Chuck Connors Person (born June 28, 1964) is an American former

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 and coach. Person played 14 seasons in 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 was the 1987

NBA Rookie of the Year The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottlieb T ...

. Person played

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 ...

for the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

and was selected fourth overall in the 1986 NBA draft by the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

, for whom he played six seasons. He also played for the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

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 Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

and Seattle SuperSonics. His 17-year coaching career ended when Person was ensnared in a college recruitment scandal and pleaded guilty to a bribery charge.

Early life and college

Born in Brantley, Alabama, Person was named after NBA player, MLB player, and actor

Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have played in both Majo ...

. He attended Brantley High School in Brantley, Alabama and played

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

. He was the most prolific scorer in Auburn basketball history. Person was a four-year letter winner at Auburn from 1982 to 1986, helping the team to Auburn's first three NCAA Tournament appearances (1984–1986), including a trip to the Elite Eight in 1986. He also helped Auburn win the 1985 SEC Tournament, for which he was named Tournament MVP as Auburn was the first league school to win four tournament games in four days. Person, who played alongside fellow Auburn greats

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT and CBS Sports. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "the Bread Truck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", ...

and Chris Morris, is the all-time scoring leader in Auburn history, with 2,311 points in 126 games for an 18.3 ppg mark, which is sixth all time in school history. He is also the school record-holder for field goals made (1,017) and field goals attempted (1,899) and is third in total rebounds (940). Person was a two-time All-American (1985, 1986), a three-time First Team All-SEC selection and was selected to ESPN's SEC Silver Anniversary Team. Nicknamed "the Rifleman", he had his No. 45 jersey retired at Auburn on February 18, 2006.

Professional career

Indiana Pacers (1986–1992)

Person was selected fourth in the 1986 NBA draft by the

; the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

won the Rookie of the Year award in 1987 and played six seasons with Indiana. Person averaged a career-high 21.6 points in 1988. During his NBA playing years he was known as "the Rifleman" due to his 3-point shooting ability and the fact that he was named after

, star of the TV series ''

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television series starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...

''. While a member of the Pacers, Person engaged in a brief on-court rivalry with

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend" Bird is widely regarded a ...

of the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

, which reached its peak when the two teams faced off in the 1991 NBA playoffs. In their first-round series encounter, Person would average 26 points on 55% shooting from 3-point distance, including a 39-point performance in Game 2 at

Boston Garden The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (later ...

. Person also scored 30 points in a series-tying Game 4 victory at

Market Square Arena Market Square Arena (MSA) was an indoor arena in Indianapolis. Completed in 1974, at a cost of $23 million, it seated 16,530 for basketball and 15,993 for ice hockey. Seating capacity for concerts and other events was adjusted by the use of larg ...

, before dropping 32 points in an eventual Game 5 defeat in Boston. The emergence of

Reggie Miller Reginald Wayne Miller (born August 24, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, played his entire 18-year career in the National Basketball Assoc ...

as an all-star shooter made Person expendable, and in the 1992 offseason he was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, along with Micheal Williams, in a deal that sent Sam Mitchell and Pooh Richardson to Indiana.

Minnesota Timberwolves (1992–1994)

Person played only two seasons with the Timberwolves. He averaged a career-low 11.6 points in 1993–94.

San Antonio Spurs (1994–1998)

Person played for the San Antonio Spurs from 1994 through 1998. His "Rifleman" nickname remained apt, as he not only set the NBA season record for three-pointers by a reserve player, with 164 during the 1994–95 season (a mark surpassed in 2015–16 by the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

' Mirza Teletović), but he also set the Spurs' season record for three-pointers at 190 made during the 1995–96 season (a record that stood until Danny Green surpassed it in 2014–15). Person missed the entire 1996–97 season due to injury.

Other teams

Person played one season each with the Charlotte Hornets (1999) and Seattle SuperSonics before retiring from the NBA in 2000.

Coaching career

Cleveland Cavaliers

After Person was traded by Seattle to the Lakers, who waived him (though he had already decided to retire) in 2000, he joined

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 Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

head coach John Lucas's staff as an assistant for the

2000–01 NBA season The 2000–01 NBA season was the 55th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their second straight championship, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 1 in the 2001 NBA Finals. No ...

