Claude W. English (born December 26, 1946) 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 and collegiate coach. He spent one season 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) with the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

during their inaugural 1970–71 season. He was drafted by the Blazers in the seventh round (110 pick overall) during the

1970 NBA draft The 1970 NBA draft was the 24th annual NBA draft, draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 23, 1970, before the 1970–71 NBA season, 1970–71 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amate ...

from the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of Rhode Island. The univer ...

. English played in the Eastern Basketball Association (EBA) for the

Hartford Capitols The Hartford Capitols were a professional basketball team in the Eastern Professional Basketball League (later re-named the Eastern Basketball Association) from 1966 through 1974. The Capitols played on weekends only and played at various venues a ...

and Cherry Hill Pros from 1971 to 1975. He won an EBA championship with the Capitols in 1974.

Coaching/Athletic Director Career

English returned to the University of Rhode Island, where he began a tenure as an assistant basketball coach shortly after his NBA career ended. English then served as the head coach at Rhode Island from 1980 to 1984. Since 1996, English has served as the athletic director at

Park University Park University is a private university in Parkville, Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1875. In the fall of 2023, Park had an enrollment of 6,389 students. History The school which was originally called Park College was founded in ...

Parkville, Missouri Parkville is a city in Platte County, Missouri, Platte County, Missouri, United States and is a part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The population was 7,177 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. According to the 2022 census, the ...

. English served as head men's basketball coach at Park University from 1992 through 2005, being named the American Midwest Conference Coach of the Year in 1996 and in 1998. In 2010, English was inducted into the McLendon Minority Athletics Administrators Hall of Fame in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

. In 2011, English was inducted into the Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame, in his hometown of

Phenix City, Alabama Phenix City is a city in Lee and Russell counties in the U.S. state of Alabama, and the county seat of Russell County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 38,817. Phenix City lies immediately west across the Chattahoochee ...

. In 2017, English was named the American Midwest Conference Athletic Director of the Year. Of his athletic director career, English said "I’m just a coach who coaches the coaches. That’s the way I always see my job. I want to motivate other people the way I’m motivated."

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

References

External links

Living people 1946 births American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Georgia (U.S. state) Basketball players from Columbus, Georgia College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Hartford Capitols players Park Pirates men's basketball coaches Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Portland Trail Blazers players Rhode Island Rams men's basketball coaches Rhode Island Rams men's basketball players Small forwards Sportspeople from Columbus, Georgia 20th-century American sportsmen {{1940s-US-basketball-bio-stub