MEET THE GVO TEAM
MEET THE GVO TEAM
With a team of experts boasting years of experience in sports marketing, contract negotiation, and brand development, GVO is uniquely positioned to help you navigate the NIL landscape.
Gary Charles
Gary Charles is an unheralded legend in the world of Grassroots basketball.
Hailing from Roosevelt, Long Island, Charles founded a grassroots basketball program that has produced more than 20 NBA players, helped direct the legendary ABCD Camp, and started the Fab48 Tournament, which has since evolved into the Las Vegas Big Time Tournament, originally founded by Sonny Vaccaro in 1995. Currently, Charles works as the CEO/Founder for Advancement of Blacks in Sports (ABIS), an organization that he founded to increase racial equity in collegiate and professional athletics.
After graduating high school, Charles attended the nation’s first HBCU, Cheyney University, where he encountered hall-of-fame basketball coaches John Chaney and Vivian Stringer. He then went to work on Wall Street for more than two decades.
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Still, Charles’ love for sports persisted, so he started the Long Island Panthers, a grassroots basketball program, while working as a Systems Programmer on Wall Street. The Panthers have produced dozens of NBA players, including Lamar Odom, Wally Szcerzbiak, and Joakim Noah. Charles’s work attracted the likes of former sneaker executive Sonny Vaccaro, who famously signed Michael Jordan to his first shoe deal. Then, working for adidas, Vaccaro signed the Panthers to a shoe deal, the first grassroots program to receive such an honor. Through his relationships on the high school basketball circuit, Charles was also instrumental in helping adidas discover and eventually sign future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant.
Charles later landed the role of Associate Director of the ABCD Camp, a Camp that consistently attracted top recruits during its heyday from 1984 to 2006. Future NBA All-Stars like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, and James Harden all shone at the camp.
Inspired by Vaccaro, who he watched launch adidas’ first sponsored tournament, Charles started what would become The Las Vegas Big Time Tournament in 2010. The tournament has since attracted a star-studded lineup of both recruits, including Bronny James, the 2021 NBA No. 1 overall pick, Cade Cunningham, and 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, as well as fans such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal, and former boxing champion Roy Jones.
Today, Charles is focused on diversifying the world of sports. Inspired by the very same people he looked up to as a youth, Charles’ ABIS boasts a coalition of coaches and competitors from various sports across the country. Through producing a list of top Black head coaches, teaching financial literacy to student-athletes and hosting panels, ABIS aims to make a difference.
“For over 30 years, I’ve watched the inequity that goes on in the game,” Charles said. “What we want to do is to stop some of this. ABIS wants to be the Voice for Racial Equity in Sports. We want to stop the discrimination of Black coaches, the players, Black administrators, and the vendors."
Van Macon
A Queens native, assistant coach Van Macon has more than two decades of experience in the collegiate coaching ranks.
After two seasons as an assistant coach in Queens, Macon was promoted to associate head coach under Mike Anderson for the next two seasons. He now returns to his former role as assistant coach.
A veteran New York City coach, Macon has kept several local talents at St. John’s during his short tenure. Macon helped land Our Saviour Lutheran alumni Posh Alexander and Dylan Addae-Wusu for the 2020-21 squad. Alexander, a Brooklyn native, became just the third player in BIG EAST history to win both Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, joining Patrick Ewing and Allen Iverson.
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Shortly after arriving in Queens, Macon helped recruit and mentor Bishop Loughlin product Julian Champagnie, who was named to the 2020 BIG EAST All-Freshman Team before leading the league in scoring and finding a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team as a sophomore. Champagnie was again named to the All-BIG EAST First Team in 2021-22, becoming just the seventh player in program history to receive the honor twice.
In addition to his recruiting success, Macon has played a key role in scouting and skill development, primarily working with the Red Storm’s post players.
