Chuck Person
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Chuck Connors Person (born June 28, 1964) is an American former
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player and coach. Person played 14 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 St ...
(NBA) and was the 1987
NBA Rookie of the Year The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottl ...
. Person played college basketball at Auburn University and was selected fourth overall in the 1986 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers, for whom he played six seasons. He also played for the
Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...
,
San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...
, Charlotte Hornets and
Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...
. His 17-year coaching career ended when Person was ensnared in a college recruitment scandal and pleaded guilty to a bribery charge.


High school and college

Born in
Brantley, Alabama Brantley is a city in Crenshaw County, Alabama, United States. Brantley is also commonly known as a speed trap town by the locals of Alabama. At the 2020 census, the population was 825. Brantley was incorporated in 1891 as a city. Geography B ...
, Person was named after NBA player, MLB player, and actor
Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have p ...
. He attended Brantley High School in
Brantley, Alabama Brantley is a city in Crenshaw County, Alabama, United States. Brantley is also commonly known as a speed trap town by the locals of Alabama. At the 2020 census, the population was 825. Brantley was incorporated in 1891 as a city. Geography B ...
and played
college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
at Auburn University. He was the most prolific scorer in Auburn basketball history. Person was a four-year letter winner at Auburn from 1982 to 1986, helping the team to Auburn's first three NCAA Tournament appearances (1984–1986), including a trip to the Elite Eight in 1986. He also helped Auburn win the 1985 SEC Tournament, for which he was named Tournament MVP as Auburn was the first league school to win four tournament games in four days. Person, who played alongside fellow Auburn greats
Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons ...
and Chris Morris, is the all-time scoring leader in Auburn history, with 2,311 points in 126 games for an 18.3 ppg mark, which is sixth all time in school history. He is also the school record-holder for field goals made (1,017) and field goals attempted (1,899) and is third in total rebounds (940). Person was a two-time All-American (1985, 1986), a three-time First Team All-SEC selection and was selected to ESPN's SEC Silver Anniversary Team. Nicknamed "The Rifleman", he had his No. 45 jersey retired at Auburn on February 18, 2006. Auburn upset No. 1 ranked St. John's University on its way to an Elite Eight appearance.


Professional career


Indiana Pacers (1986–1992)

Person was selected fourth in the 1986 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers; the
small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger ...
won the
Rookie of the Year award A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
in 1987 and played six seasons with Indiana. Person averaged a career-high 21.6 points in 1988. During his NBA playing years he was known as "The Rifleman" due to his 3-point shooting ability and the fact that he was named after
Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have p ...
, star of the TV series ''
The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...
''. Person was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, along with
Micheal Williams Micheal Douglas Williams (born July 23, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player turned businessman that played the point guard position in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He holds the NBA record for most consecutive ...
, in a deal that sent Sam Mitchell and
Pooh Richardson Jerome "Pooh" Richardson Jr. (born May 14, 1966) is an American former basketball player who played 10 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected in the first round of the 1989 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, th ...
to Indiana in 1993.


Minnesota Timberwolves (1992–1994)

Person played only two seasons with the Timberwolves. He averaged a career-low 11.6 points in 1993–94.


San Antonio Spurs (1994–1998)

Person played for the San Antonio Spurs from 1994 through 1998. His "Rifleman" nickname remained apt, as he not only set the NBA season record for three-pointers by a reserve player, with 164 during the 1994–95 season (a mark surpassed in 2015–16 by the Phoenix Suns'
Mirza Teletović Mirza Teletović (born September 18, 1985) is a Bosnian former professional basketball player who was the president of the Basketball Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2018 to 2022. As a player, he spent six seasons in the National Basketb ...
), but he also set the Spurs' season record for three-pointers at 190 made during the 1995–96 season (a record that stood until Danny Green surpassed it in 2014–15). Person missed the entire 1996–97 season due to injury.


Other teams

Person played one season each with the Charlotte Hornets (1999) and Seattle SuperSonics before retiring from the NBA in 2000.


Post-playing career


Cleveland Cavaliers

After Person was traded by Seattle to the Lakers, who waived him (though he had already decided to retire) in 2000, he joined Cleveland Cavaliers head coach John Lucas's staff as an assistant for the 2000–01 NBA season.


Indiana Pacers

He was then a player-relations assistant and scout to president Donnie Walsh in the Pacers' front office from January 2003 until July 2005, when he moved to an assistant-coaching position within the organization. In 2007, he interviewed unsuccessfully for both the Pacers' and the
Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
' vacant head-coaching positions.


