Rodney Carney

Rodney Carney
Rodney Carney
Born	Rodney Dion Carney; April 15, 1984 (age 42); Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Occupation	Professional basketball player (retired)
Years active	2006–2016

Rodney Dion Carney (born April 15, 1984) is a retired American professional basketball athlete. He competed in college basketball at the Memphis Tigers and was drafted in the 2006 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls, though he was subsequently traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.

High school

While attending Northwest High School, Carney was honored as Player of the Year by The Indianapolis Star. Additionally, he earned a spot on the Indiana All-Star squad and claimed the state high jump championship title during his senior year, achieving a personal record of .

Early college career

In the 2002–03 season, Carney received Conference USA all-freshman recognition, playing a significant role in guiding Memphis to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1996, although they were eliminated in the first round by Arizona State.

During the 2003–04 season, despite undergoing surgery for a fractured bone above his eye that caused him to miss only two games, Carney elevated his level of play. Memphis secured another NCAA Tournament berth as a seven seed, winning their opening game but falling to Oklahoma State in the second round.

Carney led Memphis in scoring in 2004–05 with an average of 16 points per game and maintained a free throw percentage of 73.3%, earning second-team all-Conference USA honors. The Tigers narrowly missed an NCAA Tournament spot after losing the Conference USA final to Louisville, a defeat sealed by a missed free throw from freshman point guard Darius Washington Jr.. Memphis advanced to the semifinals of the 2005 National Invitation Tournament, defeating Northeastern, Virginia Tech, and Vanderbilt before being ousted by Saint Joseph's.

2005–06 season

In the 2005–06 season, Carney was listed on both preseason and mid-season watch lists for the John R. Wooden Award All-American team. As the sole senior starter on the roster, he emerged as one of Conference USA’s premier players, earning the Conference USA player of the year award. Under his leadership, Memphis captured both the 2006 Conference USA regular season and tournament titles, entering the NCAA Tournament with an impressive 30–3 record and holding the top seed in the Oakland region.

During the tournament, Carney contributed 19 points and grabbed five rebounds in a first-round victory over Oral Roberts. He followed with 10 points and four rebounds in a second-round win against Bucknell, then posted 23 points along with four rebounds and three steals during the Sweet Sixteen triumph over Bradley. Memphis’ run ended in the Elite Eight with a narrow 50–45 loss to UCLA, where Carney scored just five points on two-for-12 shooting in his final collegiate appearance.

Professional career

Carney was chosen 16th overall by the Chicago Bulls in the 2006 NBA draft, but was traded immediately to the Philadelphia 76ers along with a second-round pick in exchange for their 13th selection, Thabo Sefolosha.

In his rookie year (2006–07), Carney averaged slightly over three points per game until February when key players Allen Iverson and Chris Webber departed, increasing his minutes substantially. Subsequently, he posted averages exceeding nine points and three rebounds per game as a starter, establishing himself as an essential defender and third scoring option for Philadelphia.

On July 9, 2008, he was traded alongside Calvin Booth and a future first-round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a future conditional second-round draft choice. Carney returned to Philadelphia on September 15, 2009.

He signed with the Golden State Warriors on September 8, 2010, but was released on January 4, 2011. Shortly after, on February 21, he secured a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies. On December 10, 2011, Carney joined the Oklahoma City Thunder, only to be waived thirteen days later.

Carney inked a deal with the Miami Heat on September 27, 2012; however, he was waived before the commencement of that season on October 26. In January 2013, he took his career overseas by signing with Turkish team Antalya BSB.

On October 1, 2013, Carney signed with the New Orleans Pelicans, but was waived within one week. In March 2014, he joined Lebanese club Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut.

On May 28, 2014, Carney appeared as an import player for Tropang TNT in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), scoring thirteen points in his debut game and later delivering an impressive performance with twenty-eight points and nine rebounds against the San Miguel Beermen. Later that year in November, he signed with Venezuelan outfit Cocodrilos de Caracas, followed by a move in May 2015 to Reales de La Vega competing in the Dominican Republic's Liga Nacional de Baloncesto.

Selected by the Oklahoma City Blue as the thirteenth pick in the 2015 NBA Development League draft, Carney was subsequently traded to the Delaware 87ers. He made his debut for Delaware on November 29, contributing nine points off the bench.

On April 7, 2016, Carney signed with Puerto Rican team Indios de Mayagüez, debuting with nine points and three rebounds. Later that year on August 19, he joined Japan’s Toyotsu Fighting Eagles Nagoya.

Highlights

Placed 14th in scoring among rookies (6.6 points per game) and ranked fifth in field goal accuracy (46.4%) during the 2006–07 campaign; achieved the second-best three-point shooting percentage (34.7%) on the Sixers roster.
Set personal bests with 25 points and 8 rebounds against Golden State on December 26, 2006, becoming the first rookie on the Sixers since Allen Iverson in 1997 to record at least 25 points and 8 boards in a single contest.
Reached double-digit scoring in 13 of his final 28 games of the 2006–07 season, averaging 8.8 points on an efficient 53.7% shooting clip over the last eight matchups.
Committed only 43 turnovers across 67 games, nearly equaling that total with 38 steals.
Led the 2006 Rocky Mountain Revue in three-point shooting percentage with an impressive .714 mark.
Holds the University of Memphis records for most career three-pointers made (287) and single-season three-pointers (102 during the 2005–06 season).
Concluded his collegiate tenure ranked third all-time in scoring at Memphis with 1,901 points and second in total games played (133).
Posted a senior year average of 17.2 points per game, earning Conference USA Player of the Year as well as All-Tournament Team accolades.

Personal

Carney's mother, DeAndra Ware, was an elite sprinter who set indoor track records and was affected by the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Olympics, which inspired Carney's drive to succeed in the NBA. His brother, Ron Slay, had a professional basketball career in Europe following his standout years at the University of Tennessee. Additionally, Carney has two half-brothers: Ramon Foster, who played football at Tennessee and currently competes for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Renardo Foster, a former football player at Louisville who also spent time with the NFL's St. Louis Rams.

Regular season

|- | align="left" | | align="left" | Philadelphia | 67 || 35 || 17.4 || .464 || .347 || .609 || 1.9 || .4 || .6 || .3 || 6.6 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Philadelphia | 70 || 6 || 14.8 || .403 || .317 || .679 || 2.1 || .5 || .6 || .3 || 5.8 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Minnesota | 67 || 6 || 17.9 || .416 || .350 || .758 || 1.9 || .4 || .7 || .4 || 7.2 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Philadelphia | 68 || 0 || 12.6 || .401 || .304 || .825 || 2.0 || .5 || .4 || .3 || 4.7 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Golden State | 25 || 1 || 13.2 || .421 || .459 || .667 || 1.9 || .4 || .4 || .2 || 5.0 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Memphis | 2 || 0 || 2.5 || .333 || .000 || .000 || .5 || .0 || .5 || .0 || 1.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 299 || 48 || 15.4 || .422 || .338 || .704 || 2.0 || .4 || .5 || .3 || 5.9

Playoffs

|- | align="left" | 2008 | align="left" | Philadelphia | 6 || 0 || 14.0|| .387|| .500|| .500||1.2||.8||1.2||.3||5.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career |6||0||14.0||.387||.500||.500||1.2||.8||1.2||.3||5.0

External links