Claude W. English (born December 26, 1946 in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

) is a retired American

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 and coach who spent one season 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) with the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

during their inaugural 1970–71 season. He was drafted by the Blazers in the seventh round (110 pick overall) during the

1970 NBA Draft The 1970 NBA draft was the 24th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 23, 1970, before the 1970–71 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball player ...

from the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Island ...

Coaching/Athletic Director Career

English returned to the University of Rhode Island, where he began a tenure as an assistant basketball coach shortly after his NBA career ended. English then served as the head coach at Rhode Island from 1980 to 1984.https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/latest-news/article160275694.html Since 1996, English has served as the Athletic Director at

Park University Park University is a private university in Parkville, Missouri. It was founded in 1875. In the fall of 2017, Park had an enrollment of 11,457 students. History The school which was originally called Park College was founded in 1875 by John A. ...

Parkville, Missouri Parkville is a city in Platte County, Missouri, United States and is a part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The population was 7,177 at the 2020 census (2021 est, 7,810). Parkville is known for its antique shops, art galleries, and his ...

. English served as head men's basketball coach at Park University from 1992 through 2005, being named the

American Midwest Conference The American Midwest Conference (AMC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) with 10 member institutions located in Arkansas and Missouri in the United States. History The co ...

Coach of the Year in 1996 and in 1998. In 2010, English was inducted into the McLendon Minority Athletics Administrators Hall of Fame in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

. In 2011, English was inducted into the Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame, in his hometown of

Phenix City, Alabama Phenix City is a city in Lee and Russell counties in the U.S. state of Alabama, and the county seat of Russell County. As of the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 38,817. Phenix City lies immediately west across the Chattahoochee R ...

. In 2017, English was named the American Midwest Conference Athletic Director of the Year. Of his Athletic Director career, English said "I’m just a coach who coaches the coaches. That’s the way I always see my job. I want to motivate other people the way I’m motivated."https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/sports/other-sports/article29173789.html

References

External links

Living people 1946 births American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Georgia (U.S. state) Basketball players from Columbus, Georgia College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Hartford Capitols players Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Portland Trail Blazers players Rhode Island Rams men's basketball coaches Rhode Island Rams men's basketball players Small forwards Sportspeople from Columbus, Georgia Park University {{1940s-US-basketball-bio-stub