Scoonie Penn
 Penn, with Efes, in 2008. | |
| Memphis Grizzlies | |
|---|---|
| Position | Assistant coach |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | January 9, 1977 Yonkers, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Listed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Salem (Salem, Massachusetts) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2000 / Round: 2 / Pick: 57th overall |
| Selected by the Atlanta Hawks | |
| Playing career | 2000–2011 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Coaching career | 2019–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 2000–2001 | Trieste |
| 2001–2002 | Virtus Roma |
| 2002 | Asheville Altitude |
| 2002–2003 | Crvena zvezda |
| 2003–2004 | Cibona |
| 2004 | Makedonikos |
| 2004–2005 | Scavolini Pesaro |
| 2005–2006 | Cibona |
| 2006–2007 | Olympiacos |
| 2007–2008 | Efes Pilsen |
| 2008–2009 | Kyiv |
| 2009 | Virtus Bologna |
| 2010 | Olympiacos |
| 2010–2011 | Prima Veroli |
| As coach: | |
| 2019–present | Memphis Grizzlies (assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
| |
James Donell "Scoonie" Penn (born January 9, 1977) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a point guard during his playing career that was spent primarily in Europe.
High school[]
Penn played high school basketball at Salem High School in Salem, Massachusetts. He led the team to a state championship in 1995.
College career[]
After high school, Penn played college basketball at Boston College, before transferring to Ohio State University, where he teamed up to form a dominant back court with the future Milwaukee Bucks' shooting guard Michael Redd.
Professional career[]
After college, Penn left the United States to play in Europe. He made his big splash with the Adriatic League club Crvena zvezda (Red Star Belgrade). He had a great 2002–03 season with Crvena zvezda. The fans loved him. He was the leader of the team, and that was the best season in his career.
Penn left Red Star the following season, and played in the 2005–06 season for Cibona Zagreb. In the 2006–07 season, he was a member of the Greek League club Olympiacos. He then moved to the Turkish Super League club Efes Pilsen, for the 2007–08 season, followed by the Ukrainian Super League club Kyiv, in the 2008–09 season.
At the beginning of the 2009–10 season, Penn made the move to the Italian League, to play with Virtus Bologna. On New Years Day, 2010, it was announced by Greek powerhouse Olympiacos, that Penn would return to the club, to replace Von Wafer, who had been released, due to his inability to adapt to the European game. In October 2010, he signed with Prima Veroli, which was playing in the Italian Second Division at the time.[1]
National team career[]
As a member of Team USA, Penn won a gold medal at the 1999 Palma Summer Universiade.[2]
Coaching career[]
After Penn retired from playing professional basketball, he became the director of player development for the Ohio State basketball program. In 2019, he accepted a position working as an assistant coach with the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies.
Awards and accomplishments[]
College:
- 1995–96 Big East Conference Rookie of the Year, First Team All-Big East Conference member.
- 1996–97 First Team All-Big East Conference. Big East Conference Tournament championship winner (MVP).
- 1998–99 Big Ten Conference Co-Player of the Year.
- 1998–99 Led Ohio State to the NCAA Final Four.
- 1999–00 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, as the nation's top senior under 6'0" (1.83 m) tall.
- Selected Third Team All-America, and First Team All-Big Ten Conference, in both his junior season and senior season. Ended his career at Ohio State University, as the college's all-time leader in three-point field goals made.
References[]
- ^ Scoonie Penn moves to Prima Veroli Archived 2012-03-10 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ TWENTIETH WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES -- 1999.
External links[]
- 1977 births
- Living people
- ABA League players
- African-American basketball coaches
- African-American basketball players
- All-American college men's basketball players
- American expatriate basketball people in Croatia
- American expatriate basketball people in Greece
- American expatriate basketball people in Italy
- American expatriate basketball people in Serbia
- American expatriate basketball people in Turkey
- American expatriate basketball people in Ukraine
- American men's basketball coaches
- American men's basketball players
- Anadolu Efes S.K. players
- Asheville Altitude players
- Atlanta Hawks draft picks
- Basketball players at the 1999 NCAA Division I Men's Final Four
- Basketball players from New York (state)
- BC Kyiv players
- Boston College Eagles men's basketball players
- KK Cibona players
- KK Crvena zvezda players
- Makedonikos B.C. players
- Medalists at the 1999 Summer Universiade
- Memphis Grizzlies assistant coaches
- Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball players
- Olympiacos B.C. players
- Pallacanestro Virtus Roma players
- Point guards
- Salem High School (Massachusetts) alumni
- Sportspeople from Salem, Massachusetts
- Sportspeople from Yonkers, New York
- Universiade gold medalists for the United States
- Universiade medalists in basketball
- Veroli Basket players
- Victoria Libertas Pesaro players
- Virtus Bologna players