Charles John Aleksinas (born February 26, 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He started his

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

career for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

and won an NCAA championship as a freshman in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

. Aleksinas transferred to the

UConn Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, with its main campus located in Storrs, Connecticut. The school is a member of ...

after his sophomore season and was a second-team All-Big East Conference selection in 1981. He was picked in the fourth round of the 1982 NBA draft by 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 Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

but started his career in Spain during the 1983–84 season where he earned the nickname "Asesino" ("assassin" in Spanish) because of his rough play. Aleksinas signed with the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) and played for them during the 1984–85 season. He finished his career in Spain and Italy where he played for five seasons.

High school career

Aleksinas was born in

Litchfield, Connecticut Litchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,192 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are ...

, and attended Wamogo Regional High School. He averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds per game as a junior on the basketball team. As a senior during the 1976–77 season, Aleksinas averaged 40.1 points, 19 rebounds and 5 blocks per game. He led his team to a 16–8 record and the semifinals of the Class S state semifinals where they lost to Rod Foster and St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Aleksinas scored 1,916 points during his high school career without playing his freshman year. It is the second highest scoring total of all time in the Berkshire League behind the 2,191 points set by Dave Vigeant of Litchfield High School. Aleksinas' games during his senior season were frequently attended by college coaches and he estimates that he received between 30 and 40 recruitments letters daily. On April 24, 1977, he committed to play for the

. Upon his recruitment, Wildcats head coach Joe B. Hall claimed Aleksinas "may be the best post prospect we have seen in several years" and "the strongest player we have seen since, before and after Darryl Dawkins."

College career

Aleksinas played behind Mike Phillips and Rick Robey at center during his freshman season with the Wildcats. He appeared in 28 games and averaged 3.5 points and 2.1 rebounds. The Wildcats won the 1978 NCAA Division I basketball tournament. Aleksinas moved to the starting line-up during his sophomore season and started all 13 games he played. He scored a career-high 20 points against the

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East ...

on December 23, 1978. On January 21, 1979, Aleksinas failed to show for practice and it was revealed that team officials had not heard from for two days. Aleksinas was reached at his parents' home in Kentucky by the ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is advertised as the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven and ...

'' and he announced that he had quit the team. Aleksinas felt like he was not being utilised to his best advantage and he had "different philosophies" to head coach Hall. He had been averaging 11.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game when he left. On September 7, 1979, it was announced that Aleksinas would transfer to play for the

. He sat out the 1979–80 season as a transfer student. Standing at , Aleksinas was the tallest player in Huskies history. He averaged 12.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game over his two seasons with the Huskies. Aleksinas was selected to the All-Big East Conference second-team in 1981.

Professional career

Aleksinas was selected by the

as the 76th overall pick of the 1982 NBA draft. He was released by the Bulls and instead tried to join a team in Europe. Aleksinas started his career with Estudiantes de Madrid during the 1983–84 season where he played alongside

Terry Stotts Terry Linn Stotts (born November 25, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is the top assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as head coa ...

. During a game, Aleksinas collided with an opposition player who suffered a 20-stitch cut in his hand and then knocked down another player by hitting him in the face with his elbow. The crowd started chanting "asesino" which Aleksinas mistook as his own name until he was informed by a teammate that they were calling him the Spanish word for assassin. On September 21, 1984, Aleksinas signed with the

of the

(NBA). He played as a reserve during the 1984–85 season. Aleksinas returned to Spain where he played for

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

in 1985–86 and OAR Ferrol in 1986–87. He finished his career with a stint in Italy.

Personal life

Aleksinas lives in his hometown of

Morris, Connecticut Morris is a New England town, town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,256 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region, C ...

, in the same house where he was raised. He operates his own business that specializes in selling rare auto parts. Aleksinas is of Lithuanian descent. Lithuanian authorities attempted to secure Aleksinas for the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

in 1992 but were denied by FIBA because he did not have a Lithuanian citizenship for at least three years.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aleksinas, Chuck 1959 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players American people of Lithuanian descent Basketball players from Connecticut CB Estudiantes players CB Zaragoza players Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls draft picks Golden State Warriors players Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Liga ACB players People from Litchfield, Connecticut Sportspeople from Litchfield County, Connecticut UConn Huskies men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen