Tate Claude George (born May 29, 1968) 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 who was selected by the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

with the 22nd overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

. A and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

, he played a total of four years 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 ...

for the Nets and

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

, averaging 4.2 points per game in his career.

College career and prior NBA

George is best remembered for his miraculous buzzer-beating shot to defeat Clemson in the Sweet Sixteen of the 1990 NCAA Tournament. With only one second left in the game and UConn down by 1 point,

Scott Burrell Scott David Burrell (born January 12, 1971) is an American basketball coach and former player who is currently the men's basketball head coach at Southern Connecticut State University. He has played internationally and was also a professional bas ...

threw a full court pass to George. George caught the pass, spun around and released a 15-footer with 1 second on the clock. The shot fell through as time expired, and UConn won the game. George was a member of the CBA-champion Quad City Thunder in 1993–94, with George averaging 16.4 per game. The Thunder defeated the

Omaha Racers The Omaha Racers were an American minor league basketball team based in Omaha, Nebraska. The franchise played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1989 to 1997. The team's franchise liage started in 1982 as the Wisconsin Flyers ...

4–1 in the finals, winning last three on road to claim the title. The Thunder won the opener in double overtime after George tied the game with last-second buckets at both the end of regulation and of the first overtime. The Thunder then lost the second game in triple overtime, but won three straight in Omaha, the last in OT.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" ,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, 56 , , 11 , , 10.6 , , .415 , , .000 , , .800 , , 0.8 , , 1.9 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 3.4 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" ,

, 70 , , 2 , , 14.8 , , .427 , , .167 , , .821 , , 1.5 , , 2.3 , , 0.6 , , 0.0 , , 6.0 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

, 48 , , 1 , , 7.9 , , .378 , , .000 , , .833 , , 0.6 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 2.5 , - , align="left" , 1994–95 , align="left" ,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 2.7 , , .333 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 177 , , 14 , , 11.4 , , .414 , , .071 , , .820 , , 1.0 , , 1.8 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 4.2

Playoffs

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, 4 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .304 , , .000 , , .333 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 3.8 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

, 2 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .286 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.5 , , 3.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 6 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .300 , , .000 , , .333 , , 0.5 , , 2.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 3.2

Ponzi scheme

George founded ''The George Group'', a

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. ...

firm based in

West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from the 46,207 counted in the 2010 Census.

.Hughes, C. J. "After Sports Careers, Vying in the Real Estate Arena," ''The New York Times'', Wednesday, July 21, 2010.
/ref> On September 23, 2011, George surrendered to authorities on fraud charges related to his alleged operation of a

Ponzi scheme A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors. Named after Italian businessman Charles Ponzi, the scheme leads victims to believe that profits are comi ...

while CEO of The George Group. On September 30, 2013, George was found guilty on four counts of federal

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activit ...

. Each count carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. His bail was immediately revoked, and was scheduled to be sentenced January 16, 2014. On January 21, 2016, in New Jersey federal court, George was sentenced to nine years in prison for his involvement in the aforementioned Ponzi scheme. Upon his release he is ordered to pay $2.5 million in restitution. He will also be on three years of supervised release after serving his sentence. In September 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a 2019 Tax Court decision that George was liable for unpaid taxes on his NBA pension payment for 2013. George had argued that his incarceration should excuse his failure to file a return or to pay tax beyond the amount withheld from his pension payment.

References

External links

College & NBA stats
@ basketballreference.com
The George GroupOne on One with Tate George
@ nbrpa.com (May 6, 2005 article)
Success, by George!
by Phillip Lee (Oct 6, 2008 article) {{DEFAULTSORT:George, Tate 1968 births Living people African-American basketball players American businesspeople convicted of crimes American men's basketball players American real estate businesspeople American white-collar criminals Basketball players from Newark, New Jersey Connecticut Pride players Fort Wayne Fury players Milwaukee Bucks players New Jersey Nets draft picks New Jersey Nets players Point guards Quad City Thunder players Rockford Lightning players Sportspeople from Newark, New Jersey UConn Huskies men's basketball players Union Catholic Regional High School alumni 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople