Micheal Eric Explained

Micheal Eric
Position:Center
Height Ft:6
Height In:11
Weight Lb:264
Team:Suwon KT Sonicboom
Number:50
Birth Date:1988 6, mf=yes
Birth Place:Lagos, Nigeria
Nationality:Nigerian
High School:
College:Temple (2008–2012)
Draft Year:2012
Career Start:2012
Years1:2012–2013
Team1:Canton Charge
Years2:2013–2014
Team2:Texas Legends
Years3:2014
Team3:Panelefsiniakos
Years4:2014–2015
Team4:Enel Brindisi
Years5:2015–2016
Team5:Texas Legends
Years6:2016
Team6:AEK Athens
Years7:2016–2017
Team7:Bilbao Basket
Years8:2017–2019
Team8:Darüşşafaka
Years9:2019–2020
Team9:Baskonia
Years10:2020–2021
Team10:Türk Telekom
Years11:2021
Team11:CSKA Moscow
Years12:2021–2022
Team12:Unicaja Málaga
Years13:2023
Team13:Türk Telekom
Years14:2023-present
Team14:Suwon KT Sonicboom
Highlights:

Micheal Oluwaseun Eric (born June 24, 1988) is a Nigerian professional basketball player who last played for Türk Telekom of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He played college basketball for Temple.

Early life

Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Eric did not play basketball as a youth as his dad was a soccer coach and he liked to focus on his education. Despite basketball being a popular sport in Nigeria, he dismissed the sport until he grew five inches in a span of two years. He traveled to Delaware in 2004 to visit his brother, Stephen, who wouldn’t let him return to Nigeria. Stephen knew with his younger brother's height – he was 6-foot-8 at the time – he could make a future for himself in basketball.[1] Newly arrived in the United States, Eric enrolled at Caesar Rodney High School in Camden, Delaware where he spent his sophomore year before transferring to Church Farm School in Exton, Pennsylvania for his junior year.[2]

High school career

Eric played two seasons at Church Farm as he earned first-team all-league and all-area as a junior and senior. As a junior in 2005–06, he averaged 16 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks per game.

In November 2006, Eric signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for Temple University.[3]

As a senior in 2006–07, Eric averaged 19 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks per game while leading Church Farm to the KASC regular season championship.

College career

To Eric's disappointment, he was ruled ineligible to compete in 2007–08 due to NCAA initial eligibility guidelines, forcing him to redshirt the season. He went on to join the Temple Owls in 2008–09 where he averaged 2.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in 27 games.

As a sophomore in 2009–10, Eric played in 31 games, starting 29, as he finished fifth on the team in scoring with 5.9 points per game. In addition, his 20 blocks and .516 field goal percentage ranked second on the team. He also averaged 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in just 15.7 minutes per game.

As a junior in 2010–11, Eric was named the team co-captain. He started the first 24 games of season before fracturing his right patella in practice which sidelined him for remainder of season. he averaged 7.1 points and 1.6 blocks, as well as ranking second on team with 5.9 rebounds per game and third with .490 field goal percentage.

As a senior in 2011–12, Eric again missed significant time with another right patella fracture, sitting out all of December and most of January with the injury. He played in 19 games, starting 15 times, as he was first on the team in rebounding (8.8 rpg) and fifth on the team in scoring (9.0 ppg). He tied his career-high with 19 points and a game-high 15 rebounds against UMass on February 29, 2012.[4]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2012 NBA draft, Eric joined the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2012 NBA Summer League. On August 10, 2012, he signed with the Cavaliers[5] but was later waived on October 27, 2012.[6] In November 2012, he was acquired by the Canton Charge of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player.[7]

In July 2013, Eric joined the Philadelphia 76ers for the Orlando Summer League and the Golden State Warriors for the Las Vegas Summer League. On November 1, 2013, he was reacquired by the Canton Charge. Three days later, he was traded to the Texas Legends.[8] On January 15, 2014, he was waived by the Legends due to a season-ending injury.

