ATLANTA — Ronald Alexander “Ronche” Charles, the star basketball player who helped Magic Johnson win the NCAA college basketball national championship with Michigan State University in 1979, died Sunday at the age of 65.
Charles’ sudden death was announced this afternoon by Governor Albert Bryan Jr. during his weekly COVID-19 press briefing at Government House in St. Thomas.
“I also want to say my condolences to the family of Ronald Charles,” Governor Bryan said. “Most of us know him as ‘Ronche, he played with Magic Johnson when they won the NCAA tournament. I understand that he passed away earlier. My condolences goes to (them).”
The gymnasium at Central High School in St. Croix is named after Ron Charles.
Charles was born in St. Croix and played professionally on many teams, including the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
“Sad day, great teammate and life long friend,” Terry Donnelly said on X. “I will miss BoBo!”
Charles, a 6’7″ forward/center played collegiate basketball for MSU from 1976 to 1980. In his sophomore and junior seasons, Charles was a key contributor for the Spartans’ back-to-back Big Ten championship teams – led by future Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. In the 1978–79 season, Charles was sixth man for the Spartans squad as they won the 1979 NCAA Tournament. Charles stepped into the starting lineup after Spartans sophomore Jay Vincent injured his foot and started for most of the NCAA tournament. He led the Spartans in field goal percentage that season, shooting .665 from the floor, establishing a school record for a season in the process.
TWITTER TRIBUTE: Feature newspaper article from The State Journal on April 1, 1979 about Ronald Charles posted to X by Spartaniques today.
As a senior, Charles was named a co-captain of the 1979–80 Spartans and entered the starting line-up full-time. While the team had a letdown after losing Johnson and Greg Kelser, Charles had a successful individual season. He broke his own record for season field goal percentage, shooting .676 from the floor, including a 12 for 12 shooting night against rival Michigan to tie the school record for single-game FG percentage as well. For the season, Charles averaged 8.9 rebounds per game. He ended his career holding all school records for field goal percentage – for a game, season and career.
Following his college career, Charles was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the 1980 NBA draft (4th round, 74th pick). He played professionally for several years, including stints in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France. He returned to the U. S. in 1989, settling in Atlanta.
Governor Albert Bryan, Jr., speaking in the Government House press conference today, when he announced the passing of St. Croix native son Ron Charles.