Los Angeles Lakers icon Magic Johnson is mourning following the news of the death of his former college teammate, Ron “BoBo” Charles.
Johnson shares a heartfelt reaction to the passing of Charles on social media.
“I am still in disbelief after hearing the news about my Michigan State University teammate Ron “BoBo” Charles. Ron was such a kind and nice person who never had anything bad to say about anyone. He always stayed positive and treated people with respect,” Johnson wrote on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter).
Magic Johnson also reminisced about the good times he had together with Charles, especially during the peak of their college careers, which was no other than the title they won in the late 1970s.
“I had the pleasure of spending two years of my life with him on and off the court at Michigan State. Ron was a great basketball player, super athletic, and played a vital role in us winning the 1979 National Championship.”
“Cookie and I are definitely devastated and saddened by the news because we were all so close and spent a lot of time together at MSU. Ron is gone way too early and will be sorely missed. We are praying for his two children, extended family and friends across the Virgin Islands and here in the U.S,” the five-time NBA champion said.
Another member of the title-winning 1979 Spartans team, Terry Donnelly, sent out his condolences to Charles's family.
“An incredibly sad day today, to hear of my teammate Ron “BoBo” Charles's passing. He was an incredible teammate and life long friend. Condolences to Ron's family, I will miss him dearly! 🙏💚🤍,” Donnelly wrote on X.
Magic Johnson, Ron Charles played together for two seasons in college
Johnson's and Charles' college basketball careers overlapped by two years. The Basketball Hall of Famer Johnson arrived in East Lansing to play for Michigan State in 1977 and played for the Spartans until the 1978-79 season when the school won a national championship. Charles was in his second year with the Spartans when Johnson joined the squad and he'd play for Michigan State until the 1979-80 college basketball campaign.
Charles mostly came off the bench during his four-year stay with the Spartans, but in the 1979 national championship, he started alongside Johnson against Larry Bird and the Indiana State Sycamores in Salt Lake City.
In that game, Charles scored seven points on a perfect 3/3 shooting from the field to go with seven rebounds and a steal in 31 minutes. Johnson, meanwhile, led the Spartans with 24 points, seven rebounds,m and five assists in 35 minutes on the floor. Michigan State topped Bird's Indiana State to the tune of a 75-64 score.
Charles averaged 8.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in 110 games played during his tenure with Michigan State.
In 2019, Johnson, Charles, and many of the other surviving members of the Spartans' 1979 championship squad gathered in East Lansing for a reunion.
“Be a guard, not garbage,” Charles said while impersonating their former Michigan State head coach Jud Heathcote, who died in 2017 (via Mike DeFabo of the Lansing State Journal).
“‘Bobo get a rebound.' But he made me a better player. He made me work. Jud really molded me.”
On Michigan State's official website, Charles was described as the “ultimate role player, a guy who'd always roll with the punches.”
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