On September 27, 2014, Eric signed with the Milwaukee Bucks.[9] However, he was later waived by the Bucks on October 27, 2014.[10] On December 4, 2014, he signed with Panelefsiniakos of the Greek Basket League[11] and made his debut for the team on December 13.[12] However, the next day, he signed with Enel Brindisi of Italy for the rest of the 2014–15 season, replacing Cedric Simmons in the line-up after the forward suffered a season-ending knee injury.[13] [14]

In July 2015, Eric joined the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2015 NBA Summer League.[15] On October 31, Eric returned to the Texas Legends.[16] He was waived by the Legends on November 11,[17] and reacquired on November 20.[18] On January 29, 2016, he was named in the West All-Star team for the 2016 NBA D-League All-Star Game.[19] At the season's end, he earned NBA D-League All-Defensive Team honors.[20] On April 5, 2016, Eric signed with AEK Athens of Greece for the rest of the 2015–16 Greek Basket League season.[21]

In July 2016, Eric joined the Washington Wizards for the 2016 NBA Summer League.[22] On August 7, 2016, he signed with Bilbao Basket of Spain for the 2016–17 season.[23]

On July 18, 2017, Eric signed with the Turkish club Darüşşafaka for the 2017–18 season.[24]

On July 9, 2019, Eric signed a two-year deal with Spanish club Kirolbet Baskonia.[25] [26] He averaged 7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. That season, Eric won the Liga Endesa with Saski Baskonia. On July 7, 2020, Eric parted ways with the team.[27] He signed with Türk Telekom of the Turkish Super League on July 15.[28]

On February 10, 2021, Eric signed with CSKA Moscow of the VTB United League and the EuroLeague for the rest of the 2020–21 season.He reached Final Four and won the VTB League. On June 16, 2021, Eric officially parted ways with the Russian club.[29]

On August 9, 2021, he has signed with Unicaja Málaga of the Spanish Liga ACB.[30] Eric suffered a season-ending ruptured ACL injury on January 26, 2022.[31]

On January 13, 2023, Eric returned to Türk Telekom.[32] He reached Eurocup Finals against Gran Canaria. On June 21, 2023, he mutually parted ways with the Turkish club once again.

On July 28, 2023, Eric has agreed to play in South Korea for Suwon KT Sonicboom of Korean Basketball League.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

Led the league

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2018–19| style="text-align:left;"| Darüşşafaka| 29 || 20 || 20.3 || .540 || || .656 || 5.0 || .9 || .3 || .9 || 11.1 || 10.4|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20| style="text-align:left;"| Baskonia| style="background:#CFECEC;"|28* || 22 || 15.0 || .552 || || .457 || 2.7 || .3 || .8 || .6 || 5.7 || 4.4|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21| style="text-align:left;"| CSKA Moscow| 14 || 9 || 12.4 || .667 || || .700 || 3.3 || .2 || .6 || .5 || 5.4 || 6.4|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2|Career| 71 || 51 || 16.6 || .631 || || .599 || 3.8 || .5 || .5 || .7 || 7.8 || 7.3

