Ed Cota
Encyclopedia
Eduardo Enrique Cota (born May 19, 1976 in Los Angeles, California
) is an American professional basketball
player. The 6' 0", 195-lb. point guard
played for Atlas Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski
in Poland
. He is currently living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
.
's Samuel J. Tilden High School
. As a sophomore, he averaged 31.5 points, 11 assists and six steals per game and led his team to the semifinals of the New York Public School Athletic League.
Cota underwent a devastating family tragedy in the ninth grade when his parents were in a car accident in Panama that would hospitalize them for several years. His mother spent a year in the hospital, his stepfather spent two and left in a wheelchair, never to regain use of his legs. He struggled to stay on track in school but was helped by the return of his mother and help from his high school coach Eric Eisenberg to get him counseling and find a prep school to attend to get a fresh start.
He then enrolled in St. Thomas More Academy in Oakdale, CT where he led his team to the New England private school title his junior year as he averaged 21 points and nine assists a game. He was selected for the United States Junior National Select Team and played in the 1996 McDonald's All-American Game, which featured future stars Jermaine O'Neal
, Stephen Jackson
, Mike Bibby
and Kobe Bryant
. The one-time truant high school student also excelled in the classroom, eventually finishing his high school career as an honor roll student.
for the University of North Carolina
from 1996-2000. At UNC, Cota led the Tar Heels to three Final Four
s in his four years as a starter. During the 1997-1998 season, Cota was a member of new coach Bill Guthridge
's successful "Six Starters" rotation with Antawn Jamison
, Vince Carter
, Shammond Williams
, Ademola Okulaja
, and Makhtar N'Diaye.
Cota garnered many accolades during his college career. He was named the 1997 ACC
Rookie of the Year and a 1997 Freshman All-America
. Cota was the leading vote-getter on the 1997 All-ACC Freshman Team. He earned 2nd-Team All-Conference honors three years in a row, as a sophomore (1998), junior (1999) and senior (2000). As a sophomore, he broke the ACC record for most assists
in a single season. He was named a 1999 AP
All-America Team Honorable Mention. He earned three NCAA
All-Regional Team selections as a senior while leading UNC to another Final Four. By the time his college career concluded, he had become the first player in NCAA basketball history to score 1,000 points, and have 1,000 assists and 500 rebounds in a career. Additionally, he finished with the third highest assist total in NCAA history, and owns the record for most assists in a career at Carolina. Remarkably, Cota also played an NCAA record 138 games without ever fouling out.
by the NBA after graduating from North Carolina. His lack of height (6' 0") and jump shot were cited as a major impediments to success as a pro. Instead, he was drafted by the Gary Steelheads
of the minor league Continental Basketball Association
, where he spent the 2000-2001 season. That season Cota proved his doubters wrong, leading the league in 3-point
shooting with a 48.5% mark.
After that season, Cota left the CBA and began what would become a very successful basketball career in Europe. He signed with the Belgian
pro team Telindus BC Oostende for the 2001-2002 season. They went on to win the 2001-2002 Belgian National Championship. Cota joined Žalgiris Kaunas
, a Lithuania
n team, for the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 seasons, during which he consecutively led the Euroleague
in assists. Cota's team won the Lithuanian National Championship both season. Cota also played in the 2004 Lithuanian All-Star Game.
Cota joined Dynamo Saint Petersburg
, a member of the Russian Basketball Super League
that competes as a member of FIBA Europe
, in 2004-2005. It was the club's first year of existence. The Dynamo went undefeated in the FIBA Europe League
that season and won the championship. Cota played in the 2005 FIBA Europe League All-Star Game.
After his stint in St. Petersburg, Cota returned to Lithuania and Žalgiris Kaunas to start the 2005-2006 season, but moved to Spain
to play for FC Barcelona before the season ended.
Despite his success overseas, Cota continues to work toward the goal of playing in the NBA. Over the years, he has played on the NBA Summer League squads of the Los Angeles Clippers
, Indiana Pacers
, and Washington Wizards
.
Cota also competed internationally as a member of the Panama national basketball team (his parents were from Panama and he enjoys dual citizenship status). In this capacity, he has been to the 2006 FIBA World Championship
tournament.