Indiana Pacers

He was then a player-relations assistant and scout to president Donnie Walsh in the Pacers' front office from January 2003 until July 2005, when he moved to an assistant-coaching position within the organization. In 2007, he interviewed unsuccessfully for both the Pacers' and the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

' vacant head-coaching positions.

Sacramento Kings

Person became an assistant coach for Sacramento in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, but he left the Kings after head coach

Reggie Theus Reginald Wayne Theus (born October 13, 1957) is an American basketball coach and former player. He played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a two-time NBA All-Star. He is currently the men's basketball head co ...

was fired in mid-December 2008. After his first season with the Kings, Person was interviewed for 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 ...

' head-coaching vacancy but ultimately was not hired. Upon leaving Sacramento, Person returned to his home town of Brantley, Alabama in 2008 for an eight-month break after 23 years of playing, administrating, and coaching.

Los Angeles Lakers

He was invited to be

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

coach

Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jackson is a 13-time NBA champion, having won two as a player and 11 as ...

's assistant in 2009. In March 2010, he interviewed for the head coaching job for the men's team at his alma mater,

, but was not successful, despite positive feedback. He returned to his job with the Lakers after the interview. Lakers head coach

Mike D'Antoni Michael Andrew D'Antoni (born May 8, 1951) is an American-Italian professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). While h ...

took over from Mike Brown in the middle of the 2012–13 season, and kept all of Brown's assistants, including Person. However, Person was fired after the season; he was the last remaining member from Jackson's Lakers staff.

Jeonju KCC Egis

In the summer of 2013, Person joined the coaching staff as an associate head coach in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

for the

Jeonju KCC Egis The Busan KCC Egis () is a professional basketball club based in Busan, South Korea. The team competes in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) and has established a substantial fanbase in South Korea. Founded in 1997, the team was initially based i ...

in the

Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League () or simply KBL is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular s ...

Auburn associate head coach

On April 7, 2014, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl hired Person as an assistant coach. He was promoted to associate head coach in May 2015 and was one of the top assistant coaches and recruiters in the nation before his arrest and subsequent release in September 2017 as part of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball corruption scandal.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1982–83 , style="text-align:left;", Auburn , 28 , , 20 , , 22.7 , , .541 , , – , , .758 , , 4.6 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .2 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1983–84 , style="text-align:left;", Auburn , 31 , , 31 , , 34.8 , , .543 , , – , , .728 , , 8.0 , , 1.2 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 19.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1984–85 , style="text-align:left;", Auburn , 34 , , 34 , , 36.5 , , .544 , , – , , .738 , , 8.9 , , 2.0 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 22.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1985–86 , style="text-align:left;", Auburn , 33 , , 33 , , 36.2 , , .519 , , – , , .804 , , 7.9 , , .9 , , .9 , , .4 , , 21.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 126 , , 118 , , 32.9 , , .536 , , – , , .757 , , 7.5 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 18.3

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, 82 , , 78 , , 36.0 , , .468 , , .355 , , .747 , , 8.3 , , 3.6 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 18.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , 71 , , 35.5 , , .459 , , .333 , , .670 , , 6.8 , , 3.9 , , .9 , , .1 , , 17.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 79 , , 37.7 , , .489 , , .307 , , .792 , , 6.5 , , 3.6 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 21.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 77 , , 73 , , 35.2 , , .487 , , .372 , , .781 , , 5.8 , , 3.0 , , .7 , , .3 , , 19.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 79 , , 32.1 , , .504 , , .340 , , .721 , , 5.2 , , 3.0 , , .7 , , .2 , , 18.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 36.1 , , .480 , , .373 , , .675 , , 5.3 , , 4.7 , , .8 , , .2 , , 18.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, 78 , , 75 , , 38.3 , , .433 , , .355 , , .649 , , 5.6 , , 4.4 , , .9 , , .4 , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 77 , , 37 , , 26.4 , , .422 , , .368 , , .759 , , 3.3 , , 2.4 , , .6 , , .2 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, 81 , , 1 , , 25.1 , , .423 , , .387 , , .647 , , 3.2 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .1 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 16 , , 26.6 , , .437 , , .410 , , .644 , , 5.2 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .3 , , 10.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 61 , , 11 , , 23.9 , , .359 , , .344 , , .757 , , 3.3 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .2 , , 6.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Charlotte , style="background:#cfecec;", 50* , , 21 , , 19.8 , , .388 , , .350 , , .750 , , 2.6 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .2 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, 37 , , 0 , , 9.2 , , .301 , , .253 , , .500 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , .1 , , .1 , , 2.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 943 , , 622 , , 30.7 , , .458 , , .362 , , .723 , , 5.1 , , 2.8 , , .7 , , .2 , , 14.7 , -

