When athletes speak of opportunity, more often than not, it comes down to winning or losing. Few speak of the opportunity that might determine their future career in their respective sport. For former Virginia basketball player and current Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, however, decisions about his future were easy ones to make.
From 1980-81, the University of Maine Black Bears enjoyed the play of the 6-foot-5-inch guard from Ogdensburg, New York. Yet, Carlisle decided he wanted to compete against tougher opponents in a tougher conference.
Following his two years at Maine, Carlisle transferred to Virginia, where he played from 1983-84 after sitting out the NCAA-mandated transfer year.
During his stay in Charlottesville, Carlisle enjoyed and participated in the "glory days" of Virginia basketball, when Ralph Sampson and his legacy still lingered in Virginia fans' hearts.
"It was a special experience, and I am grateful that I was given the opportunity to come [to Virginia]," Carlisle said. "They took a chance on me because I was a guy who played at a mid-major level in a very obscure conference."
As one of the captains of the 1984 team, Carlisle helped lead Virginia to a Final Four appearance after facing the adversity of a Ralph Sampson-less season.
"We were very much a Cinderella team, and we were able to shock a lot of people in that tournament because we were so well coached and prepared," Carlisle said.
After losing to the University of Houston in overtime by two points, Carlisle graduated from Virginia and entered the NBA draft. In arguably one of the most talented drafts of all time, he was selected in the third round by the Boston Celtics behind first-round choices such as Michael Jordon, John Stockton, Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon.
"I found that the transition to competing in an NBA training camp was not that difficult, especially with my experience at Virginia and playing in the ACC," Carlisle said. "Fortunately, I kind of caught lightning in a bottle that year, had a great training camp and made the team."
Behind future Hall-of-Famers Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish, Carlisle averaged 2.2 points, 1.0 assists and 0.8 rebounds per game and won a NBA title in 1986.
After finishing his three-year stint with the Celtics, Carlisle moved on to play one year under Rick Pitino with the New York Knicks. As a free agent in 1989, his fifth and final year in the NBA, Carlisle made the New Jersey Nets.
"One day I got a phone call from [Hall of Fame] coach [Bill] Fitch telling me that I was going to be waived," Carlisle said. "But he also said that he had an assistant coaching position and asked if I was interested. So, it was an easy decision, and I decided to start my coaching career right there in that same phone call instead of going on waivers."
From that point, Carlisle served as an assistant coach under several well-respected Hall-of-Famers, including Chuck Daly, P.J. Carlesimo and Larry Bird, who taught him more about the game he had learned to play during his five year professional playing career.
In 2001, Carlisle was named the head coach of the Detroit Pistons. In two years with Detroit, Carlisle helped lead the Pistons to a 50-32 record in both seasons, as well as two playoff appearances and one Eastern Conference finals appearance.
Despite enjoying success, Carlisle was released by the Pistons and hired by the Indiana Pacers as their head coach in 2003. Since then, Carlisle has developed the Pacers into an elite Eastern Conference team with a conference-best record in his first season (61-21) and a playoff appearance last year despite the suspension of six players in the infamous Nov. 15 brawl against his former team, the Detroit Pistons.
"It is great to be in a situation in which you have great players," Carlisle said. "You find out pretty early in this business that without good players you will not be a good coach. I have been fortunate to be in a very good situation. My job as a coach is to make sure that we progress every year and we can be a championship contender."
Carlisle sees himself as a winner and a man dedicated to his profession.
"Last year, we went through one of the most difficult years that a team could go through in NBA history," Carlisle said. "Even in the toughest times, I love coming in and trying to figure out ways to win. When you are able to feel that way about what you are doing, it is a great blessing. My experience at Virginia had a lot to do with being able to get where I am now."
Now, Carlisle is enjoying the success of the NBA and the chance to coach the best basketball athletes in the world. As he moves forward in his career, Carlisle definitely will not forget his past and the friends that helped him succeed.
"Rick was a great teammate," former Virginia basketball player Ricky Stokes said. "Rick is doing well. Who knows, maybe he will need an assistant coach one day."
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