Charlie Paulk

Charlie Paulk

Personal information
Born	(1946-06-14)June 14, 1946 Fitzgerald, Georgia
Died	October 1, 2014(2014-10-01) (aged 68) San Diego, California
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	219 lb (99 kg)
Career information
High school	Lester (Memphis, Tennessee)
College	Tulsa (1965–1966) Northeastern State (1966–1968)
NBA draft	1968: 1st round, 7th overall pick
Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks
Playing career	1968–1972
Position	Power forward
Number	17, 18, 42, 16
Career history
1968–1969	Milwaukee Bucks
1970–1971	Cincinnati Royals
1971	Chicago Bulls
1971–1972	New York Knicks
Career statistics
Points	741 (6.2 ppg)
Rebounds	462 (3.9 rpg)
Assists	41 (0.3 apg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Charles Paulk (June 14, 1946 – October 1, 2014) was an American basketball player who spent four seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Paulk played basketball for Lester High School in Memphis, Tennessee. Along with him, the 1964 team also featured Rich Jones and Claude Humphrey.

Due to the University of Memphis not admitting African-American players at the time, he went to the University of Tulsa. After one year, he transferred to Northeastern State, an NAIA school at the time.

Paulk was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the 1968 NBA draft. That same year, he was drafted by the Army. In his first season, he played just 17 games, scoring three points per game and garnering 4.6 rebounds per game. He sat out the 1969–70 season due to military service, serving a tour of duty in Vietnam.^[1]

In 1970, the Bucks traded him along with Flynn Robinson to the Cincinnati Royals for Oscar Robertson.^[2] The following year, he was traded to the Chicago Bulls for Matt Guokas and a future draft pick. Later that year, he was again traded, this time to the New York Knicks for a second-round draft pick.^[3]

After his career, he became a road promotions manager for bands in the New Orleans area. Paulk had six siblings, five sisters, and one brother. He had two children, Derrek Paulk and Zonna Whitlow. He married Jacqueline Newby in 1990. Together he and Jacqueline (also an educator) co-founded Lincoln High School Boys Basketball Foundation, dedicated to teaching kids life skills using basketball. The foundation now known as Ground-Up is run by Shaun Manning, Jacqueline's son and Charles' stepson.^[4] On October 1, 2014, Paulk died of a heart attack at 68.