Eldridge Recasner

Eldridge Recasner
Born	(1967-12-14) December 14, 1967 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Professional basketball player (retired), assistant coach
Years active	1990–2002 (player), 2004 (coach)
Known for	NBA player for Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers

Eldridge David Recasner (born December 14, 1967) is a retired American professional basketball athlete. During his collegiate years, he was a three-time selection to the All-Pac-10 Conference as a versatile combo guard for the Washington Huskies. Following college, Recasner played professionally across several leagues including the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), European circuits, and the Philippine Basketball Association prior to entering the NBA. His NBA career included stints with the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, and Los Angeles Clippers.

In his fifth post-collegiate season (1994–95), Recasner was honored as the CBA MVP after guiding the Yakima Sun Kings to a league title. Subsequently, he secured a contract with the Nuggets late in the 1994–95 NBA season. The following year, he joined the reigning two-time champion Rockets and went on to play seven additional seasons in the NBA. Across eight NBA seasons, he maintained an impressive 41% accuracy from beyond the arc and an 89% free throw conversion rate. During his initial four full NBA seasons, he consistently shot over 40% from three-point range but experienced setbacks due to injuries sustained as a passenger in a vehicle accident involving Derrick Coleman before the 1999–2000 season, which hampered his performance. Later on, Recasner took up an assistant coaching role with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Amateur career

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Recasner was introduced to basketball by his uncles when he was in fifth grade. His first formal game occurred during junior high school, where he mistakenly scored on the incorrect basket because he had been practicing on a half-court setup featuring only one hoop. He looked up to legendary players such as Dr. J, George Gervin, and Marques Johnson. Attending Alfred Lawless High School in New Orleans, he played alongside teammate Robert Pack. As a senior, Recasner was regarded as having greater professional potential than Pack and outperformed Gary Payton in five out of nine collegiate encounters. He wore jersey number 14 in high school, corresponding to his December 14 birthday.

Recasner competed at the collegiate level for the University of Washington's Huskies, redshirting during his freshman year (1985–86). Graduating with the class of 1990, he earned three selections to the All-Pac-10 squad and became the first Husky to serve as team captain for three consecutive years. As a senior, he led the Pac-10 conference in free throw percentage (88.4%) and was later named to Washington's all-20th-century team. Academically, sources differ on his major—one citing architecture while another mentions black history. A highlight of his collegiate career includes scoring 29 points against the top-ranked and undefeated Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team while defending Sean Elliott, despite Washington ultimately losing in a game that set scoring records.

Professional career

Standing at 6 ft 3 in, Recasner went undrafted in the NBA draft. He began his professional journey with TTL Bamberg in Germany during the 1990–91 season before participating in the Global Basketball Association (1991–92) and competing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) for the Presto Ice Cream Kings during their 1992 Third Conference campaign. Returning stateside, he played for the Yakima Sun Kings in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) during 1992–93 and again in 1994–95, interspersed with a season in Turkey (1993–94). After leading Yakima to CBA titles and receiving league MVP honors, Recasner signed a 10-day contract with the Denver Nuggets in March 1995, appearing in three games.

For the 1995–96 NBA season, Recasner joined the Houston Rockets as a free agent before moving to the Atlanta Hawks for both the 1996–97 and 1997–98 seasons. In January 1999, he signed with the Charlotte Hornets where he remained through parts of four seasons. His playing career concluded following two separate 10-day contracts with the Los Angeles Clippers in January 2002.

Recasner identifies signing with Houston—the reigning two-time NBA champions—as a pinnacle moment of his career, where he secured the starting point guard position ahead of Kenny Smith and Sam Cassell. A standout performance included shooting five three-pointers on six attempts during a fourth quarter against Detroit Pistons. Despite Houston facing roster challenges due to injuries that year, Recasner's contributions were notable.

