1997 NBA Playoff game against the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

he got hot and scored 11 quick points in the fourth quarter to nearly help the Hawks comeback in the game to even the second-round playoff series at two games apiece. At one point after a hot shooting streak, the Bulls assigned

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

to defend Recasner and the Bulls then stopped the comeback. Recasner's defense also pressured Jordan into a travelling violation in the final minute of the game. However, efforts by Michael Jordan and

Scottie Pippen Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr. (born September 25, 1965), usually spelled Scottie Pippen, is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with th ...

saved the day for the Bulls. Recasner was such a good free throw shooter that once in 1998 during the midst of a 36 consecutive successful free throw streak he was fouled in a two-shot foul situation with his team down by three points and 2.3 seconds left. His team needed him to make the first and miss the second, but he was unable to miss. On October 27, 1999, he was hospitalized in an automobile driven by Derrick Coleman. Coleman had been driving a

Sport utility vehicle A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...

and had collided with a tractor trailer and was charged with

drunk driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is in ...

. Coleman was eventually

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an o ...

of the charges and found guilty of "unsafe movement". Recasner endured a fractured right

shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder m ...

, partially collapsed lung and other injuries, and a female passenger was also hospitalized. He missed 52 games due to the accident and when he returned to the lineup he only played in seven games. Recasner was very upset with Coleman who did not even check in on whether Recasner was O.K. for over a week after the accident. On

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

1999 during his time on the

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

, Recasner dragged a

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines (simply known as Continental) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1934 until it merged with United Airlines in 2012. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continen ...

clerk across a table by his

necktie A necktie, long tie, or simply a tie, is a cloth article of formal neckwear or office attire worn for decorative or symbolic purposes, resting under a folded shirt collar or knotted at the throat, and usually draped down the chest. On rare o ...

in frustration while attempting to book a flight to Texas to visit his sister, who was involved in a serious car accident. Recasner was uncertain whether his sister would survive. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and was sentenced to a 24-month deferred sentence, 45 hours of

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community contributing to a noble cause. In many cases, people doing community service are compensated in other ways, such as gettin ...

and ordered to pay $200 in court costs. In 2004, he was named

assistant coach An athletic coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction, and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''Coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ul ...

of the Bellevue Blackhawks of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

Personal

Recasner lives in

Bellevue, Washington Bellevue ( ) is a city in the Eastside (King County, Washington), Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area, and the f ...

, during the off-season. He and his wife Karen have four children: Sydney, Erin, Lauren, and Eldridge III. Recasner had wed on August 14, 1993. During his NBA career his mother, Joyce, and sister, Schwuan, lived in New Orleans, but he lived in Bellevue.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, 3, , 0, , 4.3, , .167, , .000, , 1.000, , .7, , .3, , 1.0, , .0, , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 63, , 27, , 20.2, , .415, , .424, , .864, , 2.3, , 2.7, , .4, , .1, , 6.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-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 ...

, 71, , 4, , 17.0, , .423, , .414, , .879, , 1.6, , 1.3, , .5, , .1, , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 59, , 14, , 24.6, , .456, , .419, , .937, , 2.4, , 2.0, , .7, , .0, , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 44, , 2, , 16.1, , .446, , .400, , .872, , 1.8, , 2.1, , .4, , .0, , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 7, , 0, , 4.0, , .429, , .250, , –, , .6, , .7, , .0, , .0, , 1.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 43, , 0, , 9.4, , .333, , .333, , .778, , 1.2, , .9, , .1, , .0, , 2.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , 1, , 0, , 2.0, , –, , , –, , –, , .0, , .0, , .0, , .0, , .0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , 5, , 0, , 6.2, , .333, , .000, , 1.000, , .0, , 1.0, , .2, , .0, , 1.0 , - class=sortbottom , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 296, , 47, , 17.3, , .426, , .409, , .887, , 1.8, , 1.8, , .4, , .0, , 5.9

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 1, , 0, , 8.0, , .000, , .000, , –, , 1.0, , 2.0, , .0, , .0, , .0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 10, , 0, , 12.1, , .423, , .364, , .625, , 1.1, , .9, , .2, , .0, , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4, , 0, , 22.3, , .400, , .583, , 1.000, , 1.0, , 2.0, , .5, , .0, , 7.3 , - , align=left,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, align=left, Charlotte , 2, , 0, , 4.5, , .000, , –, , .750, , .5, , 1.0, , .0, , .0, , 1.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 17, , 0, , 13.4, , .382, , .458, , .714, , 1.0, , 1.2, , .2, , .0, , 3.7

Notes

External links

Career statistics
at basketballreference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Recasner, Eldridge 1967 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball coaches from Louisiana Basketball players from New Orleans Bamberg Baskets players Charlotte Hornets players Denver Nuggets players Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball) players Houston Rockets players Los Angeles Clippers players Philippine Basketball Association imports Point guards Sioux Falls Skyforce coaches Undrafted NBA players Washington Huskies men's basketball players Yakima Sun Kings players Great Taste Coffee Makers players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen United States men's national basketball team players