Wesley Person always ready to give back

By Jon Johnson

Published: June 16, 2008

ENTERPRISE — Just seconds before his death 14 summers ago, Tommy Joe Eagles was still coaching the game of basketball to Wesley Person.

“He said, ‘I’m going to show you the step-back move,’” Person recalled. “When I came off the dribble and shot the ball, it bounced towards halfcourt.

“I went to get it and heard a thud. I didn’t see him fall.”

Eagles, who coached Person at Auburn (1991-1994), died that day, July 30, 1994, of a heart attack on a basketball court in Salt Lake City, Utah.

He was just 45, and several months earlier had become the new head coach at the University of New Orleans after resigning under pressure at
Auburn following the 1994 season.

As the former NBA and Auburn star embarks on his college coaching career as an assistant women’s coach at Enterprise-Ozark Community College this season, Person hopes he can be as influential to student-athletes as the ones who tutored him.

“If I can change one or two lives, I feel it will be a success,” Person said.

Though Person was an All-SEC performer at Auburn for Eagles, there wasn’t an instant bond between the two.

“He was very tough on me,” Person said. “Once I got older and understood him, our relationship got better.”

After Person was drafted by Phoenix in the first round of the 1994 NBA Draft, Eagles journeyed to Utah to watch his former player compete in a summer basketball league for NBA teams.

“He always told his wife, ‘Before I leave this world, I’m going to see Wesley practice or play in the NBA,’” Person said. “He came to Utah to see me practice before my rookie year, and after practice we were on the end of the floor.

“He showed me the step-back move and told me to use it whenever I got in trouble.”

Person said he used the step-back move often during his pro career — which involved dribbling in on a defender and taking a quick step back before launching a shot.

Person, a 6-foot-6 guard, was known for his outside shooting. He led the NBA in 3-pointers made (192) and attempted (447) during the 1997-1998 season.

Before every game of his 11-year NBA career, Person would run to midcourt in memory of Eagles — thinking back on the day he was shown the step-back move and the ball bounced back to midcourt.

“He used to get up at 6 a.m. and work with me at Auburn,” Person said of Eagles. “I wish he was here so I could tell him how much it meant to me.”

Eagles was one of three who Person says most influenced his basketball career, and life in general.

Person had a close relationship with his high school coach at Brantley, Earl Henderson, and the bond remains strong today.

“My high school coach was there from Day 1,” Person said. “He was at every home college game I played in but one. Just knowing he was going to be there when I ran out of the locker room gave me inspiration.”

Person said Henderson critiqued his games in college, and continued to do so during his NBA career.

“Money can’t replace what he did for me,” Person said. “Just him being there for me and showing me how to be someone.”

Person said his older brother Chuck, also a star at Auburn and in the NBA, instilled a hard-work ethic in him. Chuck Person is now an NBA assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings.

“He is the guy who gave me that foundation on how to work,” Person said. “Sometimes I was hard-headed and he gave me the push I needed.”

Person played for seven NBA teams before retiring after the 2004-2005 season. He now lives Luverne with his wife of 13 years, Lillian, and his four children ranging from ages 5 to 14. He opened a small amusement park there, and was a volunteer assistant coach for the girls basketball team at Brantley two seasons ago.

He was watching the South Regional basketball tournament in Troy this past season when EOCC women’s coach Charles Cole approached him about being an assistant coach.

“I didn’t want to turn it down,” Person said.

Person isn’t getting involved in coaching just to pass the time of day. He has high ambitions.

“My dream job is Auburn,” Person said. “That’s one place that has been really special to me. There’s something about that orange and blue you can’t take out of me.”