Dr Dave Adkins and why he should be in the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame
February 14, 2021
Steve Carfino
- Nationality: USA
- Date of Birth: 28/8/1962
- Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California (USA)
- Position: GRD
- Height (CM): 188
- Weight (KG): 90
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: Iowa (1980–1984)
- NBL DEBUT: 25/04/86
- AGE AT DEBUT: 23
- LAST NBL GAME: 30/09/90
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 28
- NBL History: Hobart 1986-87 | Sydney 1988-90
- Championships: 0
- None
NICKNAME/S: Mr Magic
BIO: Steve Carfino was born in Los Angeles, California (USA) and attended St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California where he was a High School All-American selection.
FAMILY: He is the younger brother of former University of Southern California player Don Carfino.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Steve Carfino made his NBL debut with the Hobart Devils at 23 years of age. He scored 27 points in his first game.
Carfino found his way by being recruited by David Atkins, a american coach responsible for bringing many NBL stars to the country in the 1980’s and 1990s including Cal Bruton, James Crawford, Ricky Grace, Chuck Harmison, Leroy Loggins, Derek Rucker, Leon Trimmingham and many more.
His NBL career started with the Hobart Devils whom he led to 9-17 record in his first season, averaging 32.7 points (fourth highest in the league) and finished with the second highest assists (7.0) and steals (3.4) per game which earned him All-NBL first-team honours. Carfino also finished runner-up for the NBL Most Valuable Player award, losing to Leroy Loggins.
In Carfino’s second season in Hobart the team improved to a 14-12 record, the most successful season in the franchise’s history. Carfino was named in the 1987 All-NBL first team after averaging 22.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 3.4 steals (second highest in the league) per game.
He joined the Sydney Kings in 1988 after playing two seasons and 51 games at the Hobart Devils. “Mr Magic” was the face of the franchise in their first season in 1988 and helped catapult the Kings from Homebush into selling out the Entertainment Centre. He led the Kings in assists in their first two seasons in the NBL.
In both the 1988 and 1989 seasons with the Kings, he was named in the All-NBL second team, and continued to rank among the League leaders in steals and assists. He was forced to retire from playing after the 1991 NBL season at the age of 29 due to ongoing back problems.
His highest score in the NBL was 52, which he achieved twice, he also notched up 40+ points on five other occasions.
Steve Carfino was inducted into the NBL Hall of Fame as a player in 2004. On October 10, 2013, Carfino was named in the Sydney Kings 25th Anniversary Team.
After retiring from the NBL, Carfino provided color commentary for NBL broadcasts on Channel Ten, Fox Sports, One HD between 1996 and 2014.
Steve Carfino played five seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Hobart Devils and the Sydney Kings. He averaged 23.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists in 132 NBL games.
CAREER RANKINGS:
– 36th in assists per game.
– 6th in steals per game.
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 28 | Sydney | 16-10 (6) | 27 | 1,069.0 | 556 | 74 | 116 | 15 | 59 | 79 | 5 | 67 | 65 | 206 | 435 | 47% | 54 | 151 | 36% | 90 | 109 | 83% | 57% | 54% | 39 |
| 1989 | 27 | Sydney | 15-9 (5) | 30 | 1,256.0 | 611 | 100 | 152 | 17 | 83 | 64 | 8 | 87 | 77 | 234 | 497 | 47% | 62 | 146 | 42% | 81 | 103 | 79% | 56% | 53% | 46 |
| 1988 | 25 | Sydney | 10-14 (9) | 24 | 1,068.0 | 516 | 99 | 145 | 23 | 76 | 62 | 11 | 84 | 72 | 205 | 426 | 48% | 46 | 106 | 43% | 60 | 76 | 79% | 56% | 54% | 32 |
| 1987 | 25 | Hobart | 14-12 (7) | 26 | 1,172.0 | 589 | 121 | 162 | 29 | 92 | 88 | 4 | 86 | 56 | 227 | 582 | 39% | 53 | 141 | 38% | 82 | 110 | 75% | 46% | 44% | 46 |