Sacramento Kings

Person became an assistant coach for Sacramento in 2007, but he left the Kings after head coach
Reggie Theus Reginald Wayne Theus (born October 13, 1957) is an American basketball coach and former player. He played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a two-time NBA All-Star. He is currently the head men's basketball he ...
was fired in mid-December 2008. After his first season with the Kings, Person was interviewed for the
Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...
' head-coaching vacancy but ultimately was not hired. Upon leaving Sacramento, Person returned to his home town of
Brantley, Alabama Brantley is a city in Crenshaw County, Alabama, United States. Brantley is also commonly known as a speed trap town by the locals of Alabama. At the 2020 census, the population was 825. Brantley was incorporated in 1891 as a city. Geography B ...
in 2008 for an eight-month break after 23 years of playing, administrating, and coaching.


Los Angeles Lakers

He was invited to be
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 ...
coach
Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning NBA championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and ...
's assistant in 2009. In March 2010, he interviewed for the head coaching job for the men's team at his alma mater, Auburn University, but was not successful, despite positive feedback. He returned to his job with the Lakers after the interview. Lakers head coach
Mike D'Antoni Michael D'Andrew D'Antoni (born May 8, 1951) is an Italian-American professional basketball coach and former player who is a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). While head coach of the Ph ...
took over from Mike Brown in the middle of the 2012–13 season, and kept all of Brown's assistants, including Person. However, Person was fired after the season; he was the last remaining member from Jackson's Lakers staff.


Jeonju KCC Egis

In the summer of 2013, Person joined the coaching staff as an associate head coach in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
for the
Jeonju KCC Egis The Jeonju KCC Egis is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League. Current roster Enlisted players Honours Domestic Korean Basketball League *KBL Championship :: Winners (5): 1997–98, 1998– ...
in the Korean Basketball League.


Auburn associate head coach

On April 7, 2014, Auburn head coach
Bruce Pearl Bruce Alan Pearl (born March 18, 1960) is an American college basketball coach, and the head coach of the Auburn Tigers men's basketball team. He previously served as the head coach at Tennessee, Milwaukee, and Southern Indiana. Pearl led Southe ...
hired Person as an assistant coach. He was promoted to associate head coach in May 2015 and was one of the top assistant coaches and recruiters in the nation before his arrest and subsequent release in September 2017 as part of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball corruption scandal.


Personal life

He is the older brother of former NBA player
Wesley Person Wesley Lavon Person (born March 28, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After his playing career, Person became a women's basketball assistant coach and then the he ...
. He was married to Carmen Person. He is the father of two daughters, Millicent and Tiffany and one son, Chuck Jr.


Guilty plea and sentence

Person was arrested by federal law enforcement on September 25, 2017 in Alabama, after being indicted by a federal grand jury on six felony counts: bribery conspiracy, solicitation of bribes and gratuities, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, honest services wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and travel act conspiracy after allegedly accepting kickbacks for steering student-athletes to financial managers. Person was suspended without pay by Auburn University the day after his arrest and was fired by Auburn University on November 7, 2017. Others were indicted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York on corruption charges around the same time. Person pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit bribery on March 19, 2019; as part of the plea agreement, Person agreed to
forfeit Forfeit or forfeiture may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Forfeit'', a 2007 thriller film starring Billy Burke * "Forfeit", a song by Chevelle from ''Wonder What's Next'' * ''Forfeit/Fortune'', a 2008 album by Crooked Fingers L ...
$91,500. On July 17, 2019, U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska sentenced Person to two years of probation and 200 hours of community service, finding that "No purpose would be served by incarceration" and citing Person's long record of giving charity.Larry Neumeister
Former Auburn assistant basketball coach avoids prison
Associated Press (July 17, 2019).
During the sentencing hearing, Person expressed remorse for taking bribes to steer college athletes to a financial adviser who turned out to be a government informant. Preska rejected prosecutors' argument that Person was motivated by "insatiable greed" and described Person during the sentencing hearing as "charitable to a fault"; she told him, "Keep up the good work."


See also

*


References


External links


2013 interview with Person
(in English with Korean subtitles) {{DEFAULTSORT:Person, Chuck 1964 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in South Korea American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Auburn Tigers men's basketball coaches Auburn Tigers men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Alabama Basketball players from Alabama Charlotte Hornets players Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Indiana Pacers assistant coaches Indiana Pacers draft picks Indiana Pacers players Jeonju KCC Egis coaches Los Angeles Lakers assistant coaches Medalists at the 1985 Summer Universiade Minnesota Timberwolves players People from Crenshaw County, Alabama Sacramento Kings assistant coaches San Antonio Spurs players Seattle SuperSonics players Small forwards Universiade medalists in basketball Universiade silver medalists for the United States 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople