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George Wilson (basketball, born 1942)

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George Wilson (May 9, 1942 – July 29, 2023) was an American professional basketball player. Wilson played as a center for the Cincinnati Royals, Chicago Bulls, Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia 76ers, and Buffalo Braves of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1964 to 1971. Before turning professional, he played college basketball for the Cincinnati Bearcats and won a gold medal in the 1964 Summer Olympics.

George Wilson
Wilson rebounds in the 1962 NCAA championship game.
Personal information
Born(1942-05-09)May 9, 1942
Meridian, Mississippi, U.S.
DiedJuly 29, 2023(2023-07-29) (aged 81)
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High schoolJohn Marshall (Chicago, Illinois)
CollegeCincinnati (1961–1964)
NBA draft1964: territorial pick
Selected by the Cincinnati Royals
Playing career1964–1971
PositionCenter
Number17, 15, 21, 16, 33
Career history
1964–1966Cincinnati Royals
1966–1967Chicago Bulls
1967–1968Seattle SuperSonics
1968–1969Phoenix Suns
1969–1970Philadelphia 76ers
1970–1971Buffalo Braves
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points2,216 (5.4 ppg)
Rebounds2,144 (5.2 rpg)
Assists307 (0.7 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1964 Tokyo Team competition

Early life

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Wilson was born in Meridian, Mississippi, on May 9, 1942,[1] and grew up on the west side of Chicago.[2] He attended Marshall High School and led the Commandos basketball team as a center to four straight appearances in the Chicago Public League, winning the Illinois state championships in 1958 and 1960.[3][4]

As a senior, he was named a high school All-American after three seasons of averaging 25, 27, and 26 points per game,[5] and in 1960 he was the inaugural winner of the Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year award.[6] Wilson was named All-State three years.[6] He was named to the Parade All-America Boys Basketball Team's third team in 1959[7] and the first team in 1960.[8]

College career

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Recruited by many colleges, he chose to attend the University of Cincinnati primarily because of his admiration of Bearcats star Oscar Robertson.[3] As a sophomore in his first year on the varsity in 1961–62, he broke into the starting lineup for Ed Jucker's Bearcats in the 14th game, and for the season he averaged 9.2 points per game.[5] The Bearcats were co-champions of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and posted a record of 29–2, capping off the season by winning the NCAA championship game over Ohio State 71–59, the Bearcats' second consecutive national title.[9]

As a junior in 1962–63, Wilson led the Bearcats with 11.2 rebounds per game, a .505 field goal percentage and 1.4 blocked shots to go with 15.0 points per game.[9] He was named All-MVC,[9] and he was named second-team All-American by The Sporting News and Converse.[9] The Bearcats went 26–2, again won the MVC and advanced to the NCAA championship game for the third consecutive season, but they were beaten by Loyola University Chicago in overtime, 60–58.[9]

In his senior season of 1963–64, Wilson (who was team co-captain with Ron Bonham) again led the Bearcats in rebounding with 12.5 per game, field goal percentage at .535 and blocked shots with 1.7 per game.[9] He set a new Bearcats record with eight blocked shots in a game against Dayton.[9] He also scored 16.1 points per game[9] as he was again named All-MVC.[9] The Bearcats finished the season 17–9.

1964 Olympics

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Wilson was a member of the 1964 U.S. Olympic basketball team, which went undefeated and won the gold medal.[3]

NBA career

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The Cincinnati Royals selected Wilson with their territorial selection in the 1964 NBA draft.[10] In November 1966, the Royals traded Wilson to the Chicago Bulls for Len Chappell.[11] He played as a backup for the Bulls, focusing on defense and rebounding.[12]

The Seattle SuperSonics acquired Wilson from the Bulls in the 1967 NBA expansion draft.[13] He played as a reserve forward for the inaugural SuperSonics and averaged 6.1 points per game.[14] The following year, the Phoenix Suns acquired Wilson from the SuperSonics in the 1968 NBA expansion draft.[15]

Playing for the Suns, Wilson saw the most playing time of his professional career and averaged 11.6 points per game and 12.3 rebounds per game with them.[1] However, in January 1969, the Suns traded Wilson to the Philadelphia 76ers for Jerry Chambers.[16] He played for the 76ers as a reserve while Lucious Jackson was injured.[17] The Buffalo Braves selected Wilson from the 76ers in the 1970 NBA expansion draft.[18] He retired from the NBA in 1971.[19]

