Biography
Serio grew up in Westbury, New York and graduated from Carle Place High School in 2005. When he was 11 months old, he had surgery to remove a spinal tumor, resulting in the compression of his spinal cord. Consequently, he was left paralyzed and is classified as an incomplete paraplegic. [4]
Serio began his wheelchair basketball career as a sophomore in high school with the Long Island Lightning, the only competitive junior wheelchair basketball team in New York State. [5] He became a tremendous asset to this team, eventually leading to its first National Championship in 2005. Serio himself was named the tournament's Most Valued Player. [6] That same year, Serio played on a USA U-23 Team participating at the Australian Junior National Games for the Disabled in Sydney. [6]
Serio also played point guard for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was named a 2nd Team's All-American in both the 2005–6 and 2006–7 seasons at Illinois. [7] At the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament held at Oklahoma State University on March 15, 2008, Serio led the Illinois to a NIWBA Championship over the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. [8] Serio took home the Championship Game Player of the Game, NWBA Tournament MVP, and the NWBA 31st NIWBT Player of the Year. [9] Serio graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2010 with a degree in kinesiology.
He also plays on the U.S. Paralympics Men's Wheelchair Basketball Team, which came in second place at the World Championships in Amsterdam in the summer of 2006. [10] In the summer of 2007, the U.S. National Team won a gold medal at the Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Serio made his Paralympic debut with the U.S. National Team in 2008 in Beijing. [11] The team finished in fourth place, just missing a medal. Since that disappointing Paralympics, the U.S. National Team has taken the gold medal at the 2009 America's Cup in Richmond, Canada [12] and finished third at the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Birmingham, England. [13]
Serio is a co-captain of the USA Men's National Wheelchair Basketball Team. He led the American men to their first Paralympic gold medal since 1988 at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games. [1] and defended the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. [2]
Serio has lived in Germany and played for RSV Lahn-Dill. His contract was extended through the 2016 season. [14] He currently plays for the New York Rolling Knicks in the NWBA Championship Division. [3]
Along with sitting volleyball player Nicky Nieves, Serio served as one of two flag bearers for Team USA at the 2024 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony in Paris. [15]
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