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Virginia Union hires program legend, NBA standout as head coach
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- Virginia Union hires program legend, NBA standout as head coach
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Following Lester Butler's departure from Virginia Union to join Winston-Salem State , the Panthers are choosing a decorated alumnus to lead the program. A.J. English has been announced as the next head men's basketball coach. English is arguably one of the best players in Virginia Union men's basketball history and boasts an NBA pedigree.
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English played for the program from 1986 to 1990 and played under legendary Panther coach Dave Robbins. In his career, he scored 2,396 points, with 1,001 of those points occurring in the 1989-1990 season. With his total that season, he set a single-season school record. In 1990, he was named the national player of the year.
His standout level of play led to him being drafted by the Washington Bullets in the 2nd round of the 1990 NBA Draft. Across 2 seasons in the NBA, he averaged 9.9 points per game and then continued his career overseas. English spoke about how he feels about getting the opportunity to lead his alma mater at his introductory press conference.
"God is good. For me, the basketball part and coaching, that's going to be the easy part. Get the community back and engaged with Virginia Union University, that's what AJ English is all about…Just rekindling that old tradition that I came into with Virginia Union and we're trying to take into the future with Virginia Union."
English comes into the position never having served as a college head coach. Under Butler, Virginia Union had a phenomenal season , going 25-6 and 13-3 in conference. They were beaten by Johnson C. Smith, 64-63, in the CIAA tournament, but their strong record still allowed them to make the NCAA Division II tournament. They were able to score a 52-46 victory over West Liberty University, but fell in the next round to Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 66-62, in overtime.
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