Charles MacArthur Kornegay, Junior, also known as Chuck Kornegay, (born September 28, 1974 in Dudley, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

) is an American-Spaniard and international professional basketball player. The 6' 9", 235-lb power forward gained notoriety at Villanova University

Villanova University

Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...

, before going on to star for the Raleigh Cougars

Raleigh Cougars

The Raleigh Cougars was a United States Basketball League team based in Raleigh, North Carolina from 1997 to 1999. The team included many well known players from local colleges. The team played its home games at Dorton Arena.-History:...

 of the USBL, and ultimately overseas. Cougars fans called him the "Chuck-wagon", "Chuck Diesel" and "Korn-dawg".

Basketball career

As a basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 standout at Southern Wayne High School in Dudley, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, Kornegay was heavily recruited by American universities. He signed with nearby school, North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

. He played at NCSU for the Wolfpack during the 1993-1994 season, before transferring to Villanova University

Villanova University

Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...

 in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

. He played for there for three seasons and led the Wildcats to Big East conference championships in 1995 and 1997. During his career at Villanova, the team won 70 of 93 games and was rated as high as #2 nationally by the Associated Press

Associated Press

The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

. He ended his collegiate career with averages of 7.3 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game.

After graduation, Kornegay was selected by the Yakima Sun Kings in the 3rd round with the 28th overall pick of the 1997 CBA

Continental Basketball Association

The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...

 draft. Instead of joining the CBA, Kornegay returned to his home state of North Carolina to star for the Raleigh Cougars

Raleigh Cougars

The Raleigh Cougars was a United States Basketball League team based in Raleigh, North Carolina from 1997 to 1999. The team included many well known players from local colleges. The team played its home games at Dorton Arena.-History:...

 in the 1997-1998 season, forming a formidable frontline with Lorenzo Charles

Lorenzo Charles

Lorenzo Emile "Lo" Charles was an American college and professional basketball player.Charles was a graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School...

 and Greg Newton

Greg Newton

Greg Newton was center for the Duke Blue Devils basketball team from 1994-1997. Newton was Team Captain in his senior season. He was a member of the Canadian National Team, that finished seventh in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.Newton averaged 7.6 points per game for his career...

.

In 1998, Kornegay played professional basketball in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 for the Brisbane Bullets

Brisbane Bullets

The Brisbane Bullets were, until 2008, a professional basketball team competing in Australia's National Basketball League. The Bullets were one of only two teams that survived since the NBL's inception in 1979; the only surviving team is now the Wollongong Hawks. The team played in Midnight Navy...

 of the NBL

National Basketball League (Australia)

The National Basketball League, also known as the iiNet NBL Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in Australasia....

. After his stint down under, Kornegay moved to Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, and played for a number of teams in that country before eventually hanging on with the Spanish team Unicaja Malaga of the Euroleague. He patrolled the pivot there from 2001-2004, and even represented Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 in their 3rd-place run through the 2001 European Basketball Championship in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. In 2005, Kornegay returned to Turkey to play for Besiktas ColaTurka of the Turkish Basketball League

Turkish Basketball League

The Turkish Basketball League is the top men’s professional basketball league in Turkey, which is also called Turkish Premier Basketball League . There is also a Turkish Second Basketball League consisting of 2 divisions .-History:The first basketball game played in Turkey was at the Robert...

 (TBL). After his stint in Turkey, Kornegay moved back to Spain. He currently plays for Etosa Alicante.

Achievements

• 1997 villanova university defensive player of the year
• 1997 USBL All-Rookie Team
• 1998 named to second team all nbl (Australia)
• 1999 appeared in acb league finals
• 2001 Won Bronze at European Basketball Championship
• 2001 appeared in acb league finals
• 2002-2003 Led Euroleague in Blocked Shots
• 1999-2000 voted acb league most exciting player
• 2004 appeared in acb league finals

Personal life

Kornegay was formally married to Toni Bernabe Vaquero. He is now married to Leslee Brown (Leslee Kornegay). Their marriage took place in Jamaica. They now reside in Mallorca, Spain with their son Charles Kornegay III aka 'Chuck Junior' or 'CJ'.
and are now divorced>