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 39.8 , , .514 , , .250 , , .769 , , 8.3 , , 5.0 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 27.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 3 , , 41.0 , , .378 , , .100 , , .417 , , 6.7 , , 4.0 , , .3 , , .0 , , 13.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 38.4 , , .533 , , .548 , , .810 , , 5.6 , , 3.2 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 26.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 3 , , 3 , , 39.3 , , .404 , , .333 , , .667 , , 3.0 , , 2.3 , , .7 , , .0 , , 17.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 15 , , 0 , , 17.2 , , .351 , , .289 , , .727 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , .3 , , .5 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 0 , , 28.4 , , .532 , , .532 , , .824 , , 4.0 , , 1.6 , , .2 , , .3 , , 12.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 0 , , 21.8 , , .340 , , .350 , , 1.000 , , 3.0 , , .8 , , .4 , , .0 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 0 , , 1.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 51 , , 15 , , 26.1 , , .448 , , .391 , , .737 , , 3.6 , , 1.7 , , .5 , , .2 , , 11.3 , -

Personal life

He is the older brother of former NBA player Wesley Person. He was married to Carmen Person. He is the father of two daughters, Millicent and Tiffany and one son, Chuck Jr.

Guilty plea and sentence

Person was arrested by federal law enforcement on September 25, 2017, in Alabama, after being indicted by a federal grand jury on six felony counts: bribery conspiracy, solicitation of bribes and gratuities, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, honest services wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and travel act conspiracy after allegedly accepting kickbacks for steering student-athletes to financial managers. Person was suspended without pay by Auburn University the day after his arrest and was fired by Auburn University on November 7, 2017. Others were indicted by the

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

on corruption charges around the same time. Person pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit bribery on March 19, 2019; as part of the plea agreement, Person agreed to forfeit $91,500. On July 17, 2019, U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska sentenced Person to two years of probation and 200 hours of community service, finding that "No purpose would be served by incarceration" and citing Person's long record of giving charity.Larry Neumeister
Former Auburn assistant basketball coach avoids prison
Associated Press (July 17, 2019). During the sentencing hearing, Person expressed remorse for taking bribes to steer college athletes to a financial adviser who turned out to be a government informant. Preska rejected prosecutors' argument that Person was motivated by "insatiable greed" and described Person during the sentencing hearing as "charitable to a fault"; she told him, "Keep up the good work."

References

External links

2013 interview with Person
(in English with Korean subtitles) {{DEFAULTSORT:Person, Chuck 1964 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in South Korea American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Auburn Tigers men's basketball coaches Auburn Tigers men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Alabama Basketball players from Alabama Charlotte Hornets players Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Indiana Pacers assistant coaches Indiana Pacers draft picks Indiana Pacers players Busan KCC Egis coaches Los Angeles Lakers assistant coaches Medalists at the 1985 Summer Universiade Minnesota Timberwolves players People from Crenshaw County, Alabama Sacramento Kings assistant coaches San Antonio Spurs players Seattle SuperSonics players Small forwards Summer World University Games medalists in basketball FISU World University Games silver medalists for the United States

Early life and college

Professional career

Indiana Pacers (1986–1992)

Minnesota Timberwolves (1992–1994)

San Antonio Spurs (1994–1998)

Other teams

Coaching career

Cleveland Cavaliers

Indiana Pacers

Sacramento Kings

Los Angeles Lakers

Jeonju KCC Egis

Auburn associate head coach

Career statistics

College

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

Guilty plea and sentence

See also

References

External links