Sam Vincent (basketball)
Encyclopedia
James Samuel "Sam" Vincent (born May 18, 1963 in Lansing, Michigan
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...

) is a retired American professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player and the former head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...

. In 2008 Sam was named the head coach of the Anaheim Arsenal
Anaheim Arsenal
The Anaheim Arsenal was a professional basketball team which played in NBA Development League from 2006-2009. They played their home games at the Anaheim Convention Center, in Anaheim, California....

 of the NBA Developmental league.

Vincent won the State of Michigan "Mr. Basketball" award in 1981, the first year the award was given. He attended Lansing's Eastern High School
Eastern High School (Michigan)
Eastern High School is a public high school in Lansing, Michigan as part of the Lansing School District.Eastern International Baccalaureate Magnet High School is the only high school in mid-Michigan authorized to offer students the opportunity to earn a prestigious International Baccalaureate...

, where he scored 61 points in one game as a senior, breaking the previous city scoring record of 54 set by Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers...

 at Everett High School
Everett High School (Michigan)
Everett High School is a public high school located on the south side of Lansing, Michigan. It is currently the music and performing arts magnet school for the Lansing School District....

.

A 6'2" point guard
Point guard
Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...

, Vincent followed in the footsteps of his older brother Jay Vincent
Jay Vincent
Jay Fletcher Vincent is a retired American professional basketball player.A 6'7" forward, Vincent played at Michigan State University under coach, Jud Heathcote, where he teamed with Magic Johnson and Greg Kelser to win the 1979 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament...

, attending Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

 and earning Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...

All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...

 honors in 1985. After graduating from college, he was selected by the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...

 with the twentieth pick of the 1985 NBA Draft
1985 NBA Draft
The 1985 NBA Draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA Draft of the "Lottery" era. A total of 162 players were selected over 7 rounds by the league's 23 teams. The New York Knicks were awarded the first overall pick, by winning the first-ever NBA Draft Lottery, which was held...

. He played two seasons for the Celtics, winning an NBA Championship
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....

 ring as a reserve in 1986, before joining the Seattle SuperSonics
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...

, who promptly traded him to the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...

 for Sedale Threatt
Sedale Threatt
Sedale Eugene Threatt is a retired American basketball player in the NBA. He played college basketball at the West Virginia Institute of Technology from 1979 to 1983...

. After one-and-a-half solid seasons with the Bulls, he was selected by the Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy...

 in the 1989 NBA expansion draft
Expansion draft
An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or franchises. This occurs mainly in North American sports. One of the ways of stocking the new team or teams is an expansion draft...

, and he finished his NBA career with the Magic in 1992
1991-92 NBA season
-Statistics leaders:-NBA awards:*Most Valuable Player: Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls*Rookie of the Year: Larry Johnson, Charlotte Hornets*Defensive Player of the Year: David Robinson, San Antonio Spurs...

. He scored 3,106 points and tallied 1,543 assists during his seven-year tenure in the league.

Shortly after retiring, Vincent worked at Disney's Wide World of Sports in Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort , is the world's most-visited entertaimental resort. Located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida ; approximately southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States, the resort covers an area of and includes four theme parks, two water parks, 23 on-site themed resort hotels Walt...

. During the late 1990s, he coached basketball in South Africa, and he has also coached in Greece, Netherlands, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, and the NBDL
NBA Development League
The NBA Development League, or NBA D-League, is the National Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. Known until summer 2005 as the National Basketball Development League , the NBA D-League started with eight teams in the fall of 2001...

. At the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

, he led the Nigerian women's basketball team to a 68-64 victory over South Korea, which was the first ever victory by an African nation in an Olympic women's basketball contest.

Coaching career

He was coach of the Fort Worth Flyers
Fort Worth Flyers
The Fort Worth Flyers is the name of a now defunct team of the NBA Development League minor league basketball expansion team based in Fort Worth, Texas. They began play in the 2005-06 season. The decision was made by the NBADL to not operate this team for the 2007-08 season.- Franchise history...

 in the 2005–06 season. Shortly after coaching the Nigeria men's team
Nigeria national basketball team
The Nigeria national basketball team is the national team of Nigeria and is generally considered one of the best in Africa along with Angola and Senegal. They are ranked 21st in the world FIBA rankings....

 to the second round of the 2006 FIBA World Championship
2006 FIBA World Championship
The 2006 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball competition hosted by Japan from August 19 to September 3, 2006. It was co-organised by the International Basketball Federation , Japan Basketball Association and the 2006 Organizing Committee...

 (including a shocking upset of traditional power Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...

), he was hired as an assistant coach by the Dallas Mavericks
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...

.

On May 25, 2007 Vincent was introduced as the new head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...

 of the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

. On April 26, 2008 Vincent was relieved of his head coaching duties.

Coaching record

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Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...


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|82||32||50||.390|| align="center" |4th in Southeast||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
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External links

  • NBA.com Coach Profile
  • "Nigeria ends African drought at Olympics", 2004 USA Today
    USA Today
    USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...

    article
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