American basketball player
Charles Patrick Eidson Jr.
(born October 10, 1980) is an American former professional
basketball
player. He is 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) tall and he played mainly at the
small forward
position. He could also play at both the
point guard
and
shooting guard
positions, as well as a
point forward
.
High school
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Eidson played
high school basketball
at
Pinewood Preparatory School
, where he was a
Parade All-American
and
South Carolina
Gatorade Player of the Year
. He also played at the
Albert Schweitzer Tournament
in 1998, and at the
Nike Hoop Summit
in 1999.
College career
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Eidson played
college basketball
at the
University of South Carolina
, with the
Gamecocks men's basketball team
.
Professional career
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]
After his college career with the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, Eidson spent a season with the
North Charleston Lowgators
of the
NBDL
. After a short stint with the
Boston Celtics
, he signed a one-year deal with the
Gießen 46ers
in the German
Basketball Bundesliga
. The team, that was on the verge of relegation the season before, was brought back to life by Eidson, who led the 46ers to the Bundesliga playoffs against RheinEnergie Koln. In the decisive game five, Eidson scored 40 points, leading Gießen to a 3?2 series win and straight to the semifinals, where they lost against the eventual champion
GHP Bamberg
. For his stellar performance, the Small Forward was named the 2004?05
Bundesliga Best Offensive Player
. In a pre-season game versus
EnBW Ludwigsburg
the following fall, Eidson suffered a torn ACL and sat out 172 days before returning to the starting lineup of the 46ers in a Bundesliga game against BG Karlsruhe. Only three games later, Eidson torched TBB Trier for 41 points. After the season, Eidson left Germany and signed with
Strasbourg IG
in the
French Pro A
, where he also gained
EuroCup
experience. One year later, he signed with the Lithuanian powerhouse
Lietuvos rytas
of Vilnius.
When Eidson came to Lietuvos rytas, he quickly became a starter, and one of the team's leaders. His most memorable performance was in the
EuroLeague
game against
Maccabi Tel Aviv
, when he scored 28 points and led the team to victory.
FC Barcelona Basquet
attempted to buy his contract out, but he remained with Lietuvos Rytas.
In the 2008?09 season, he won the
EuroCup
with the team also earning the
EuroCup MVP
award,
[1]
averaging 15.9 points and 21.3
PIR
per game. He also led the team to a
Baltic League
title that season, scoring a career high 41 points in the final against
BC ?algiris
, earning him the Baltic League Finals MVP award.
In 2009, he moved to the
Israeli League
club
Maccabi Tel Aviv
,
[2]
signing a two-year contract, estimated 1.5M
$
net income
for the whole period. In his second season with Maccabi, Eidson led the team to the
EuroLeague Final
with a great performance in the semifinal against
Real Madrid
: 19 points on 66 percent shooting, along with eight rebounds and six steals for a PIR of 33.
[3]
In the finals Maccabi lost to
Panathinaikos
.
In 2011, he left Maccabi Tel Aviv and signed a lucrative contract with
FC Barcelona
.
[4]
In Barcelona, Eidson was released due to cutting of the budget.
His next station was the
Russian League
club
UNICS
, where he signed a two-year contract.
[5]
He failed to
qualify
with the team to the
2012?13 Euroleague
, ending up instead in the
2012?13 EuroCup
season. He was named to the
All-Eurocup Second Team
in 2013.
[6]
Personal life
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- He is married to his college sweetheart Samantha. A fellow
Gamecock
alum, Sam played middle blocker for the Kim Hudson-coached women's volleyball team throughout her college career. His twin children are named Charles III (Tripp) and Maddie.
- Fellow 2008?09 EuroCup teammate
Marijonas Petravi?ius
was a teammate of his at South Carolina; their future wives were both on the women's volleyball team there.
- When asked if he missed America and his family, he responded: "Of course. I love when I go home and get to see my family and get a break, but that is how everyone feels when they go on vacation. I consider myself as living in Europe. I am always excited and ready to come back."
- The fifth game of the quarterfinals series between
Gießen
vs
Koln
in 2005, where Eidson scored 40 points, was later portrayed in a documentary movie called "FUNF (5)" (FIVE).
Career statistics
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EuroLeague
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References
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External links
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