Charles MacArthur Kornegay Uzzell (; born 28 September 1974) is a former professional

basketball player 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 ...

. Born in the United States, he played for the Spain national team. The 2.06 m, 107 kg power forward gained notoriety at

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

, before going on to star for the

Raleigh Cougars The Raleigh Cougars was a United States Basketball League team based in Raleigh, North Carolina from 1997 to 1999. The team included many well known players from local colleges. The team played its home games at Dorton Arena. The Cougars were ...

of the

USBL The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

, and ultimately overseas. Cougars fans called him the "Chuck-wagon", "Chuck Diesel" and "Korn-dawg".

Basketball career

As a

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 (appro ...

standout at Southern Wayne High School in Dudley, North Carolina, Kornegay was heavily recruited by American universities. He signed with nearby school,

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

. He played at NCSU for the Wolfpack during the 1993–1994 season, before transferring to

in suburban

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He played there for three seasons and led the Wildcats to the

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

conference championships in 1995 and 1997. During his career at Villanova, the team won 70 of 93 games and was rated as high as #2 nationally by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. He ended his collegiate career with averages of 7.3 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game. After graduation, Kornegay was selected by the

Yakima Sun Kings The Yakima SunKings were a basketball team located in Yakima, Washington, covering the central Washington sports market of Yakima, Tri-Cities, and Ellensburg and plays at the Yakima SunDome. The team competed in the Continental Basketball Assoc ...

in the 3rd round with the 28th overall pick of the 1997 CBA draft. Instead of joining the CBA, Kornegay returned to his home state of North Carolina to star for the

in the 1997–1998 season, forming a formidable frontline with

Lorenzo Charles Lorenzo Emile Charles (November 25, 1963 – June 27, 2011) was an American college and professional basketball player. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Charles played collegiately for the NC State Wolfpack and scored the game-winning poin ...

and

Greg Newton Gregory Michael Newton (born September 7, 1974) is a Canadian former professional basketball player. He played four years of college basketball at Duke University and served as team captain during his senior year. College career He was a center ...

. In 1998, Kornegay played professional basketball in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

for the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL ...

of the NBL. After his stint down under, Kornegay moved to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, and played for a number of teams there before eventually hanging on with the Spanish team Unicaja Malaga of the Euroleague. He patrolled the pivot there from 2001 to 2004, and even represented

in their 3rd-place run through the 2001 European Basketball Championship in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. In 2005, Kornegay returned to Turkey to play for Besiktas ColaTurka of the

Turkish Basketball League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The ...

(TBL). After his stint in Turkey, Kornegay moved back to Spain to play for Etosa Alicante. He coaches annually at his old college, Villanova, for summer basketball camp. The team he coached at the camp won the high school championship in 2012. In September 2015, Kornegay was announced as Basketball Coach at Souderton (PA) HS.

Achievements

*1997 Villanova University defensive player of the year *1997

All-Rookie Team *1998 named to second team all nbl (Australia) *1999 appeared in acb league finals *2001 Won Bronze at European Basketball Championship *2001 appeared in acb league finals *2002–2003 Led Euroleague in Blocked Shots *1999–2000 voted acb league most exciting player *2004 appeared in acb league finals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kornegay, Charles 1974 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American emigrants to Spain Naturalised citizens of Spain Spanish people of African-American descent Naturalised basketball players American men's basketball players Baloncesto Málaga players Basketball players from North Carolina Brisbane Bullets players CB Lucentum Alicante players Liga ACB players Menorca Bàsquet players NC State Wolfpack men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Real Betis Baloncesto players Spanish men's basketball players Sportspeople of American descent Villanova Wildcats men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen