Scoonie Penn

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. Although Penn was selected in the 2000 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks with the 57th overall pick, he never played a single game in the NBA, joining 7 other players from his draft class that never played in the league. 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.