His peak performance years occurred with Atlanta; over two seasons he amassed more than 250 rebounds, over 200 assists, and approached 1,000 points across approximately 130 games. He participated in four playoff campaigns across three teams; three times advancing beyond round one. Maintaining a career three-point shooting average of 41%, he ranked among the league’s top ten shooters from deep during the 1997–98 season (.419). His free throw shooting remained exceptional at an 89% clip.

A memorable playoff moment came in 1997 facing the Chicago Bulls when Recasner scored eleven rapid points late in the fourth quarter nearly completing a comeback that forced Michael Jordan into direct defense—a rare recognition of his impact. His defensive pressure led Jordan into committing a traveling violation late in that game; however, Chicago ultimately prevailed.

Renowned for his free throw proficiency, Recasner once faced a critical two-shot foul situation where making one and missing one would have tied a game but was unable to intentionally miss amid an ongoing streak of 36 consecutive made free throws.

In October 1999, Recasner was hospitalized after being involved as a passenger in an automobile accident with Derrick Coleman who faced drunk driving charges but was later acquitted. Recasner sustained a fractured shoulder and partial lung collapse causing him to miss 52 games; upon returning he appeared only seven additional times before injuries curtailed his career progression.

During late 1999 while recovering, Recasner encountered legal troubles stemming from an altercation at an airport involving a Continental Airlines employee; he pled guilty to misdemeanor assault receiving community service along with deferred sentencing.

In 2004, Recasner embarked on coaching by accepting an assistant coach position with Bellevue Blackhawks of the American Basketball Association.

Personal life

During the off-season, Recasner makes his home in Bellevue, Washington. He and his spouse, Karen, are parents to four children: Sydney, Erin, Lauren, and Eldridge III. Their marriage took place on August 14, 1993. Throughout his tenure in the NBA, his mother Joyce and sister Schwuan resided in New Orleans, while he was primarily located in Bellevue.

Regular season

|- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Denver |3||0||4.3||.167||.000||1.000||.7||.3||1.0||.0||2.0 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Houston |63||27||20.2||.415||.424||.864||2.3||2.7||.4||.1||6.9 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Atlanta |71||4||17.0||.423||.414||.879||1.6||1.3||.5||.1||5.7 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Atlanta |59||14||24.6||.456||.419||.937||2.4||2.0||.7||.0||9.3 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Charlotte |44||2||16.1||.446||.400||.872||1.8||2.1||.4||.0||5.0 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Charlotte |7||0||4.0||.429||.250|||| .6 || .7 || .0 || .0 || 1.0 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Charlotte |43||0||9.4||.333||.333||.778||1.2||.9||.1||.0||2.4 |- |style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| |style="text-align:left;"|Charlotte |1||0||2.0|||||||| .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 |- |style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Clippers |5||0||6.2||.333||.000|||1.000||| .0 || 1.0 || .2 || .0 || 1.0 |- class=sortbottom |style="text-align:center;" colspan=2|Career |296||47||17.3||.426||.409||.887||1.8||1.8||.4||.0||5.9

Playoffs

|- |style="text-align:left;"|1996 |style="text-align:left;"|Houston |1||0||8.0||.000||.000|||| 1.0 || 2.0 || .0 || .0 || .0 |- |style="text-align:left;"|1997 |style="text-align:left;"|Atlanta |'10'||0'||12.1'||.423 || .364 || .625 || 1.1 || .9 || .2 || .0 || 3.1 |-

| style = "text-align: left" |  1998 
| style = "text-align: left" |  Atlanta 
| 4 
| 0 
| 22,3
| .400 
| 583
| 100
| 1,00 
| 200
| 50
| 00 
| 73
|- 
| align = left |  2001 
| align = left |  Charlotte 
| 2 
| 00 
| 4,50 
| 00 
| – 
| 75% 
| 50% 
| 100% 
| 00 
| 00 
| 15% 
|- class = "sortbottom" 
| style = " text - align : center " colspan = 2 > Career 
| 17 
| 00 
| 13,40 
| .382 
| .458 
| .714 
| 10% 
| 12% 
| 20% 
| 00% 
| 37%

External links

• Complete career statistics available at basketballreference.com