| 1986 | 24 | Hobart | 9-17 (11) | 25 | 0.0 | 817 | 107 | 175 | 21 | 86 | 85 | 9 | 84 | 56 | 328 | 670 | 49% | 60 | 162 | 37% | 101 | 130 | 78% | 56% | 53% | 52 | Totals | 132 | 4565 | 3089 | 501 | 750 | 105 | 396 | 378 | 37 | 408 | 326 | 1200 | 2610 | 46.0% | 275 | 706 | 39.0% | 414 | 528 | 78.4% | 54% | 51% | 52 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 28 | Sydney | 16-10 (6) | 27 | 39.6 | 20.6 | 2.7 | 4.3 | 0.6 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 0.2 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 7.6 | 16.1 | 47% | 2.0 | 5.6 | 36% | 3.3 | 4.0 | 83% | 57% | 54% | 39 |
| 1989 | 27 | Sydney | 15-9 (5) | 30 | 41.9 | 20.4 | 3.3 | 5.1 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 7.8 | 16.6 | 47% | 2.1 | 4.9 | 42% | 2.7 | 3.4 | 79% | 56% | 53% | 46 |
| 1988 | 25 | Sydney | 10-14 (9) | 24 | 44.5 | 21.5 | 4.1 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 8.5 | 17.8 | 48% | 1.9 | 4.4 | 43% | 2.5 | 3.2 | 79% | 56% | 54% | 32 |
| 1987 | 25 | Hobart | 14-12 (7) | 26 | 45.1 | 22.7 | 4.7 | 6.2 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 0.2 | 3.3 | 2.2 | 8.7 | 22.4 | 39% | 2.0 | 5.4 | 38% | 3.2 | 4.2 | 75% | 46% | 44% | 46 |
| 1986 | 24 | Hobart | 9-17 (11) | 25 | 0.0 | 32.7 | 4.3 | 7.0 | 0.8 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 0.4 | 3.4 | 2.2 | 13.1 | 26.8 | 49% | 2.4 | 6.5 | 37% | 4.0 | 5.2 | 78% | 56% | 53% | 52 | Total | 132 | 34.6 | 23.4 | 3.8 | 5.7 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 0.3 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 9.1 | 19.8 | 46.0% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 39.0% | 2.1 | 5.3 | 78.4% | 54% | 51% | 52 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 52 | 9 | 15 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
|---|
NBA EXPERIENCE
Steve Carfino was drafted by the Boston Celtics with pick #139 in the 1984 NBA Draft.
| Season | Team | PTS | AST | STL | BLK | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 97% | 98% | 100% | 70% | ||||||
| 2 | 0 | 52 | 15 | 9 | 2 | ||||||
| Total | 1200 | 2610 | 46.0% | 275 | 706 | 39.0% |
NBA TOTAL STATISTICS
| YEAR | AGE | TEAM | POS | GP | GS | MINS | PTS | TRB | AST | ORB | DRB | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 28 | Sydney | 16-10 (6) | 27 | 1,069.0 | 556 | 74 | 116 | 15 | 59 | 79 | 5 | 67 | 65 | 206 | 435 | 47% | 54 | 151 | 36% | 90 | 109 | 83% | 57% | 54% | 39 |
| 1989 | 27 | Sydney | 15-9 (5) | 30 | 1,256.0 | 611 | 100 | 152 | 17 | 83 | 64 | 8 | 87 | 77 | 234 | 497 | 47% | 62 | 146 | 42% | 81 | 103 | 79% | 56% | 53% | 46 |
| 1988 | 25 | Sydney | 10-14 (9) | 24 | 1,068.0 | 516 | 99 | 145 | 23 | 76 | 62 | 11 | 84 | 72 | 205 | 426 | 48% | 46 | 106 | 43% | 60 | 76 | 79% | 56% | 54% | 32 |
| 1987 | 25 | Hobart | 14-12 (7) | 26 | 1,172.0 | 589 | 121 | 162 | 29 | 92 | 88 | 4 | 86 | 56 | 227 | 582 | 39% | 53 | 141 | 38% | 82 | 110 | 75% | 46% | 44% | 46 |
| 1986 | 24 | Hobart | 9-17 (11) | 25 | 0.0 | 817 | 107 | 175 | 21 | 86 | 85 | 9 | 84 | 56 | 328 | 670 | 49% | 60 | 162 | 37% | 101 | 130 | 78% | 56% | 53% | 52 | Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
COLLEGE
Carfino attended the University of Iowa, as a guard, recruited by Lute Olson and finishing his last season under George Raveling. The Hawkeyes played in 3 NCAA Tournaments in Carfino's four seasons. In his final year at Iowa, he was named in the All Big Ten, and was also named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Hawkeyes for that season. As a Senior, Carfino averaged 11.7 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. For his career he scored 1007 points on .489 shooting from the floor and .716 from the free throw line.
AWARDS
- 2x All-NBL First Team
- 2x All-NBL Second Team
COACHING HISTORY
Early in August 2014, Steve signed a deal with high school team St Patrick's College Strathfield as the head coach of the 1st V basketball team. He now is the head of Basketball at Barker College.
Related
HAVE MORE INFORMATION ON THIS PLAYER?
Whilst we try to source as much information as we can for every player who has ever played in the NBL some information on a player profile may be missing. If you have additional information on a player you'd like us to add to a profile, please send it to us using the enquiry form below.
Submissions are then sent to info@aussiehoopla.com
