Osiris Eldridge (born June 18, 1988) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Büyükçekmece Basketbol of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL). He played college basketball for Illinois State. As a freshman, he won the Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year award, and as a sophomore, he was runner up in MVP honors while leading ISU to its most wins in school history with 25.[1]

Osiris Eldridge
Free Agent
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
Personal information
Born (1988-06-18) June 18, 1988 (age 35)
Chicago, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolWendell Phillips Academy
(Chicago, Illinois)
CollegeIllinois State (2006–2010)
NBA draft2010: undrafted
Playing career2010–present
Career history
2010–2011Pınar Karşıyaka
2011–2012Bakersfield Jam
2012Boulazac BD
2013S.Oliver Baskets
2013–2015Denizli Basket
2015–2017Tüyap Büyükçekmece B.K.
2017–2018Trabzonspor
2018–2021Büyükçekmece
Career highlights and awards

Phillips Academy edit

As a junior, averaged 21 points, six rebounds, three assists and nearly five steals.[1] As a senior, averaged 25 points, eight rebounds and three assists per game.[2] Named first team all-city in 2006. A second team all-state selection by Illinois Hoops and was on the third team all-state by the Associated Press.[2] Played in the 2005 Wallace Prather, Jr. Memorial All-Star Classic, which features the top players from the adidas camp.[1] The 2005 IHSA Class AA Slam Dunk Champion. Played in the 2006 Riverwar All-Star Game.[1]

Illinois State edit

 
Eldridge shooting a three pointer

Freshman edit

The 2007 Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year[1] averaged 9.5 points-and 4.5 rebounds-per-game.[1] He was named Valley Newcomer of the Week February 26. His career-high 28 points at Creighton (Jan. 1) tied the third-highest single-game total by a freshman in Illinois State history.[2] He also tied the school record with eight made three-pointers in the game at Creighton.[2]

Sophomore edit

First-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference and the Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year runner-up.[1] Averaged 15.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game on a 43.2 field goal percentage.[1] Two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week (Nov. 18, Feb. 18). Averaged a league-second-best 17.1 points per game to go along with 5.6 rebounds per game on a 47.2 shooting percentage in Valley play. Eldridge has given the Redbirds more confidence and more hype than ever. Eldridge has earned the nickname "King O" and looks to lead the Redbirds the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1998.[2]

The Illinois State men's basketball team has been projected to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference, according to the 2008–09 preseason poll determined by a panel of league sports information directors, head coaches and media members. Junior guard Osiris Eldridge was also tabbed as the league's preseason player of the year, after finishing second in the 2008 Larry Bird Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year voting. the league's preseason player of the year, Eldridge was also one of five Valley student-athletes named to the league's preseason all-conference team. As a first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection last season, Eldridge averaged 15.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

The Chicago native posted 30 double-digit scoring outputs during the 2007–08 season, including nine games with 20 or more points. He scored a career-high 34 points at Indiana State last season, and posted his first-career double-doubles at Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green.

Junior edit

Joining Eldridge on the Valley's Preseason All-Conference Team were Drake's Jonathan Cox and Josh Young; Southern Illinois' Bryan Mullins; and Creighton's P'Allen Stinnett. Evansville's Shy Ely and Jason Holsinger received honorable mention honors, along with Bradley's Andrew Warren and Theron Wilson.

Eldridge averaged 34.8mpg and 14ppg. Also led the team in steals at 1.5 per game. He took the redbirds to the championship game of the MVC tournament but lost in overtime to Northern Iowa.

Named the 2009 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference tournament Most Outstanding Player, only the second player in league history to receive the award from a member of the runner-up team. Earned First-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors. Selected to the Valley's All-Defensive Team. Scored the 1,000th point of his career at Central Michigan. Received the 2008–09 Bob and Audrey Weber Endowed Scholarship in June 2008.

He decided to enter his name in the 2009 NBA draft but did not hire an agent so he could still retain his right to return to school the next season. He later opted out and dropped his name from the list to return to school.

Senior edit

Eldridge went into his senior season as the preseason favorite for Missouri Valley Player of the Year by Blue Ribbon Yearbook. He led the conference in scoring, averaging 15.9 points a game. Adam Koch of Northern Iowa won the Missouri Valley Player of the Year award.[3]

Professional career edit

Eldridge was drafted by the Dakota Wizards in the 2011 NBA D-League Draft. He has played in France (Gravelines Dunkerque and Boulazac Basket), Germany (s Oliver Baskets), and Turkey (Pinar Karsiyaka, Trabzonspor and Denizli Basket). Eldridge signed with Büyükçekmece Basketbol of the Turkish Basketball Super League in 2018. He re-signed with the team on August 11, 2020.[4]

Stats edit

College career edit

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
06-07 ISU 31 13 23.5 .383 .377 .788 4.5 1.1 1.0 .06 9.5
07-08 ISU 35 33 31.0 .432 .385 .729 5.7 1.9 1.3 .3 15.8
08-09 ISU 34 33 34.8 .404 .353 .698 6.2 2.4 1.5 .4 14.0
09-10 ISU 33 33 33.4 .400 .354 .797 4.0 2.5 1.5 .3 15.5
Career 133 112 30.8 .408 .367 .751 5.1 2.0 1.4 .3 13.8

The Basketball Tournament edit

In 2017, Eldridge played for the Kentucky Kings of The Basketball Tournament. The Basketball Tournament is an annual $2 million winner-take-all tournament broadcast on ESPN.[5] In TBT 2018, he played for Eberlein Drive. Eberlein Drive made it to the championship game, where they lost to Overseas Elite.

Honors and awards edit

  • 2007 Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year
  • 2008 First-Team Missouri Valley Conference
  • 2009 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference tournament Most Outstanding Player
  • 2009 First-Team Missouri Valley Conference
  • 2009 Missouri Valley Conference All-Defensive Team

Valley Player of the Week – Dec. 1, 2008; Jan. 5, 2009; Feb. 16, 2009; Nov. 18, 2007; Feb. 18, 2008

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Player Bio: Osiris Eldridge :: Men's Basketball". Archived from the original on 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  2. ^ a b c d e ESPN - Osiris Eldridge Stats, News, Photos - Illinois State Redbirds
  3. ^ Hefferman, Todd. "Northern Iowa's Koch named MVC player of the year". thesouthern.com. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  4. ^ Yahyabeyoglu, Fersu (August 11, 2020). "Eldridge re-signs at Buyukcekmece". Eurobasket. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  5. ^ "Osiris Eldridge | The Basketball Tournament". www.thetournament.com. Archived from the original on 2017-11-11.