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Cleanthony Early facts for kids

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Cleanthony Early
Cleanthony Early (22634501526) (cropped).jpg
Early with the New York Knicks in 2015
Free agent
Power forward
Personal information
Born (1991-04-17) April 17, 1991 (age 33)
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
High school
Listed height 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight 220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
College
  • SUNY Sullivan (2010–2012)
  • Wichita State (2012–2014)
NBA Draft 2014 / Round: 2 / Pick: 34th overall
Selected by the New York Knicks
Pro career 2014–present
Career history
2014–2016 New York Knicks
2015–2016 Westchester Knicks
2016–2017 Santa Cruz Warriors
2017–2018 Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2018–2019 Tokyo Hachioji Bee Trains
2019 Atomerőmű SE
2019–2020 Al Ahli Jeddah
2020–2021 Antibes Sharks
2021–2022 New Taipei CTBC DEA
2022 Cape Town Tigers
2022 Gladiadores de Anzoátegui
2022 TaiwanBeer HeroBears
Career highlights and awards
  • Consensus second-team All-American (2014)
  • 2× First-team All-MVC (2013, 2014)
  • MVC Newcomer of the Year (2013)
  • 2× NJCAA Division III Player of the Year (2011, 2012)
  • 2× NJCAA All-American (2011, 2012)

Cleanthony Early (born April 17, 1991) is an American professional basketball player, currently a free agent. He was an All-American college player at Wichita State University after a stint at Sullivan County Community College.

Early life and high school career

Early was born in The Bronx. After Early's cousin was murdered, his mother decided to leave the city and relocate to suburban Middletown, New York when he was 14. Early attended Pine Bush High School in Pine Bush, New York before transferring to Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham, North Carolina. Tragedy affected Early once again after his brother drowned in Schoharie Creek at age 32. This led to Early wanting to be closer to his family and attending Sullivan County Community College.

As a high school junior, Early told the Times Herald-Record that he was only 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) tall despite being listed at 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m). Considered a two-star recruit by ESPN.com, Early was listed as the No. 102 small forward in the nation in 2010.

College career

Early was a junior college star at Sullivan County Community College, where he was the two-time Division III NJCAA Player of the Year. After considering offers from major conference schools, he signed with Wichita State and coach Gregg Marshall.

Early made an immediate impact for the Shockers, averaging 13.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He was named first team All-Missouri Valley Conference and the MVC Newcomer of the Year. In the post-season, Early led the team to the 2013 Final Four in Atlanta. In the Shockers' semifinal game against eventual champion Louisville, Early scored 24 points and collected 10 rebounds in a narrow 72–68 loss. He was named to the All-Final Four team for his efforts.

Going into his senior season, Early gained widespread national attention. He was named preseason Player of the Year for the Missouri Valley Conference and was named to the preseason top 50 watch lists for the John Wooden and Naismith Awards for national player of the year.

Early helped lead the 2013–14 team to an undefeated 34–0 record entering the NCAA Tournament, becoming the first team in NCAA Division I men's basketball to do so in over two decades. Cleanthony put up an impressive effort in an attempt to help the Shockers advance to the sweet sixteen, with 31 points and 7 rebounds on 12/17 shooting. The Shockers ended up losing to Kentucky 78–76, ending their hopes of a final four repeat.

Professional career

New York Knicks (2014–16)

On June 26, 2014, Early was selected with the 34th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. On August 1, 2014, he signed with the Knicks. During his rookie season, he had multiple assignments with the Westchester Knicks of the NBA Development League. In three games for Westchester during the 2014–15 season, he averaged 20.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. On March 25, 2015, Early had a season-best game for New York with 18 points and 4 rebounds against the Los Angeles Clippers.

During the 2015–16 season, Early has received multiple assignments to Westchester. On December 2, 2015, he became the fifth player ever to appear in both a Development League game and NBA game in the same day. On March 20, 2016, Early made his first appearance for New York since December 29, 2015, having been out for nearly three months with a knee injury he suffered after being shot on December 30.

Early re-signed with the New York Knicks on October 18, 2016, but was waived three days later. On October 31, 2016, Early was acquired by the Westchester Knicks of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the New York Knicks.

Santa Cruz Warriors (2016–17)

On December 21, 2016, Early was acquired by the Santa Cruz Warriors in a three-team trade involving Westchester and the Texas Legends. In 16 games for Santa Cruz, he averaged 9.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Early appeared in 19 games for Santa Cruz in the 2017–18 season.

AEK Athens (2017)

On September 2, 2017, Early penned a contract with AEK Athens of the Greek League, but Contract was void due to discrepancy with team

Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2017–2018)

On December 21, 2017, Early was traded by the Warriors with the rights to Elgin Cook to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for Winston Shepard and the rights to Markus Kennedy.

Atomerőmű SE (2019)

On August 23, 2019, he has signed with Atomerőmű SE of the Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I/A.

Al Ahli (2019–2020)

On October 11, 2019, Early signed with Al Ahli of the Saudi Basketball league.

Antibes Sharks (2020–2021)

On August 6, 2020, he signed a five-year deal with Antibes Sharks of the LNB Pro B. Early was named LNB Pro B player of the week on October 19, after his 41-point, 8-rebound performance against Rouen Métropole Basket.

New Taipei CTBC DEA (2021–2022)

On November 9, 2021, he signed with New Taipei CTBC DEA of the T1 League.

Cape Town Tigers (2022)

On May 4, 2022, Early was announced as a new signing by the Cape Town Tigers of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), joining the team ahead of the 2022 BAL Playoffs. On May 23, Early made his debut and scored 15 points in the quarterfinal against Monastir, in which the Tigers were eliminated.

TaiwanBeer HeroBears (2022)

On November 25, 2022, Early signed with TaiwanBeer HeroBears of the T1 League. On January 5, 2023, the team terminated the contract relationship with Early.

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 New York 39 7 16.6 .355 .262 .750 2.5 .9 .6 .3 5.4
2015–16 New York 17 2 9.1 .300 .267 .750 1.5 .4 .1 .2 1.8
Career 56 9 14.3 .346 .263 .750 2.2 .8 .5 .3 4.3

Personal life

In the early hours of December 30, 2015, Early was held up at gunpoint and shot in the right knee while traveling in an Uber. ..... He was taken to Elmhurst Hospital after the shooting where he was listed in stable condition.

See also

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