Charlie Scott was one of the reasons the 1968 US Olympic team won the gold medal. Lightly regarded before the Olympics, Scott, Spencer Haywood, and Jo-Jo White were the big stars of that team which brought the U.S. the gold medal. Scott starred for the University of North Carolina both before and after the Olympics. While there he helped the team make the NCAA finals in 1968, before losing, as everyone did in those years, to UCLA. After leaving Chapel Hill in 1970, Scott signed with the Virginia Squires of the ABA, with whom he had two brilliant years, being named Rookie of the Year in 1971, and leading the league in scoring in 1972. Scott then signed with the Phoenix Suns of the NBA and went on to a good career, but he never quite repeated his college or ABA heroics. His best years were his first few with Phoenix, though he later played for Boston, Los Angeles, and Denver.
United States