 Littles with theHigh Point Panthers in 1968 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1943-06-29)June 29, 1943 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Died | September 10, 2021(2021-09-10) (aged 78) Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Listed weight | 160 lb (73 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | McKinley (Washington, D.C.) |
| College | High Point (1965–1969) |
| NBA draft | 1969: 5th round, 68th overall pick |
| Drafted by | New York Knicks |
| Playing career | 1969–1975 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 23 |
| Coaching career | 1975–1997 |
| Career history | |
| As a player: | |
| 1969–1974 | Carolina Cougars |
| 1974–1975 | Kentucky Colonels |
| As a coach: | |
| 1975–1977 | Appalachian State (assistant) |
| 1977–1979 | North Carolina A&T |
| 1979–1982 | Utah Jazz (assistant) |
| 1982–1986 | Cleveland Cavaliers (assistant) |
| 1986 | Cleveland Cavaliers (interim) |
| 1986–1987 | Chicago Bulls (assistant) |
| 1988–1990 | Charlotte Hornets (assistant) |
| 1990–1991 | Charlotte Hornets |
| 1992–1997 | Denver Nuggets (assistant) |
| 1995 | Denver Nuggets (interim) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| As player As coach:
| |
| Career ABA playing statistics | |
| Points | 4,066 (9.0 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,475 (3.3 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,336 (3.0 spg) |
Stats atBasketball Reference  | |
| Career coaching record | |
| NBA | 44–111 (.284) |
| NCAA | 40–15 (.727) |
| Record atBasketball Reference | |
Eugene Scape Littles (June 29, 1943 – September 10, 2021) was an Americanbasketball player and coach. He played six seasons in theAmerican Basketball Association (ABA) for theCarolina Cougars andKentucky Colonels between 1969 and 1975. Littles won anABA championship with the Colonels in 1975. He later coached in theNational Basketball Association (NBA) with theCleveland Cavaliers,Charlotte Hornets, andDenver Nuggets.
Littles was born inWashington, D.C., on June 29, 1943. He attendedMcKinley Technology High School in his hometown.[1] He went on to play college basketball atHigh Point University, where he is the all-time leading scorer in High Point school history, and a three-time NAIA All-American. Littles was selected in the 5th round of the1969 NBA draft by theNew York Knicks and in the1969 ABA draft by theDallas Chaparrals. He opted to play in theABA.[2][3] His playing rights were later acquired by theCarolina Cougars.[3]
Littles made his ABA debut on October 18, 1969,[1] scoring ten points against the Chaparrals.[4] He played for five seasons with the Cougars from 1969 to 1974. He was named to the All-Rookie Team in 1970.[2] He finished sixth in the league infield goal percentage (.507) that year, while recording career-highs inpoints (1,025),assists (282), andrebounds (415). Littles led the ABA ingames played in1972–73 with 84. He later played for one season (1974–75) with theKentucky Colonels. He was a member of the Colonels team that won the1975 ABA Championship. However, he had career-lows in games played (61), minutes played (900), points (215), assists (119), and rebounds (86) in his final regular season.[1]
Littles began his coaching career in 1975 as an assistant coach for theAppalachian State Mountaineers,[5] where he coached for two seasons.[6] He was then a college head coach atNorth Carolina A&T from 1977 to 1979, leading the team to two straightMEAC tournament championships.[7] He was also honored as the conference's coach of the year in 1979.[3]
Littles got his first taste of NBA coaching when he was hired by the then-New Orleans Jazz in 1979 and moved with the team to Utah.[2][8] He then moved over to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1982 and was subsequently given the interim head coaching job whenGeorge Karl was dismissed before the end of the1985–86 season.[9] However, the Cavaliers did not retain him and instead hiredLenny Wilkens the following season.[10][11]
Littles was an assistant coach of theChicago Bulls in1986–87, before serving in that capacity with theCharlotte Hornets for two seasons.[10] He later received a second opportunity as NBA head coach with the Hornets, replacingDick Harter in February 1990.[12] He lasted a season and a half with the recent-expansion Hornets, until he was replaced withAllan Bristow at the end of the1990–91 season. Littles then briefly served as a vice president of the Hornets and special assistant to club president.[13]
Littles returned to coaching in1992–93 as an assistant with theDenver Nuggets.[10] He was one of the candidates interviewed at the end of the season to be head coach of theLos Angeles Clippers;[14] however, the position ultimately went toBob Weiss.[15] Littles later became the Nuggets interim coach during the1994–95 season, in betweenDan Issel andBernie Bickerstaff.[16]
Littles was inducted into theNorth Carolina Sports Hall of Fame and the High Point University Athletics Hall of Fame. His number 14 wasretired by his alma mater, and a bench outsideMillis Athletic Convocation Center was later named in his honor in 2019.[2][3]
Littles died on September 10, 2021, at the age of 78.[2][8][17][18]
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | 1985–86 | 15 | 4 | 11 | .267 | 5th inCentral | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Charlotte | 1989–90 | 42 | 11 | 31 | .262 | 7th inMidwest | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Charlotte | 1990–91 | 82 | 26 | 56 | .317 | 7th in Central | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Denver | 1994–95 | 16 | 3 | 13 | .188 | (interim) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | 155 | 44 | 111 | .284 | — | — | — | — | |||
Source:[10]