Stephen "Jo Jo" English (born February 4, 1970) is an American

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 ...

coach and former professional player who starred at the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

in the early 1990s and later played parts of three seasons for 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 ...

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 ...

. English made his NBA debut on December 2, 1992. He was the top scorer in the 1999–2000 Israel Basketball Premier League. English has served as a high school basketball coach after his retirement.

Playing career

English started his professional career with the

Tri-City Chinook The Tri-City Chinook were a professional basketball team based in Kennewick, Washington. They played 4 seasons in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), the defunct development league for the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team ...

of 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) and was selected to the CBA All-Rookie First Team in 1993. A 6'4"

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 ...

, English is perhaps best remembered for being involved in a bench-clearing brawl with

Derek Harper Derek Ricardo Harper (born October 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. A second-team All-American at the University of Illinois, he was the 11th overall pick of the 1983 NBA draft and spent 16 seasons as a point guar ...

of the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

during a 1994 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals playoff game at

Chicago Stadium Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago from 1929 to 1995. When it was built, it was the largest indoor arena in the world with a maximum seating capacity of 26,000. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and ...

. With NBA Commissioner

David Stern David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of t ...

in attendance, English and Harper carried their fight into the stands and were subsequently punished with one and two-game suspensions, respectively. English played just eight games in the following season and later joined the CBA. He also played for the

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in the state's capital of Adela ...

in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n National Basketball League during 1995, averaging 14.8 points in 21 games. English played one game with the Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs in the

1996 PBA Governors' Cup The 1996 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors' Cup was the third and last conference of the 1996 PBA season. It started on September 29 and ended on December 17, 1996. The tournament is an import-laden format, which requires an imp ...

but was hobbled by an old injury. He later played in Turkey for two seasons, and in Israel for one season. He was the top scorer in the 1999–2000 Israel Basketball Premier League.

Coaching career

English spent three seasons as the head coach of the boys basketball team at

Sumter High School Sumter High School is a co-educational four-year public high school serving grades 9 through 12 in Sumter School District located in the south side of Sumter, South Carolina, United States. With an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students, Sum ...

Sumter, South Carolina Sumter ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. The city makes up the Sumter, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Sumter County, along with Clarendon and Lee counties, form the core of Sumter–Lee ...

, until his resignation on September 19, 2015. On March 16, 2018, he was hired as the head coach at

Richland Northeast High School Richland Northeast High School is a public high school in Columbia, South Carolina. Richland Northeast, often abbreviated as RNE, RNH, or RNHS, was founded in 1978 to handle the excessive population of students at Spring Valley High School. ...

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

. On June 3, 2021, English was appointed as the head coach at his alma mater,

Lower Richland High School Lower Richland High School is a senior high school in unincorporated area, unincorporated Richland County, South Carolina, north of, but not inside Hopkins, South Carolina. It is a part of Richland County School District One. It is an Internatio ...

References

External links

Career stats
a
https://www.basketball-reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:English, Jo Jo 1970 births Living people Adelaide 36ers players African-American basketball coaches American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from South Carolina Basketball players from South Carolina Besançon BCD players Beşiktaş men's basketball players Chicago Bulls players Israeli Basketball Premier League players La Crosse Bobcats players La Crosse Catbirds players Maccabi Kiryat Motzkin basketball players Magnolia Hotshots players NBA players from Germany German men's basketball players High school basketball coaches in South Carolina Rockford Lightning players Shooting guards SIG Strasbourg players South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball players Sportspeople from Frankfurt Tri-City Chinook players Undrafted NBA players Yakima Sun Kings players Philippine Basketball Association imports Sta. Lucia Realtors players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen