Jay Fletcher Vincent (born June 10, 1959) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. A 6'7" forward, Vincent played at Michigan State University under coach, Jud Heathcote, where he teamed with Magic Johnson and

Greg Kelser Gregory Kelser (born September 17, 1957) is a retired American basketball player and current television color commentator. Kelser was a key member of the 1979 NCAA Champion Michigan State Spartans and spent six seasons playing professionally in t ...

to win the 1979 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. Vincent won the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

scoring championship in his junior and senior years. He was then selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the second round of the

1981 NBA draft The 1981 NBA draft was the 35th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 9, 1981, before the 1981–82 season. The draft was broadcast in the United States on the USA Network. In this draft, 23 NBA t ...

(24th overall pick), and he went on to have a productive 9-year NBA career, playing for the Mavericks (1981–86),

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

(1986–87), Denver Nuggets (1987–89),

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 ...

(1989), Philadelphia 76ers (1989–1990) and Los Angeles Lakers (1990). He concluded his NBA career in 1990 with 8,729 career points, 3,167 career rebounds, and 1,124 career assists. Vincent is the older brother of seven-year NBA player and former NBA coach

Sam Vincent James Samuel Vincent (born May 18, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Vincent won the State of Michigan "Mr. Basketball" award in 1981, the first year the award was given. He attended Lansing's Eastern High Sch ...

. In August 2010 it was revealed that an

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...

, company owned by Vincent was involved in a scam that defrauded about 20,000 people across the United States out of more than $2 million. On August 18, 2010, Vincent and another man were indicted by a federal grand jury on mail fraud charges stemming from conduct between 2006 and 2009. Vincent later pleaded guilty.Jay Vincent guilty in Internet scam
/ref> In July 2011 he voluntarily revoked his bond and was jailed ahead of his September 2011 sentencing. He was sentenced to five and a half years in prison on September 2, 2011. Upon being released in March 2016, he worked as a manager at a Battle Creek, Michigan, based restaurant called Juicy Burger until his release from parole in July 2016.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vincent, Jay 1959 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players American people convicted of fraud American sportspeople convicted of crimes Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino players Basketball players from Michigan Dallas Mavericks draft picks Dallas Mavericks players Denver Nuggets players Libertas Liburnia Basket Livorno players Los Angeles Lakers players Michigan State Spartans men's basketball players Philadelphia 76ers players Power forwards (basketball) San Antonio Spurs players Small forwards Sportspeople from Kalamazoo, Michigan Washington Bullets players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople