MAC Insider Staff Writer
From 1999 to 2003 Carlos English starred as the ultra quick playmaking centerpiece of some very good teams at Warren Fitzgerald
High School. In the years since English has been traveling an exhausting and tumultuous
road which he hopes will eventually lead him to realizing his dream of playing in the NBA. Now as close as you can get without
suiting up Jerry West’s silhouette on your lapel, English is enjoying his first season with the Dakota Wizards of the
NBA’s developmental league. He’s hoping to be able to add his name to a list that includes Rafer Alston, Maceo
Baston, Matt Barnes, Smush Parker, Brandon Bass, Kelenna Azibuke, Jamario Moon, Chuck Hayes, Jordan Farmer, Detroit’s
Amir Johnson and in total now more then fifty “D-league” players who’ve been signed to NBA contracts.
Still the odds are stacked against him, only 450 NBA roster spots are available worldwide
and D-leaguer’s currently make-up less then 10% of those spots. But for the 5’9” English overcoming the
odds is so much a challenge as it is a way of life; English is humble not nervous, and has a feeling of gratefulness for each
new hurdle each opportunity.
“The greatest
blessing for me in my basketball career is getting to a higher level every year. I mean just being able to be blessed to still
play the game is a blessing but even to play on the second highest level in the U.S.
is amazing. I thank god everyday I awake.”
Carlos, now 24, hasn’t always seen it that way though. Admittedly, he says there
was a time when a younger, more stubborn or “grumpy Carlos” almost let the obstacles his life confronted him with
get in the way of doing what he loved and what he believes he was born to do. This is the story of Carlos English, a man chasing
a dream so many have once had and so many more still do.
140 Pounds Soaking Wet
English arrived on basketball fans, followers and recruiter’s radar in 1999 when
Fitzgerald Varsity Basketball coach Bill Snyder made him the teams starting point guard. At 5’5” and just 140
lbs many felt English was too small and too young to handle the varsity stage even in his own community. He remembers feeling
like “…not too many people wanted to see a guy like me come in and play let along start as a freshman.”
Carlos himself even felt overwhelmed early on and told his mother one day after a difficult
tryout of his frustrations.
“I told
her, no one is giving me a chance to play. The coach doesn’t like me and he won’t give me a chance to show what
I can do. She sat me down and she said no one can hold you back from your dream but you. You hold your destiny in your own
hands. My kids never quit in anything so you go to open gym tomorrow and someone is going to pick you to play, when they do
you let your talent do the talking…And that’s what I did.”
Coach Snyder also boosted the young man’s confidence
shortly thereafter when he approached Carlos and told him how much faith he had in him.
“…he told
me: you are my starting point guard and it’s your spot to lose.”
Coming of Age: The Ups and the Downs
He didn’t lose it. Carlos captained the Spartans all four years and with much success.
English was three times a league MVP and twice an All-County First teamer for the MAC’s top Class B program of his time.
He averaged 16 points eight assists six rebounds as a junior and 20 points six assists and five steals as a senior. English
garnered attention from College’s all across the Nation including Connecticut,
Wake Forest and Michigan,
Michigan State, the majority of instate mid-majors and MAC schools and ultimately signed
a letter of intent to Texas A&M of the Big 12.
English’s senior season was supposed to be one to enjoy as he put the finishing
touches on a brilliant high school career and prepared to head off to college the following fall. However tragedy struck English
and his family when Carlos’ older brother Dequawn Matthews was gunned down in a home that was owned by his friend for
no reason at all.
For anyone it’s a loss too overwhelming to imagine if you’ve not been
through it, for English it was a far too cruel and all too familiar scenario. Carlos lost his oldest brother, also murdered,
when he was just seven years old. English internalized a lot of his pain and frustrations and says he “refused to let
good people in to his life” during high school. He harbored resentment towards strangers also. He felt like everyone
he came in contact with could have been his brother’s killer. As you might imagined it was a lot to handle for him or
any 17 year old kid.
“While all of
this is happening I still have the season to play I have recruiting and most of all I still have to be strong for my family.”
Carlos social and
study habits really took a dive after the death of his brother Dequawn. He was not able to reach the NCAA Clearinghouse academic
and test score requirements and lost his scholarship with the Aggies. Another obstacle many would think too tall for the diminutive
point guard to overcome, but Carlos was not at it alone.
Mother Knows Best
“My mom is the reason I am where I am today without her I would not be anything.”
Says English of Mother Irene Madison. “…she kept me grounded”
English enrolled at Mott Community
College in Flint right out of High School. At first
he was leaning towards not playing basketball, still disillusioned by the tragedy but it was again Mother’s touch that
provided just the right guidance.
“She once again
saved my life by letting me know the future that I had in ball. Because many people aren’t fortunate (enough) to (be
able to) do the things I do. Some people can not walk, some people can not see, some people have to be fed there food (by)
someone else. She let me know that I was fortunate to dribble a ball so when I see someone like that or if I can help someone
in need of help then (I should) do that. When she told me that I looked at the big picture and all the grumpy Carlos went
out the window, I grew up from that moment on.”
Mother does know best.
Matriculation
Two very successful seasons at Mott, where as a sophomore the team went 30-3 and English
led the team in assists and steals while shooting over 50% from the field, helped English land at Cleveland
State of the Horizon league before his junior season in 2005-06. Coach Mike Garland,
a former assistant at Michigan State,
had recruited English out of high school and liked his potential for at CSU. It was a 24 month detour, but he had arrived
on the division one stage at last.
Again there were doubters saying he couldn’t penetrate or create at this level
or that he did not score enough to warrant a starting spot. But English accepted and relished those challenges and became
a starter and the team’s leader in steals and assists during his junior season. He even had a 12 assist game against
Michigan State, a personal best for him
as a Viking. He was a preseason all-league selection as a senior but tendonitis derailed his final season before it ever got
on track. So when he could not play he focused on his other pursuit at CSU, his degree. In addition to his one the court success
English majored in communication and broadcasting and is just four classes away from receiving that degree. A pursuit he intends
to finish when Basketball allows for time.
