Eugene Scape Littles (June 29, 1943 – September 10, 2021) was an 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. He played six 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 American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four ...

(ABA) for the

Carolina Cougars The Carolina Cougars were a basketball franchise in the American Basketball Association that existed from 1969 through 1974. The Cougars were originally a charter member of the ABA as the Houston Mavericks in 1967. The Mavericks moved to North ...

and

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...

between 1969 and 1975. Littles won an ABA championship with the Colonels in 1975. He later coached 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 ...

(NBA) with the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Centr ...

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and p ...

, 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 ...

Early life

Littles was born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

on June 29, 1943. He attended

McKinley Technology High School McKinley Technology High School is a public citywide 9th–12th grade high school in the District of Columbia Public Schools in Northeast Washington, D.C. The school, an offshoot of Central High School (now Cardozo Senior High School), originally ...

in his hometown. He went on to play college basketball at

High Point University High Point University is a private university in High Point, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The university was founded as High Point College in 1924, and it became High Point University in October 1991. HPU o ...

, where he is the all-time leading scorer in High Point school history, and a three-time NAIA All-American. Littles was selected in the 5th round of the

1969 NBA draft The 1969 NBA draft was the 23rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 7 and May 7, 1969, before the 1969–70 season. In this draft, fourteen NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college ...

by the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associa ...

and in the 1969 ABA draft by the

Dallas Chaparrals The Dallas Chaparrals were a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). The team moved to San Antonio, Texas for the 1973–74 season and were renamed the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs joined the National Basketball Associat ...

. He opted to play in the

ABA ABA may refer to: Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, United States * Asahi Broadcasting Aomori, Japanese television station * Australian Broadcasting Authority Education * Académie des Beaux- ...

. His playing rights were later acquired by the

Professional career

Littles made his ABA debut on October 18, 1969, scoring ten points against the Chaparrals. He played for five seasons with the Cougars from 1969 to 1974. He was named to the All-Rookie Team in 1970. He finished sixth in the league in field goal percentage (.507) that year, while recording career-highs in points (1,025), assists (282), and

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

(415). Littles led the ABA in

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

in 1972–73 with 84. He later played for one season (1974–75) with the

. He was a member of the Colonels team that won the 1975 ABA Championship. However, he had career-lows in games played (61), minutes played (900), points (215), assists (119), and rebounds (86) in his final regular season.

Coaching career

After his playing career, Littles became a coach, starting as an assistant with the

in the

NBA 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 ...

. He was then a college head coach at North Carolina A&T from 1977 to 1979, leading the team to two straight MEAC tournament championships. He was also honored as the conference's coach of the year in 1979. Littles got his first taste of NBA coaching when he was hired by the then-New Orleans Jazz in 1979 and moved with the team to Utah. He then moved over to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1982 and was subsequently given the interim head coaching job when George Karl was dismissed before the end of the 1985–86 season. However, the Cavaliers did not retain him and instead hired

Lenny Wilkens Leonard Randolph Wilkens (born October 28, 1937) is an American former basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been inducted three times into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, first in 1989 a ...

the following season. Littles was an assistant coach of 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 ...

in 1986–87, before serving in that capacity with the

for two seasons. He later received a second opportunity as NBA head coach with the Hornets, replacing

Dick Harter Richard Alvin Harter (October 14, 1930 – March 12, 2012) was an American basketball coach who served as both a head and assistant coach in both the NBA and NCAA. Early life Born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, Harter attended the University of ...

in February 1990. He lasted a season and a half with the recent-expansion Hornets, until he was replaced with Allan Bristow at the end of the 1990–91 season. Littles then briefly served as a vice president of the Hornets and special assistant to club president. Littles returned to coaching in 1992–93 as an assistant with the

. He was one of the candidates interviewed at the end of the season to be head coach of the

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

; however, the position ultimately went to Bob Weiss. Littles later became the Nuggets interim coach during the 1994–95 season, in between

Dan Issel Daniel Paul Issel (born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An outstanding collegian at the University of Kentucky, Issel was twice named an All-American en route to a school-record 25.7 points per ...

and Bernie Bickerstaff.

Later life

Littles was inducted into the

North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame The North Carolina Museum of History is a history museum located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. It is an affiliate through the Smithsonian Affiliations program. The museum is a part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archives ...

and the High Point University Athletics Hall of Fame. His number 14 was

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

by his alma mater, and a bench outside Millis Athletic Convocation Center was later named in his honor in 2019. Littles died on September 10, 2021, at the age of 78.Eugene Littles
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Head coaching record

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Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

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Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popul ...

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Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

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Denver Denver () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States#State capital, capital, and List of municipalities in Colorado#, most populous city of th ...

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References

External links

Coaching statistics
at Basketball-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Littles, Gene 1943 births 2021 deaths African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Washington, D.C. Basketball players from Washington, D.C. Carolina Cougars players Charlotte Hornets assistant coaches Charlotte Hornets head coaches Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Cleveland Cavaliers head coaches Dallas Chaparrals draft picks Denver Nuggets assistant coaches Denver Nuggets head coaches High Point Panthers men's basketball players Kentucky Colonels players New York Knicks draft picks North Carolina A&T Aggies men's basketball coaches Point guards 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people