Clyde Edward Austin (born November 1, 1957) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he emerged as a prospect while playing for

Maggie L. Walker High School The Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies (MLWGSGIS) is a public regional magnet high school in Richmond, Virginia. One of the 18 Virginia Governor's Schools, it draws students from 14 jurisdictions: the ...

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, where he is considered one of the area's greatest high school basketball players. Austin played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

NC State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for college foot ...

and was an honorable mention All-American during his sophomore season. He was selected by the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

as the 44th overall pick in the

1980 NBA draft The 1980 NBA draft was the 34th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 10, 1980, at the Sheraton Centre Hotel & Towers, before the 1980–81 season. In this draft, 23 NBA teams took turns select ...

but never played in the

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

(NBA). Austin played for the

Philadelphia Kings The Lancaster Red Roses were a professional basketball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. From 1946 to 1949 and from 1953 to 1955, they played in the Eastern Professional Basketball League, of which the Red Roses were one of the six original ...

of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

for 13 games in 1980. He then joined the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name '' Harlem'' because of ...

for eight years. After his retirement from playing, Austin became a pastor and founded 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 ow ...

of the

United States Basketball League 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 ...

(USBL) in 1997. The team was disestablished mid-season in 1999 following his unexplained absence from the team. In 2004, Austin was sentenced to 17 years in prison for running a national

pyramid scheme A pyramid scheme is a business model that recruits members via a promise of payments or services for enrolling others into the scheme, rather than supplying investments or sale of products. As recruiting multiplies, recruiting becomes quickly im ...

in which he stole $16 million from his investors between 1996 and 2000. He swindled the money while serving as a pastor and convinced his victims, including seminar attendees, to invest their money in

bonds Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical ...

, overseas trading, real estate and the marketing of products including herbs and weight-loss aids. Austin received an early release from prison and was working at the

University of Nevada-Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

as of 2017.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1976–77 , style="text-align:left;",

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest u ...

, 28 , , – , , – , , .485 , , – , , .738 , , 2.5 , , 5.0 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , 12.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1977–78 , style="text-align:left;",

, 29 , , – , , – , , .457 , , – , , .664 , , 3.5 , , 4.2 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1978–79 , style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , – , , – , , .488 , , – , , .699 , , 3.2 , , 4.0 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1979–80 , style="text-align:left;",

, 28 , , – , , – , , .511 , , – , , .700 , , 2.6 , , 3.3 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 8.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 115 , , – , , – , , .483 , , – , , .696 , , 3.0 , , 4.1 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , 12.0

References

External links

College statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Clyde 1957 births Living people 20th-century American criminals African-American basketball players American male criminals American men's basketball players American people convicted of fraud American sportspeople convicted of crimes Harlem Globetrotters players NC State Wolfpack men's basketball players Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Point guards Pyramid and Ponzi schemes Basketball players from Raleigh, North Carolina