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Charlie Ward set to be next FAMU basketball coach. How good was his NBA career?
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- Charlie Ward set to be next FAMU basketball coach. How good was his NBA career?
Florida A&M's next coach has something no other basketball program can tote: a Heisman Trophy.
Charlie Ward is finalizing a deal to replace Patrick Crarey as the head coach of FAMU men's basketball . The news was first reported by ESPN's Pete Thamel and has been confirmed by the Tallahassee Democrat.
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Along with Deion Sanders, Ward is the poster child of two-sport stars at Florida State . He is — and likely always will be — the only Heisman winner to play in the NBA and led FSU to both a national championship and the Elite Eight of March Madness within months in a magical 1993 season. Ward has continued his winning ways into his coaching career, leading the Florida High boys basketball team to a state championship in 2022.
Here's what to know about Charlie Ward, including his decorated football and basketball careers:
Who is Charlie Ward?
Charlie Ward is one of the biggest two-sports stars in NCAA history. Born Oct. 12, 1970 in Thomasville, Georgia, Ward lit up both the gridiron and the hardwood at Florida State in the early 1990s. As a quarterback, he led the Seminoles to their first national championship and won the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and every other major award for which he was nominated in 1993. Ward completed an NCAA-best 69.5% of his passes that year for 3,032 yards, 27 touchdowns and just four interceptions. In his two years as starter, he threw for 5,679 yards and 49 touchdowns while adding 889 yards and 10 TDs rushing.
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A few months before leading FSU to glory in football, he nearly helped the basketball team get into the Final Four. Alongside Sam Cassell and Bob Sura, Ward was a starting guard (when it wasn't football season) for a Seminoles that made the NCAA tournament three straight years. He hit the game-winner to beat Louisville in the 1991 Metro Conference championship game and set a since-broken program record with nine steals in a game that season. Ward averaged 8.1 points, 4.4 assists and 2.6 steals per game, ranking first in FSU history with 238 career steals and ninth with 396 career assists.
Why was Charlie Ward not drafted in the NFL?
Charlie Ward was eager to give both the NFL and NBA a shot. But NFL teams weren't sure about his commitment to football, so he became the first Heisman winner since before the NFL-AFL merger to go untaken by either the NFL or a rival league.
"With me having the option for basketball and me telling them that if I didn't get drafted in the first round, I will consider other options." Ward said in March . "There's no hard feelings from it because I kind of expected it."
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How many years did Charlie Ward play in the NBA?
New York Knicks guard Charlie Ward (R) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers guard Anthony Johnson (L) during the fourth quarter April 16, 2001, at Gund Arena in Cleveland, OH. Cleveland defeated New York 80-78.
With the NFL out of the picture, Charlie Ward went full tilt into his basketball career, being drafted 26th overall in the 1994 NBA draft by the New York Knicks , who had just made the NBA Finals the prior season. Ward was the Knicks' starting point guard when they returned to the Finals in 1999.
He played 11 solid seasons in the NBA, averaging 6.3 points, 4 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He played nine full seasons with the Knicks and was traded to the San Antonio Spurs midway through the 2003-04 season. He finished his career with the Houston Rockets in 2005.
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Did Charlie Ward have a stroke?
On a church mission trip to Mexico in 2018, Charlie Ward said he suffered a stroke . He said the incident got him to change the ways he deals with stress and also turned him to a vegan diet.
Charlie Ward basketball stats
Florida State (1990-1994)
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91 games (73 starts)
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29.5 minutes per game
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Scoring: 704 points (8.1 per game)
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Field goals: 263/596 (.441)
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3-pointers: 74/229 (.323)
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Free throws: 140/220 (.636)
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Assists: 396 (4.4 per game)
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Rebounds: 286 (3.1 per game)
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Steals: 238 (2.6 per game)
NBA (1994-2005)
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630 games (285 starts)
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22.3 minutes per game
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Scoring: 3,753 points (6.3 per game)
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Field goals: 1,400/3,428 (.408)
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3-pointers: 639/1,754 (.364)
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Free throws: 508/659 (.771)
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Assists: 2,539 (6.3 per game)
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Rebounds: 1,648 (2.6 per game)
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Steals: 776 (1.2 per game)
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Charlie Ward basketball, football stats for former FSU, NBA star