Cota signed with Israeli side Hapoel Jerusalem
for the 2006-7 season. On January 2008 he became a player of Atlas Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski
playing in Polish
Dominet Bank Ekstraliga. Now, he is looking for a new club.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
) is an American professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player. The 6' 0", 195-lb. point guard
Point guard
Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
played for Atlas Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski
Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski
Stal Ostrów Wlkp. is a Polish basketball team, based in Ostrów Wielkopolski, playing in Dominet Bank Ekstraliga.- Roster : Jarrid Loyd David Godbold Rafal Partyka Tomasz Robert Witka Krzysztof Roszyk Mateusz Jarmakowicz Bartosz Bochno Maciej Strzelecki Sebastian SzymanskiHead Coach: Sasa Obradovic...
in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. He is currently living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
.
High school career
Cota played his freshman and sophomore years at BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
's Samuel J. Tilden High School
Samuel J. Tilden High School
Samuel J. Tilden High School is a New York City public high school in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn. It is named for Samuel J. Tilden, the former governor of New York State and presidential candidate who, although carrying the popular vote, lost to Rutherford B...
. As a sophomore, he averaged 31.5 points, 11 assists and six steals per game and led his team to the semifinals of the New York Public School Athletic League.
Cota underwent a devastating family tragedy in the ninth grade when his parents were in a car accident in Panama that would hospitalize them for several years. His mother spent a year in the hospital, his stepfather spent two and left in a wheelchair, never to regain use of his legs. He struggled to stay on track in school but was helped by the return of his mother and help from his high school coach Eric Eisenberg to get him counseling and find a prep school to attend to get a fresh start.
He then enrolled in St. Thomas More Academy in Oakdale, CT where he led his team to the New England private school title his junior year as he averaged 21 points and nine assists a game. He was selected for the United States Junior National Select Team and played in the 1996 McDonald's All-American Game, which featured future stars Jermaine O'Neal
Jermaine O'Neal
Jermaine Lee O'Neal is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics. The 6 ft 11 in , 255 lb forward-center had a successful high school career and declared his eligibility for the 1996 NBA Draft straight out of high school...
, Stephen Jackson
Stephen Jackson
Stephen Jesse Jackson is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks. Jackson is a 6'8" guard-forward.-Early life, high school, and college:Jackson was born in Houston and grew up in Port Arthur, Texas...
, Mike Bibby
Mike Bibby
Michael "Mike" Bibby is an American professional basketball player who most recently played for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association. He is a 6'2" point guard, and he attended Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix, Arizona and played collegiately at the University of Arizona. In...
and Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant is an American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school...
. The one-time truant high school student also excelled in the classroom, eventually finishing his high school career as an honor roll student.
Collegiate career
Cota is probably best known to basketball fans for his play at point guardPoint guard
Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
for the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
from 1996-2000. At UNC, Cota led the Tar Heels to three Final Four
Final four
Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...
s in his four years as a starter. During the 1997-1998 season, Cota was a member of new coach Bill Guthridge
Bill Guthridge
Bill Guthridge is a retired American college basketball coach.Guthridge initially gained recognition after serving for 30 years as Dean Smith's assistant at the University of North Carolina. Following Dean Smith's retirement in 1997, Guthridge served as head coach of the Tar Heels for three seasons...
's successful "Six Starters" rotation with Antawn Jamison
Antawn Jamison
Antawn Cortez Jamison is an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association . He currently plays power forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers and was a member of the USA National Team for the 2006 FIBA World Championships...
, Vince Carter
Vince Carter
Vincent Lamar "Vince" Carter is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns. He is a shooting guard who can also play small forward....
, Shammond Williams
Shammond Williams
Shammond Omar Williams is a naturalized Georgian professional basketball player who grew up in the United States . The 6'1" combination point guard/shooting guard is known for his long-range shooting accuracy...
, Ademola Okulaja
Ademola Okulaja
Ademola Okulaja, is a former German professional basketball player. The last team he played for were the Brose Baskets from Germany...
, and Makhtar N'Diaye.
Cota garnered many accolades during his college career. He was named the 1997 ACC
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
Rookie of the Year and a 1997 Freshman All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
. Cota was the leading vote-getter on the 1997 All-ACC Freshman Team. He earned 2nd-Team All-Conference honors three years in a row, as a sophomore (1998), junior (1999) and senior (2000). As a sophomore, he broke the ACC record for most assists
Assist (basketball)
In basketball, an assist is attributed to a player who passes the ball to a teammate in a way that leads to a score by field goal, meaning that he or she was "assisting" in the basket. There is some judgment involved in deciding whether a passer should be credited with an assist...
in a single season. He was named a 1999 AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
All-America Team Honorable Mention. He earned three NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
All-Regional Team selections as a senior while leading UNC to another Final Four. By the time his college career concluded, he had become the first player in NCAA basketball history to score 1,000 points, and have 1,000 assists and 500 rebounds in a career. Additionally, he finished with the third highest assist total in NCAA history, and owns the record for most assists in a career at Carolina. Remarkably, Cota also played an NCAA record 138 games without ever fouling out.
