Clyde Austin
Clyde Edward Austin is an American former basketball player. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he emerged as a prospect while playing for Maggie L. Walker High School in Richmond, Virginia, where he is considered one of the area's greatest high school basketball players. Austin played collegiately for the NC State Wolfpack and was a second-team All-ACC selection during his sophomore season. He was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers as the 44th overall pick in the 1980 NBA draft but never played in the National Basketball Association.
Austin played for the Harlem Globetrotters for eight years. After retiring from playing, he became a pastor and founded the Raleigh Cougars of the United States Basketball League in 1997. The team was disestablished mid-season in 1999 following Austin's unexplained absence from the team. In 2004, Austin was sentenced to 17 years in prison for running a national pyramid scheme in which he stole $16 million from his investors between 1996 and 2000. He swindled the money while serving as a pastor and convinced his victims, including seminar attendees, to invest their money in bonds, overseas trading, real estate and the marketing of products including herbs and weight-loss aids.
Austin received an early release from prison and was working at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas as of 2017.
