Vincenzo Esposito

Vincenzo Esposito (born March 1, 1969, in Caserta, Campania) is an Italian former professional basketball player. He is 1.94 m (6'4") tall and played as a shooting guard. In the NBA, he is best known for playing with the Toronto Raptors, for whom he averaged 3.9 points in 9.4 mins per game in the 30 games he played. He was the Italian League MVP in 1999 and 2000.

Career

Also known as "El Diablo" for his impromptu way of playing but also for his fiery temperament, he debuted at age 15 with the team of his hometown, Caserta, where he played from 1984 to 1993, winning an Italian Championship in 1991 and an Italian National Cup in 1988. In 1993 he moved to Fortitudo Bologna for the next two seasons, where he averaged 25.7 and 24.2 ppg respectively.

In 1995 he signed with NBA's Toronto Raptors, with whom he played 30 games averaging 3.9 points in 9.4 minutes per game: his high-score was 18 against the New York Knicks at the Madison Square Garden.

In 1996 he moved back to Italy, signing with Scavolini Pesaro, where he averaged 25.3 ppg. Next season Vincenzo had some problems and in November 1997 was waived after 8 games in which he was averaging 13.4 ppg; he signed with Pistoia, helping the team to stay in the First League with 22.3 ppg. From 1998 to 2001 he played for Andrea Costa Imola, in the First League, where he become a real hero: he was the best scorer of the league for three consecutive years (24.5 ppg, 30.9 ppg and 28.0 ppg respectively), being also awarded twice as the league's MVP and 1999 All Star Game MVP.

In 2001 he moved to Udine for an experience that ended prematurely in January despite his 20.5 ppg; then he signed for the Spanish team of Gran Canaria for the rest of the season.

In 2002 he returned to Imola, now in the Italian Second League, where he averaged 24.9 ppg, In 2003 he signed with ambitious second league team of Scafati, for an experience that ended in February (22.4 ppg), when he stepped up to the Italian contender Rome as a sixth man.

But Vincenzo was not used to start from the bench, so for the 2004-05 season he preferred to move back to Imola LegaDue, for the third time in his career: he was the leading scorer of the Italian Second League with 26.9 ppg. At the end of the season, he spent a while in the Spanish second league, in Murcia.

In 2005 he signed with Casale Monferrato, but he was released after 5 months when he was averaging 12.1 ppg and in March he signed with Capo d'Orlando, for his last experience in the Italian First League (8.8 ppg). He was confirmed also for the 2006-07 season and named team's captain, but a week before the start of the championship some family problems emerged and he cancelled the contract by mutual consent. In December 2007 he signed with Gragnano, in the third league, where he did not finish the season (15.3 ppg in 13 games).

In July 2007 he decided that he would only have played in Emilia-Romagna, where he had already bought a house, and he signed with Sporting Gira Ozzano, the third team of Bologna. At the end of the season, he ranked third among the scoring leaders of the league with 18.8 ppg. He remained in Ozzano also for the 2008-09 season, and with 21.4 points per game was the leading scorer of the league.

At the end of the season, he decided to retire and start a new career as head coach for Aquila Basket Trento (Third Division). He ended his first season with a record of 15-13. In June 2010 he became the head coach of Fortitudo Agrigento (Third Division).

External links