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jason. Lloyd. Cavaliers intrigued with size, potential of undrafted Michael Eric. Ohio.com. July 20, 2012. July 20, 2012.
  2. Web site: Micheal Eric - 2011-12 Men's Basketball. OwlSports.com. July 20, 2012.
  3. Web site: Three sign Letters of Intent to play here. Temple-News.com. November 21, 2006. August 10, 2012.
  4. Web site: Micheal Eric – Temple Owls – Game Log. Yahoo.com. August 10, 2012.
  5. Web site: Cavaliers Sign Micheal Eric. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc.. August 10, 2012. August 10, 2012.
  6. Web site: Cavaliers Waive Eric, Jones and Brown. NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc.. October 27, 2012. October 27, 2012.
  7. Web site: Charge Announce 2012-13 Training Camp Roster . NBA.com . November 6, 2012 . November 6, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131106113921/http://www.nba.com/dleague/canton/news/charge_announce_201213_traini_2012_11_06.html . November 6, 2013 .
  8. Web site: Legends Complete Three Trades, Finalize Training Camp Roster . NBA.com . November 4, 2013 . November 4, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131109041804/http://www.nba.com/dleague/texas/legends_complete_three_trades_2013_11_04.html . November 9, 2013 .
  9. Web site: BUCKS ANNOUNCE 2014 TRAINING CAMP ROSTER. NBA.com. September 27, 2014. September 27, 2014.
  10. Web site: BUCKS REQUEST WAIVERS ON ERIC. NBA.com. October 27, 2014. October 27, 2014.
  11. Web site: Panelefsiniakos signed Eric Michael. A1Basket.gr. December 4, 2014. December 4, 2014.
  12. Web site: Andrea. Ciaccia. Brindisi, sembra conclusa la trattativa con il pivot, sarà Michael Eric il sostituto di Cedric Simmons. BasketInside.com. December 13, 2014. December 13, 2014. Italian.
  13. Web site: Enel Brindisi pursuing Micheal Eric. Sportando.com. December 12, 2014. December 12, 2014.
  14. Web site: Micheal Eric signs with Enel Brindisi. Sportando.com. December 14, 2014. December 14, 2014.
  15. Web site: BUCKS ANNOUNCE 2015 SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTER. NBA.com. July 1, 2015. July 1, 2015.
  16. News: Legends Complete Two Trades, Announce 2015-16 Training Camp Roster. OurSportsCentral.com. October 31, 2015. October 31, 2015.
  17. News: 2015-2016 Texas Legends Transactions History. RealGM.com. November 14, 2015.
  18. News: NBA D-League Transactions . NBA.com . November 20, 2015 . unfit . https://web.archive.org/web/20151121014637/http://dleague.nba.com/transactions/ . November 21, 2015 .
  19. Web site: Sixteen NBA Veterans Headline Rosters for NBA Development League All-Star Game Presented By Kumho Tire. NBA.com. January 29, 2016. January 29, 2016.
  20. Web site: NBA Development League Announces 2015-16 All-NBA D-League Teams. NBA.com. April 29, 2016. April 30, 2016.
  21. Web site: AEK Athens lands Michael Eric. Sportando.com. April 5, 2016. April 5, 2016.
  22. http://www.bulletsforever.com/2016/7/5/12099970/washington-wizards-summer-league-roster-2016-las-vegas Wizards announce full 2016 Summer League roster, featuring Kelly Oubre, Aaron White, Jarell Eddie among others
  23. http://www.sportando.com/en/europe/spain/208919/bilbao-basket-adds-size-with-michael-eric.html Bilbao Basket adds size with Michael Eric
  24. News: Michael Eric signs with Darussafaka. July 18, 2017. sportando. July 18, 2017.
  25. News: Michael Eric, primera incorporación azulgrana . 9 July 2019 . . 9 July 2019 . es-ES.
  26. News: Micheal Eric signs 2-year deal with Baskonia . 9 July 2019 . Sportando . 9 July 2019.
  27. Web site: Micheal Eric, Baskonia part ways . Sportando . July 7, 2020 . July 7, 2020.
  28. Web site: Michael Eric joins Turk Telekom Ankara . Sportando . July 15, 2020 . July 15, 2020.
  29. Web site: CSKA Moscov, Micheal Eric part ways . Sportando . June 19, 2021 . June 16, 2021.
  30. Web site: Malaga announces 1+1 deal with Michael Eric. August 9, 2021. Sportando. En. August 9, 2021.
  31. Web site: Unicaja’s Micheal Eric has season ending injury . Sportando . January 26, 2022 . January 26, 2022.
  32. Web site: Telekom, Eric'i beğendi. January 13, 2023. basketfaul. tr. January 13, 2023.