Cliff Levingston

Last updated

Cliff Levingston
Personal information
Born (1961-01-04) January 4, 1961 (age 64)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school Samuel F. B. Morse
(San Diego, California)
College Wichita State (1979–1982)
NBA draft 1982: 1st round, 9th overall pick
Selected by the Detroit Pistons
Playing career1982–1995
Position Power forward
Number53
Coaching career2000–present
Career history
As player:
1982–1984 Detroit Pistons
1984–1990 Atlanta Hawks
1990–1992 Chicago Bulls
1992–1993 PAOK
1993–1994 Buckler Bologna
1994–1995 Denver Nuggets
As coach:
2000–2001 Fort Wayne Fury (assistant)
2001–2002 Dodge City Legend (assistant)
2002–2003 Dodge City Legend
2003–2004 Harlem Globetrotters (assistant)
2004-2005St. Louis Flight
2005-2006 Gary Steelheads (assistant)
2006 Kansas Cagerz (assistant)
2007 Gary Steelheads
2007-2011 Oklahoma Cavalry
2011–2012Michigan City Marquette High School
2012–2013 Rochester Razorsharks
2020–present Kokomo BobKats
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points 5,888 (7.1 ppg)
Rebounds 4,307 (5.2 rpg)
Assists 752 (0.9 apg)
Stats at NBA.com  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Stats at Basketball Reference   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Clifford Eugene Levingston (born January 4, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and former player.

Contents

Professional playing career

A former power forward, Levingston played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Levingston starred at Wichita State University, before being drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the 1982 NBA draft. After two seasons with the Pistons, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, with whom he would spend most of his career.

In 1986, while playing for the Hawks, Levingston had the rare distinction of "fouling into" an NBA game. In a game where Dominique Wilkins and Antoine Carr were injured, Kevin Willis, Scott Hastings, Jon Koncak, Spud Webb, and Levingston fouled out of the game. After Doc Rivers was ejected, the Hawks were down to only four players. Under NBA Rule 3-I-b, Levingston, the last player to foul out, was allowed to come back into the game, under the player foul penalty situation, resulting in a non-unsportsmanlike conduct technical foul. [1]

After six seasons with the Hawks, Levingston joined the Chicago Bulls, with whom he won two championship rings in 1991 and 1992. From 1992 to 1994, he played with PAOK of the Greek Basket League, and as such he played in the final four of FIBA European League (now called EuroLeague). In 1993, he moved to Virtus Bologna of the Italian Serie A, where he won the national title in 1994. In 1994, he returned to the United States, and joined the Denver Nuggets. He retired from the league in 1995, with career totals of 5,888 points, 4,307 rebounds, and 593 blocked shots.

Coaching career

In 2000, Levingston began his coaching career as an assistant basketball coach with the Fort Wayne Fury of the CBA. In 2001, he served as an assistant coach with the Dodge City Legend of the USBL. In 2002, he returned to Dodge City, to serve his first stint as a professional league head coach; that year the Legends won the USBL title, and Levingston was named the USBL Coach of the Year.

From 2003 to 2004, Levingston served as an assistant coach for the Harlem Globetrotters. In 2004, he coached the St. Louis Flight of the ABA.

In 2005, Levingston was hired as an assistant coach of the Gary Steelheads of the CBA; that year, the Steelheads played their best season in franchise history, though they lost the championship game. In 2006, he briefly served as an assistant coach for the Kansas Cagerz, and in November, he was officially hired by the Gary Steelheads (of the USBL), as head coach for the 2007 season.

In the fall of 2007, Micheal Ray Richardson was fired by the Oklahoma Cavalry of the CBA. Levingston was hired to replace him.

In the fall of 2011, Levingston became an assistant coach for Michigan City Marquette High School, in northern Indiana. [2]

In 2012, Levingston was named the 2nd head coach of the Rochester Razorsharks of the Premier Basketball League. He coached the Sharks for one season.

In 2020, Levingston was named the 1st head coach of the Kokomo BobKats of the TBL. [3]

Personal life

In 2003, Levingston was sentenced to four months in prison, for failure to pay child support. [4]

Levingston is a cousin of NBA player Cory Carr. [5]

Levingston is also a cousin of retired MLB player Mark McLemore.

He is a San Diego native. [6] [7]

Career statistics

Legend
  GPGames 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
 † Won an NBA championship  * Led the league

NBA

Source [8]

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1982–83 Detroit 62514.2.485.000.5713.7.8.4.65.6
1983–84 Detroit 802421.8.525.000.6726.81.4.61.07.3
1984–85 Atlanta 745327.3.527.000.6537.61.4.9.99.8
1985–86 Atlanta 813524.0.534.000.6786.6.9.9.59.3
1986–87 Atlanta 82*1022.5.506.000.7316.5.5.6.88.0
1987–88 Atlanta 823226.0.557.500.7726.1.9.61.010.0
1988–89 Atlanta 805227.3.528.200.6966.2.91.2.99.2
1989–90 Atlanta 75522.7.509.200.6804.31.1.7.56.9
1990–91† Chicago 78013.0.450.250.6482.9.7.4.64.0
1991–92† Chicago 79012.9.498.167.6252.9.8.3.63.9
1994–95 Denver 5708.2.423.000.4222.2.5.2.42.3
Career83021620.4.516.152.6765.2.9.6.77.1

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1984 Detroit 520.2.789–.6254.8.2.2.48.0
1986 Atlanta 9020.0.5951.000.7784.6.3.41.05.8
1987 Atlanta 9012.0.389.000.7783.8.3.0.33.1
1988 Atlanta 12013.6.480–.7502.2.6.4.45.0
1989 Atlanta 5015.4.2731.000.9003.4.4.0.63.2
1991† Chicago 17011.3.512–.5002.4.4.6.42.6
1992† Chicago 22*08.7.439.000.5001.9.4.2.32.9
1995 Denver 3011.7.500–.5003.0.31.0.72.3
Career82012.8.502.500.6672.8.4.3.53.8

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References

  1. ↑ National Sports Review - The Best and Worst of the '80s: Stories & Anecdotes, Quotes & Lists & Hypes, Passions & Amusements, published 1989, Preview Publishing and InfoSports
  2. ↑ Levingston brings 'Good News' to Marquette
  3. ↑ "Two-time NBA Champion Cliff Levingston named Bobkats coach". Kokomo Perspective. October 30, 2020.
  4. ↑ Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ 1998-99 Chicago Bulls media guide
  6. ↑ Crasnick, Jerry (May 1, 2018). "Adam Jones is Mr. Baltimore, but will he be an Oriole for life?". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  7. ↑ Leonard, Tod (November 11, 2016). "S.D.'s sports arena: 50 years of thrills, history making". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Cliff Levingston NBA stats". Basketball Reference . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
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