Born in St. John's, Newfoundland, English was a member of the provincial youth team and shone with his local school Fatima Academy, before moving to St. Thomas Aquinas.

He earned All-WAC accolades in his final two years of college and left with the second-most career three-pointers in school history.

He returned to his hometown in 2017 with NBL Canada team St. John's Edge and was named Most Valuable Player and Canadian of the Year in his first season.

[2] As a result, English began living with his aunt and uncle, Betty and Junior McGrath, and with his cousins in Patrick's Cove-Angels Cove, a remote community in Newfoundland.

[3] In Patrick's Cove-Angels Cove, English practiced basketball on a makeshift hoop built by his uncle beside Route 100, a two-lane highway in front of their house.

[7] At age 16, English joined the provincial basketball team at the 1997 Canada Summer Games, where he was a starter despite being younger than most of his opponents.

[8] For his senior year, English transferred to St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School in Oakville, Ontario, a program that had produced NCAA Division I players.

After a labor dispute suspended the school's basketball program for a year, English considered returning home.

[8] Holding about 50 scholarship offers from college programs, English decided to attend the University of Hawaii and play for the Rainbow Warriors.

[7] In his sophomore season, English averaged 15.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game, earning second-team All-WAC honors.

[7] English posted a season-best 33 points in a win over Fresno State on March 2, as Hawaii claimed a share of the WAC regular season title.

[15] After going undrafted, he joined the Indiana Pacers for NBA training camp, where he impressed general manager Larry Bird.

[19] On July 27, 2007, English signed with Spanish team Gran Canaria of the Liga ACB and ULEB Cup for the 2007–08 season.

[31] In 2009, he left CB Gran Canaria and joined Caja Laboral for the 2009–10 season, where he averaged 9.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in the ACB League.

[39] The following summer English also participated in the 2009 FIBA Americas Championship, he helped lead Canada to a 4th-place finish losing in the 3rd place game to Argentina.

English is married to his high school sweetheart Mandy and has three children: son Ryder, and daughters Kirsten and Kylie.