Charles Gaines (basketball) facts for kids

Charles Wayne Gaines (born October 15, 1981) is an American professional basketball player. He played as a forward and center. Charles is known for his strong play in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). There, he was an All-Star, a scoring champion, and led the league in rebounds twice. He also played in high school and college in the United States, and professionally in Europe and Israel. His last team was the Anhui Dragons in China.

High School Basketball

Charles Gaines grew up in Houston, Texas. He played basketball at Klein Forest High School. Charles got much better during his last two years. In his junior year, he scored 38 points in one game. This tied a school record!

As a senior, Charles was 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 200 pounds. He averaged 20.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game. His team had a good record of 20 wins and 12 losses. He was also named the best player in his district.

College Basketball

Starting at Missouri State

Charles Gaines began his college career at Southwest Missouri State. He was the first player signed by the new coach, Barry Hinson. Charles was good at playing different positions, mostly as a forward.

In his first year (freshman season), he played in 32 games. He scored 11 points against Texas Christian and 12 points against Wichita State. He also grabbed 9 rebounds in a game against Creighton. He usually came off the bench as a substitute.

In his second year (sophomore season), Charles started strong. He scored 16 points against New Orleans. In the next game, he grabbed 15 rebounds, which was a new high for him. He was often the team's best rebounder and sometimes their top scorer. He led the team in blocks with 1.1 per game.

Moving to Southern Miss

After two years, Charles decided to transfer to Southern Miss. Because of NCAA rules, he had to sit out one year. During that year, he practiced with the team and worked on getting stronger.

He started playing for Southern Miss in the 2002–03 season. He was a starter right away. In his first year, he collected 278 total rebounds. This was one of the best rebounding seasons in Southern Miss history. He also had amazing scoring games. He scored 33 points against Alcorn State and a career-high 34 points against Jackson State. He was the team's top scorer (15.1 points per game) and rebounder (9.6 per game). He was also named to the All-Conference USA third team.

In his senior year (2003–04), Charles had his best college season. He played about 31 minutes per game. He averaged 15.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game. He led his team in both scoring and rebounding. He scored 36 points against Georgia Southern, another top game in Southern Miss history. For the second year, he was chosen for an all-conference team, this time the second team.

Professional Basketball Career

Early Career in the USA and Europe

After college, Charles Gaines was eligible for the 2004 NBA draft, but he was not chosen by any team. He then joined the Michigan Mayhem in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). In the 2004–05 season, he played 44 games. He averaged 18.3 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. He was named a CBA All-Star and led the league in rebounding.

After that, Charles moved to Europe. He played in Italy for Viola Reggio Calabria in 2005. Then he went to France and played for ASVEL in the 2005–06 season. He averaged 13.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game there. He also played in the 2005–06 ULEB Cup.

In 2006, Charles played in the NBA Summer League for the Indiana Pacers. Then he moved to Spain to play for Joventut Badalona. He played 34 games, averaging 11.1 points and 7.8 rebounds. He was named the best player of the month in March 2007. He also played in the Euroleague for the first time.

In 2007, he played in the Orlando Summer League again, this time for the Orlando Magic. Later that year, he signed with Galatasaray in Turkey. He played 28 games, averaging 12.9 points and 8.1 rebounds. He also played in the 2007–08 ULEB Cup.

D-League and Israel

In 2008, Charles Gaines joined the San Antonio Spurs for a short time. He then played for their D-League team, the Austin Toros. He played 23 games, averaging 15.1 points and 10.4 rebounds.

In 2009, he moved to Israel to play for Maccabi Tel Aviv. He played 9 games in the Israeli league and also appeared in the 2008–09 Euroleague. Later that summer, he played for the Houston Rockets in the Las Vegas Summer League.

Success in the Chinese Basketball Association

Charles Gaines found great success when he moved to China. In 2009, he signed with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers. He played 10 playoff games, averaging 29.5 points and 10.4 rebounds. He stayed with the team for the 2009–10 season. He averaged 30.4 points and 10.7 rebounds. On February 26, 2010, he scored a career-high 47 points against the Qingdao Eagles. He was named to the All-CBA First Team.

In 2010, Charles joined the Qingdao Eagles for the 2010–11 season. He scored 43 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in a game against the Beijing Ducks. He finished the season as the league's top scorer, averaging 33.2 points per game! He was also the 5th best rebounder and was again named to the All-CBA First Team.

In 2011, he moved to the Shanxi Brave Dragons. In 2012, he was chosen for his first and only CBA All-Star team. He played for the Northern All-Stars and had 24 points and 10 rebounds in the game. On February 28, 2012, he had a "20–20 game," scoring 29 points and getting 23 rebounds. He finished the season as one of the top scorers and rebounders in the league.

On January 2, 2013, Charles had an amazing game against the Zhejiang Golden Bulls. He scored 60 points and grabbed 29 rebounds! These were both new career highs for him. He was named to the All-CBA second team that season. In the 2013–14 season, he led the league in rebounding with 14.1 rebounds per game. He did this again in the next season (2014–15) while playing for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls, averaging 16.4 rebounds.

National Basketball League (China)

In 2017, Charles Gaines joined the Shaanxi Wolves in the National Basketball League, which is the second level of basketball in China. He helped his team win the league championship! In the final game, he scored 31 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. The next season, he played for the Anhui Dragons. He continued to play very well, averaging 33.8 points and 17.5 rebounds per game.

See also

In Spanish: Charles Gaines para niños