From the hardwood of the Staples Center to the divided borders of the Korean Peninsula, Chuck Person's basketball career has literally taken him across the globe.
But for the former Auburn small forward, there wasn't much decision to be made when new head coach Bruce Pearl came calling with a job offer.
"I know with 100 percent certainty that I wouldn't have gone anywhere else in college but Auburn," Person said. "I've been in the pros for so long, so I was kind of institutionalized when it comes to being in the pro game. Coming back home was a no-brainer for me. No job in the NBA would've trumped this."
Playing under revered Auburn head coach Sonny Smith during the mid-1980's, Person led the Tigers to their lone SEC Tournament championship in 1985 and an Elite Eight appearance in 1986.
After a 14-year NBA playing career that led to a coaching gig with the Los Angeles Lakers under Phil Jackson, Person's journey back to the Plains made sense for him considering the program's recent struggles.
According to Person, "basketball is basketball" no matter what level it is coached at, but coming to the college ranks has provided Person with a fresh challenge.
"The difference with college is obviously the recruiting part," Person said. "You have to go out and get your own players as opposed to the pros where they bring them to you."
Surrounded by veteran college coaches in Bruce Pearl, Tony Jones and the newly-hired Harris Adler, Person has used his first few weeks on the job in Auburn to learn the ins-and-outs of recruiting.
"They're used to me asking a lot of questions every day and I will continue doing that because once you feel like you know it all you can't grow," Person said. "I'm the type of person that I feel like every day I have to get better."
Person isn't just concerned with learning about recruiting, though. He's made it clear that he plans to finally earn his degree, nearly 30 years after he left Auburn without one.
"I need to get one for my own personal well-being," Person said. "Also in recruiting, our projected student-athletes can look and see that I put the time in to come back and get my degree, but that path is not necessarily the best path."
Though the well-traveled Person is happy to have settled back down in Auburn, his experiences coaching abroad in South Korea this past year have given him ideas for what may be next after his time on the Plains is up.
"I really enjoyed it, and I probably would've stayed over there if not for Coach Pearl offering me this job," Person said. "One day, when this is all said and done, and we've won big here at Auburn and done the things we need to do championship-wise, maybe I'll go back."
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