Macon returned to his assistant coach role at St. John’s after spending three years on the staff of Travis Ford at Saint Louis. There, he was promoted to associate head coach in the 2018-19 season, helping the Billikens capture the 2019 Atlantic 10 Tournament title and secure their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2014. Saint Louis registered 23 wins that season, the program’s highest total since winning 27 games in 2013-2014.
Macon hit the ground running at Saint Louis in recruiting. After joining the staff in April 2016, he was integral to bringing four-star, ESPN Top 100 recruits Jordan Goodwin and Hasahn French from the class of 2017. He also helped secure Michigan State transfer Javon Bess, who averaged 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game for the Billikens in 2018-19, and landed top 100 recruit Carte’Are Gordon for the class of 2018, a former USA Basketball U17 National Team member.
Prior to his arrival at Saint Louis, Macon spent six seasons on the staff at Rutgers under a pair of head coaches in Mike Rice and Eddie Jordan.
Before his stint in Piscataway, Macon enjoyed nine highly successful years at Hofstra under the direction of Head Coach Tom Pecora, who promoted Macon to associate head coach for his final three seasons on staff. The Pride went to three NITs and a CBI while compiling a 155-126 mark in Macon’s nine seasons. During Macon’s final six years on staff in Hempstead, the Pride tallied four 20-win campaigns and won 121 games. In 2005-06, Hofstra tied a then-school wins record with 26, including a pair of victories over Final Four-bound George Mason. The Pride, who lost in the CAA Championship Game that year, went on to top Nebraska and Saint Joseph’s in the NIT before falling in the quarterfinals to Old Dominion.
At Hofstra, Macon recruited three New York guards—Loren Stokes, Antoine Agudio, and Charles Jenkins—each scoring over 2,000 collegiate points. Jenkins, one of only three to win the Haggerty Award three times, played in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers. Before signing on at Hofstra, Macon also undertook stints as an assistant coach at Adelphi, Marist, Lafayette and Farmingdale State.
Macon graduated in 1994 from Southampton College, a former branch of Long Island University. A star on the hardwood at Southampton, Macon began his collegiate player career at Nassau Community College, where he graduated in second place on the school’s all-time scoring list. He was inducted into Nassau’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.
Oscar Holt
Oscar Holt III is an attorney licensed to practice law in New York State, representing clients in both federal and State Courts, primarily as a trial attorney. He was one of three lead attorneys representing families in the infamous “Rap Basketball Game” wrongful death case and conducted the depositions of the two lead Defendants.
In the sports industry, Mr. Holt serves as the attorney for a former NBA All-Star, where he has negotiated contracts for endorsement deals and appearances at external events. While engaged in private practice, he has represented Collegiate Student Athletes in various capacities. He negotiated contracts for a World Boxing Association Champion and represented the founder and former President of the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and the World Boxing Association (WBA). Previously, he was a certified agent with the National Basketball Association Players’ Association.
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Commonly referred to as “Professor,” Mr. Holt is retired as a full-time tenured Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Law at St. John’s University, Jamaica, New York. He is a highly experienced trial lawyer, having tried cases in numerous courts at various levels.
His area of specialty has most recently been criminal defense, but he has expanded his work to include Civil Rights Litigation.
He has earned three degrees from St. John’s University: a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics/Education, a Master’s in Counselor Education and a Juris Doctorate. As an undergraduate student, Mr. Holt was a member of St. John’s Varsity Basketball Team. He was a coach of the nationally recognized St. John’s University Intercollegiate Mock Trial Team for thirty years.
Professionally, he was a member of the Judiciary Committee of the Nassau County Bar Association; a past member of the Magistrate Judge Selection Committee of the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York; and former member of the New York City Mayor’s Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
THE GVO APPROACH
At GVO Sports, we understand that every athlete is unique. Our personalized approach means we take the time to understand your individual goals, strengths, and aspirations. We pride ourselves on building lasting relationships and providing tailored strategies that resonate with your personal brand, ensuring you stand out in a competitive market.