Edward Richard Basden (born February 15, 1983) is an American professional basketball player who formerly played in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Basden, born in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, played competitive basketball in Greenbelt, Maryland at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, where he played against former Chicago Bulls teammate Mike Sweetney. He verbally committed to play college basketball at UMass, choosing them over Villanova, Maryland, Georgetown and George Mason.^[1] He was released from his letter of intent following the resignation of Minutemen head coach Bruiser Flint,^[2][3] and Basden then committed to play for Charlotte. During his career with the 49ers he was named Conference USA Player of the Year in 2005, and Defensive Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005. In his senior season he was also named National Defensive Player of the Year by many college basketball analysts. He is the Conference USA all-time leader in career steals,^[4] and holds the all-time Charlotte record for steals.^[5] His #13 jersey was retired on February 19, 2009.^[6]

Basden went undrafted in the 2005 NBA Draft, but was invited to play on the Chicago Bulls Reebok Summer League team, where a strong performance earned him a two-year contract with the Bulls. He appeared in 19 games for the Bulls in 2005-06, averaging 2.1 points per game.

On August 18, 2006, Basden was traded by the Bulls to the Cleveland Cavaliers for center Martynas Andriuskevicius. He was later signed by Fenerbahçe of Turkey. He averaged 8.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 25 minutes for Fenerbahçe in the Euroleague and was one of key players in the team's 2007 Turkish Basketball League championship.

Basden later played for the Austin Toros of the NBA D-League.^[7] After finishing his contract with the Toros, he went to play for the Alaska Aces of the Philippine Basketball Association, but was ultimately rejected for exceeding the league's 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) height limit.^[8] In March 2011 he signed with Maroussi BC in Greece.^[9] In October 2011 he signed with Franca Basquetebol Clube in Brazil.^[10] In 2012, he signed as an import with the Petron Blaze Boosters of the Philippine Basketball Association.^[11]

Career highlights [edit]

• 2004 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year
• 2005 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year
• 2005 Conference USA Player of the Year
• 2005 Conference USA All-Time Steals Leader
• 2005 ESPN National Defensive Player of the Year
• 2007 Turkish Basketball League Champion with Fenerbahçe

Vital statistics [edit]

• Position: Shooting guard (Can play 1-4 positions)
• Height: 1.96 m
• College: Charlotte

Notes [edit]

1. ^ UMass gets Basden
2. ^ Duquesne, 'Nova land top big men
3. ^ Charlotte 49ers (2001: 22-11)
4. ^ Charlotte 91, Houston 71
5. ^ Charlotte 83, St. Louis 78 (OT)
6. ^ Xavier falls to Charlotte in third straight road loss
7. ^ Eddie Basden D-League profile
8. ^ History repeats itself: Alaska's PBA import exceeds height limit, gmanews.tv. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
9. ^ Μπάσντεν ο αντι-Χουέρτας στο Μαρούσι (Greek)
10. ^ Franca sign Edward Eddie Basden
11. ^ Petron confident with full lineup

External links [edit]

• Player Profile