Christopher William Ensminger (born December 8, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former professional basketball player.
 Chris Ensminger in 2010. | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 8, 1973 Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 10.25 in (2.09 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Oak Hills (Cincinnati, Ohio) |
| College | Valparaiso (1992–1996) |
| NBA draft | 1996: undrafted |
| Playing career | 1996–2013 |
| Position | Center |
| Coaching career | 2013–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1996–1997 | Tours Basket |
| 1997–1998 | FC Porto |
| 1999 | North Harbour Kings |
| 1999–2001 | Mitteldeutscher BC |
| 2001–2008 | Brose Bamberg |
| 2008–2009 | Paderborn Baskets |
| 2009–2013 | Baskets Bonn |
| As coach: | |
| 2013–2017 | Oettinger Rockets Gotha |
| 2017–present | BBU Allgäu/Memmingen (later named Orange Academy) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As a player:
| |
Playing career edit
High school edit
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ensminger played high school basketball at Oak Hills High School.[1]
College career edit
Ensminger played four years of college basketball at Valparaiso University (1992–96), amassing 1,061 points and 910 rebounds. He helped Valpo win Mid-Con titles in 1995 and 1996,[2] and left as the school's all-time leader in career rebounds.[3] His record would stand for 21 years until Alec Peters broke the record on January 16, 2017 against Wisconsin-Green Bay.[4]
Professional career edit
Ensminger started his professional career with Tours Basket in the French 2nd Division ProB league, in 1996, followed by stints in Portugal (FC Porto)[5] and New Zealand (North Harbour Kings).[6]
In 1999, Ensminger signed with SSV Weißenfels of the German Basketball Bundesliga, establishing himself as a dominant post player in the league right away. After two years with the Weißenfels team, he signed with fellow Bundesliga side TSK universa Bamberg (later known as Brose Bamberg). In his seven-year stay with the club, Ensminger was instrumental in helping Bamberg to German League championships in 2005 and 2007. He also played in international competition with the club, including the EuroLeague and the ULEB Cup (now called EuroCup).
After parting ways with Bamberg, he spent the 2008–09 season with another German team, Paderborn Baskets, and finished his playing career with a four-year stint with the Telekom Baskets Bonn (2009–13).
Ensminger played in 485 games in his 14-year Bundesliga career, tallying a total of 5,438 points and 4,093 rebounds.[7] He appeared in seven Bundesliga All-Star Games, and earned the Eurobasket.com website's All-Bundesliga Center of the Year honors in 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2010.[8]
Coaching career edit
Ensminger moved into coaching immediately after his playing days were over, and he was named the head coach of the German 2nd Division ProA club Gotha Rockets, in May 2013.[9] Under his tutelage, the Rockets reached the playoffs in three straight seasons, including berths in the semifinals in 2015 and 2016. Ensminger was relieved of his duties on January 31, 2017.[10]
He took over the head coaching position for BBU Allgäu/Memmingen (later named Orange Academy)[11] in Germany's top-tier youth league NBBL prior to the 2017–18 season.[12] Ensminger also became Director of Development and Sports Performance at a player development company in Neu-Ulm, Germany.[13]
References edit
- ^ "OAK HILLS GRAD HELPED VALPO FIRST NCAA TRIP WAS IN '96.(SPORTS)". 2002-03-13. Archived from the original on 2017-02-16.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Technologies, Streamline. "Former Crusader Ensminger Honored by BBL". ValpoAthletics.com. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
- ^ "Valpo Crusaders Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-02-15.
- ^ Alec Peters On-Court Ceremony | 1–27–17. YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-11.
- ^ "Von der Spieler- zur Trainerkarriere". BASKETBALL.DE (in German). 2015-01-28. Archived from the original on 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
- ^ Jessup, Peter (2000-06-30). "Basketball: City teams head south". New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
- ^ "Beko BBL – Beko BBL-Gesamtstatistik / Total". statistik.basketball-bundesliga.de. Archived from the original on 2017-01-15. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
- ^ "Chris Ensminger Basketball Player Profile, Telekom Baskets Bonn, Valparaiso, News, BBL stats, Career, Games Logs, Bests, Awards - eurobasket.com". www.eurobasket.com. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
- ^ Sack, ps-designstudio.de – Peter. "BiG – Basketball in Gotha: Chris Ensminger wird neuer Rockets-Coach". www.big-gotha.de (in German). Retrieved 2017-02-15.
- ^ mdr.de. "Rockets Gotha trennen sich von Cheftrainer Ensminger | MDR.DE" (in German). Archived from the original on 2017-01-31. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
- ^ "Mannschafts-Informationen Orange Academy". statistik.basketball-bundesliga.de. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
- ^ Allgemeine, Augsburger. "Start der NBBL: Chris Ensminger hat das Ziel im Blick". Augsburger Allgemeine (in German). Retrieved 2017-10-28.
- ^ "About us – TOP-D" (in German). Retrieved 2021-11-20.
External links edit
- Euroleague profile
- Chris Ensminger – profile and statistics at Basketball Bundesliga (in German)
- FIBA profile