Fred Vinson (basketball)

Frederick O'Neal Vinson (born January 28, 1971) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who serves as assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). At 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) and 190 lb (86 kg) he played guard.

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Fred Vinson

Detroit Pistons
Position	Assistant coach
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1971-01-28) January 28, 1971 (age 53) Murfreesboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight	190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school	Northampton County East (Conway, North Carolina)
College	Chowan (1989–1991) Georgia Tech (1991–1994)
NBA draft	1994: undrafted
Playing career	1994–2007
Position	Shooting guard
Number	11, 24
Coaching career	2008–present
Career history
As player:
1994–1997	Atlanta Trojans
1994	Atlanta Hawks
1994–1995	Mexico Aztecas
1995–1996	Fort Wayne Fury
1996–1997	Maccabi Giv'at Shmuel
1998	New Jersey Shorecats
1999–2000	Seattle SuperSonics
2000–2001	Chicago Skyliners
2001	Cocodrilos de Caracas
2001–2002	Southern California Surf
2001–2002	Śląsk Wrocław
2003	Guaiqueríes de Margarita
2002–2003	Yakima Sun Kings
2003–2004	SLUC Nancy
2004–2005	Long Beach Jam
2005	Guaiqueríes de Margarita
2005–2006	Gaiteros del Zulia
2006–2007	Santa Barbara Breakers
As coach:
2008–2010	Los Angeles Clippers (assistant)
2010–2024	New Orleans Hornets / Pelicans (assistant)
2024–present	Detroit Pistons (assistant)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

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Born in Murfreesboro, North Carolina, Vinson attended Georgia Institute of Technology and Chowan Junior College (North Carolina). As a guard at Georgia Tech he was named MVP for the 1993–94 team. During that season he was also the team's third leading scorer. Specializing in long range shooting, Vinson led the Yellow Jackets in three-point field goals (70) and three point percentage (.402). In the 1994–95 NBA season he played five games with the Atlanta Hawks, scoring four total points. During the 1999–2000 NBA season, he played eight games with the Seattle SuperSonics, averaging 1.6 points per game. Vinson also played with the Atlanta Trojans of the United States Basketball League (USBL) in 1994, and with the Mexico Aztecas of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) in 1994–95.^[1]

On August 25, 2008, Vinson was named assistant coach/director of player programs for the Los Angeles Clippers.^[1]

On August 4, 2010, Vinson was named an assistant coach of the New Orleans Hornets, along with Randy Ayers.^[2] Vinson and the Pelicans made the playoffs in 2011 and they reached the Western Conference Playoffs during the 2014–15 season. On November 16, 2020, Vinson was retained as assistant coach.^[3]