Professional career
Cota was not draftedNBA Draft
The NBA Draft is an annual event in which the thirty teams from the National Basketball Association can draft players who are eligible and wish to join the league. These players are usually amateur U.S. college basketball players, but international players are also eligible to be drafted...
by the NBA after graduating from North Carolina. His lack of height (6' 0") and jump shot were cited as a major impediments to success as a pro. Instead, he was drafted by the Gary Steelheads
Gary Steelheads
The Gary Steelheads were a professional basketball team that played in the International Basketball League. In the past they played in the International Basketball League, Continental Basketball Association, and the United States Basketball League. They were based in Gary, Indiana and played their...
of the minor league Continental Basketball Association
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
, where he spent the 2000-2001 season. That season Cota proved his doubters wrong, leading the league in 3-point
Three-point field goal
A three-point field goal is a field goal in a basketball game, made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc radiating from the basket...
shooting with a 48.5% mark.
After that season, Cota left the CBA and began what would become a very successful basketball career in Europe. He signed with the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
pro team Telindus BC Oostende for the 2001-2002 season. They went on to win the 2001-2002 Belgian National Championship. Cota joined Žalgiris Kaunas
BC Žalgiris
BC Žalgiris is a professional basketball team that is based in Kaunas, Lithuania. It is one of the oldest teams in the Euroleague and plays domestically in the Lietuvos krepšinio lyga , and regionally in the VTB United League...
, a Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n team, for the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 seasons, during which he consecutively led the Euroleague
Euroleague
Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...
in assists. Cota's team won the Lithuanian National Championship both season. Cota also played in the 2004 Lithuanian All-Star Game.
Cota joined Dynamo Saint Petersburg
Dynamo Saint Petersburg
Dynamo Saint Petersburg was a Russian professional basketball club that was based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The club was founded in the year 2004, and within only a year, it won the FIBA Europe League championship in 2005, against Kyiv. After another year, the club went bankrupt in 2006....
, a member of the Russian Basketball Super League
Russian Basketball Super League
The Russian Basketball SuperLeague is a men's professional basketball league that was the pre-eminent league of Russian professional basketball until 2010...
that competes as a member of FIBA Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, in 2004-2005. It was the club's first year of existence. The Dynamo went undefeated in the FIBA Europe League
EuroChallenge
The EuroChallenge is the 3rd tier level transnational men's professional club basketball competition in Europe. It is organized and run by FIBA Europe...
that season and won the championship. Cota played in the 2005 FIBA Europe League All-Star Game.
After his stint in St. Petersburg, Cota returned to Lithuania and Žalgiris Kaunas to start the 2005-2006 season, but moved to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
to play for FC Barcelona before the season ended.
Despite his success overseas, Cota continues to work toward the goal of playing in the NBA. Over the years, he has played on the NBA Summer League squads of the Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
, Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...
, and Washington Wizards
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...
.
Cota also competed internationally as a member of the Panama national basketball team (his parents were from Panama and he enjoys dual citizenship status). In this capacity, he has been to the 2006 FIBA World Championship
2006 FIBA World Championship
The 2006 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball competition hosted by Japan from August 19 to September 3, 2006. It was co-organised by the International Basketball Federation , Japan Basketball Association and the 2006 Organizing Committee...
tournament.
Cota signed with Israeli side Hapoel Jerusalem
Hapoel Jerusalem
Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem, Israel as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem...
for the 2006-7 season. On January 2008 he became a player of Atlas Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski
Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski
Stal Ostrów Wlkp. is a Polish basketball team, based in Ostrów Wielkopolski, playing in Dominet Bank Ekstraliga.- Roster : Jarrid Loyd David Godbold Rafal Partyka Tomasz Robert Witka Krzysztof Roszyk Mateusz Jarmakowicz Bartosz Bochno Maciej Strzelecki Sebastian SzymanskiHead Coach: Sasa Obradovic...
playing in Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Dominet Bank Ekstraliga. Now, he is looking for a new club.