Charles Thomas Scott, also known as Shaheed Abdul-Aleem, (born December 15, 1948) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played two seasons in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

(ABA) and eight seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). Scott was an Olympic Gold Medalist and was inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

in 2018.

Early life

Scott was born in New York City and grew up primarily in

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

. There, his father was a cab driver. A 6'5" (1.96 m) guard/forward, Scott attended

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School (pronounced ), commonly referred to among its students as Stuy (pronounced ), is a State school, public university-preparatory school, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

for one year before transferring to

Laurinburg Institute Laurinburg Institute is a historic African American preparatory school in Laurinburg, North Carolina. The school was founded in 1904 by Emmanuel Monty and Tinny McDuffie at the request of Booker T. Washington. Emmanuel McDuffie was a graduate ...

Laurinburg, North Carolina Laurinburg is a city in and the county seat of Scotland County, North Carolina, United States. Located in southern North Carolina near the South Carolina border, Laurinburg is southwest of Fayetteville and is home to St. Andrews University. ...

. Scott transferred to Laurinburg which was famous at the time for preparing basketball players for college. Scott said, "It had a well-known basketball program. I knew my family wouldn't be able to afford college, so a scholarship was going to be my ticket." Scott was valedictorian of his high school senior class. He was also a legend at

Rucker Park Greg Marius Court at Holcombe Rucker Park is a basketball court in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, at 155th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, just east of the former Polo Grounds site. It is geographically at the base of a large cliff ...

. While in high school, Scott spent one summer at a basketball program at

Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan� ...

with coach

Lefty Driesell Charles Grice "Lefty" Driesell (born December 25, 1931) is a retired American college basketball coach. He was the first coach to win more than 100 games at four different NCAA Division I schools, Driesell led the programs of Davidson College, t ...

. Driesell recruited Scott who was accepted for early admission at Davidson. However, Scott also explored

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

, the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

, and

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

at the suggestion of his coach at Laurinburg. He ultimately accepted the offer to play at UNC because he felt that, as a larger public university, it would be more open to a black player "breaking the color barrier".

College career

Scott played college basketball at the

(UNC) where he was the first

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

scholarship athlete. Scott averaged 22.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game at UNC, and a career-best 27.1 points per game in his senior season. He was a two-time All-American and a three-time all-

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

selection. Scott led UNC to their second and third consecutive NCAA Final Four appearances in 1968 and 1969.

Woody Durham Woody Lombardi Durham (August 8, 1941 – March 7, 2018) was an American play-by-play radio announcer for the North Carolina Tar Heels football and men’s basketball programs from 1971 to 2011. Early life Born in Mebane, North Carolina, Durham ...

, a long-time radio announcer for UNC basketball said, "He really was something. He was the first Carolina player that really would compare to today's player. His build, his speed, his ability—you could take him out of the late 1960s and drop him into today's game, and he wouldn't miss a beat." In addition to breaking the color barrier in UNC basketball, he was also the first African-American to pledge a fraternity at UNC, accepting an offer to join

St. Anthony Hall St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the Calendar of saints, feast day of Anthony the Great, Saint Anthony the Great. The frater ...

, in 1967. However, after three weeks after pledging, withdrew from the fraternity because of his demanding basketball schedule. Scott was a gold medalist at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

playing for the

1968 United States men's Olympic basketball team The 1968 United States men's Olympic basketball team represented the United States at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico from October 13 to 25, 1968. Team USA won its seventh consecutive gold medal. 1968 USA men's Olympic games rost ...

. Scott was the fourth leading scorer on the team (8.0) coached by

Henry Iba Henry Payne Iba (; August 6, 1904 – January 15, 1993) was an American basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head basketball coach at Northwest Missouri State Teacher's College, now known as Northwest Missouri S ...

Professional career

Scott was drafted by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

in 1970 but he had already signed a contract with the

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

of the American Basketball Association (ABA). Scott was named ABA Rookie of the Year after averaging 27.1 points per game. During his second season with the Squires, he set the ABA record for the highest scoring average in one season (34.6 points per game). However, he became dissatisfied with life in the ABA and joined the NBA's

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

in 1972. The Suns traded

Paul Silas Paul Theron Silas (July 12, 1943 – December 10, 2022) was an American professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, he was a two-time NBA All-Star and earned five selections to the N ...

to the

Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

after the season in order to keep him. At that point, he briefly went by the name Shaheed Abdul-Aleem. Scott continued his stellar play in the NBA, representing the Suns in three straight

NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, a ...

s (1973, 1974, and 1975), then was traded to the Boston Celtics for

Paul Westphal Paul Douglas Westphal (November 30, 1950 – January 2, 2021) was an American basketball player, head coach, and commentator. Westphal played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1972 to 1984. Playing the guard position, he won an ...

and two draft picks. With the Celtics in the 1975-76 NBA season, Scott won a championship ring against the Suns. Scott later played for the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

and

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

. He retired in 1980 with 14,837 combined ABA/NBA career points. He was inducted into the

in 2018.

ABA and NBA statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left; , , style="text-align:left;", Virginia (ABA) , 84 , , – , , 37.9 , , .463 , , .246 , , .746 , , 5.2 , , 5.6 , , – , , – , , 27.1 , - , style="text-align:left" , , style="text-align:left;", Virginia (ABA) , 73 , , – , , 41.9 , , .449 , , .264 , , .803 , , 5.1 , , 4.8 , , – , , – , , bgcolor="EOCEF2", 34.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, 6 , , – , , 29.5 , , .425 , , – , , .810 , , 3.8 , , 4.3 , , – , , – , , 18.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , – , , 37.8 , , .446 , , – , , .784 , , 4.2 , , 6.1 , , – , , – , , 25.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 52 , , – , , 38.5 , , .459 , , – , , .781 , , 4.3 , , 5.2 , , 1.9 , , 0.4 , , 25.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 69 , , – , , 37.6 , , .441 , , – , , .781 , , 4.0 , , 4.5 , , 1.6 , , 0.3 , , 24.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;",

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, 82 , , – , , 35.5 , , .449 , , – , , .797 , , 4.4 , , 4.2 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 17.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 43 , , – , , 36.8 , , .444 , , – , , .746 , , 4.4 , , 4.6 , , 1.4 , , 0.3 , , 18.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , – , , 34.8 , , .433 , , – , , .712 , , 3.3 , , 4.6 , , 1.6 , , 0.2 , , 16.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

L.A. Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

, 48 , , – , , 29.0 , , .442 , , – , , .775 , , 3.1 , , 4.9 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 11.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 79 , , – , , 29.0 , , .442 , , – , , .775 , , 3.1 , , 4.9 , , 1.2 , , 0.4 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 69 , , – , , 33.1 , , .460 , , .182 , , .749 , , 2.7 , , 5.4 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 9.3 , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 717 , , – , , 35.6 , , .448 , , .253 , , .773 , , 4.0 , , 4.9 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 20.7

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

, style="text-align:left;", Virginia (ABA) , 12 , , – , , 42.0 , , .409 , , .258 , , .755 , , 6.6 , , 6.8 , , – , , – , , 26.8 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

† , style="text-align:left;",

, 18 , , – , , 35.1 , , .391 , , – , , .764 , , 4.2 , , 3.9 , , 1.2 , , 0.4 , , 15.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , – , , 37.6 , , .406 , , – , , .846 , , 4.2 , , 4.2 , , 1.4 , , 0.2 , , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , – , , 34.3 , , .300 , , – , , .750 , , 4.3 , , 4.7 , , 1.3 , , 0.0 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , – , , 34.7 , , .476 , , – , , .571 , , 4.7 , , 3.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 16.0 , - , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 45 , , – , , 37.4 , , .400 , , .258 , , .766 , , 4.9 , , 4.8 , , 1.2 , , 0.4 , , 18.3

Personal life

While attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Charlie Scott married Margaret Holmes. They had a daughter, Holly Scott Emanuel. Scott and his current wife, Trudy, have three children—sons Shaun Scott and Shannon Dean Scott and daughter Simone Scott—and have lived primarily in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. They currently live in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, where son Shannon used to play for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...

. After retiring from the NBA, Scott served as a marketing director for the sports apparel company

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

for several years, then as executive vice president of CTS, a telemarketing firm, before owning his own business.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Charlie 1948 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 1968 Summer Olympics Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics players Denver Nuggets players Los Angeles Lakers players Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Basketball Association All-Stars North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Phoenix Suns players Point guards Shooting guards Stuyvesant High School alumni United States men's national basketball team players Virginia Squires draft picks Virginia Squires players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople St. Anthony Hall Basketball players from New York City

Early life

College career

Professional career

ABA and NBA statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

See also

References

External links