Personal life

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Wilson graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1964 with a degree in education. He was also a member of the Beta Eta chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.[3]

In 2006 Wilson was voted as one of the 100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament, a group of former players and coaches in honor of the 100th anniversary of the IHSA boys basketball tournament. In 2010 Wilson was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame.[5]

Wilson worked as a YMCA director and lived in Fairfield, Ohio. He competed in the Senior Olympics in golf, basketball, and horseshoes.[3]

Wilson died on July 29, 2023, at age 81.[20]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

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Source[1]

Regular season

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Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1964–65 Cincinnati 39 7.4 .265 .300 2.6 .3 2.3
1965–66 Cincinnati 47 5.9 .391 .643 2.1 .4 2.9
1966–67 Cincinnati 12 10.4 .195 .813 3.6 .0 2.4
1966–67 Chicago 43 10.4 .399 .643 3.8 .3 4.6
1967–68 Seattle 77 16.1 .359 .703 6.1 .7 6.1
1968–69 Phoenix 41 31.6 .397 .616 12.3 1.9 11.6
1968–69 Philadelphia 38 14.5 .445 .714 5.7 .8 5.8
1969–70 Philadelphia 67 12.5 .388 .709 4.7 .8 5.3
1970–71 Buffalo 46 15.5 .342 .812 5.0 1.0 5.2
Career 410 14.1 .372 .677 5.2 .7 5.4

Playoffs

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Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
1965 Cincinnati 2 1.5 1.000 – 1.0 .5 1.0
1966 L.A. Lakers 1 3.0 1.000 – 1.0 .0 2.0
1967 Chicago 2 13.5 .222 .500 4.5 .0 3.5
1969 Philadelphia 5 9.0 .000 .750 3.6 1.6 .6
1970 Philadelphia 2 11.5 .308 1.000 6.0 .5 4.5
Career 12 8.4 .258 .636 3.5 .8 1.9

References

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  1. ^ a b c "George Wilson Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  2. ^ Jenkins, Keith (August 15, 2020). "George Wilson reflects on Cincinnati Bearcats' NCAA Championship teams: 'We're a family'". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved July 31, 2023. ...less than two years after traveling from where he grew up on the west side of Chicago to the University of Cincinnati, Wilson and his UC teammates defeated Ohio State to win basketball's national championship....
  3. ^ a b c d e Bach, John (January 2009). "Big George Wilson left UC to win Olympic gold in 1964". University of Cincinnati. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  4. ^ "Galesburg Register-Mail 21 Mar 1960, page Page 11". Newspapers.com. March 21, 1960. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame". ohiobasketballhalloffame.com. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Evan F., Moore (October 27, 2013). "Kings Among Kings: Ranking Chicago's All-Time Greatest High School Basketball Stars". ChicagoSideSports.com. Archived from the original on March 19, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  7. ^ Cohen, Haskell (March 29, 1959). "The All-America high-school team". Parade. p. 22. Retrieved April 12, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon 
  8. ^ Cohen, Haskell (March 27, 1960). "Parade's Fourth Annual Basketball Poll". Parade. p. 28. Retrieved July 18, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon 
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Media release" (PDF). grfx.cstv.com. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  10. ^ Schottelkotte, Jim (May 5, 1964). "Royals Draft UC's Wilson, Chimielewski". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved July 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "The Cincinnati Enquirer 26 Nov 1966, page 14". Newspapers.com. November 26, 1966. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  12. ^ "Chicago Tribune 23 Dec 1966, page 35". Newspapers.com. December 23, 1966. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  13. ^ "Portland Press Herald 02 May 1967, page 20". Newspapers.com. May 2, 1967. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  14. ^ "The Bellingham Herald 07 May 1968, page 8". Newspapers.com. May 7, 1968. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  15. ^ "NBA Draft Sends Rodgers, Love, Gray To Milwaukee". The Cincinnati Enquirer. May 7, 1968. Retrieved July 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "The Los Angeles Times 21 Jan 1969, page 44". Newspapers.com. January 21, 1969. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  17. ^ "Courier-Post 09 Dec 1969, page Page 34". Newspapers.com. December 9, 1969. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  18. ^ "The Billings Gazette 12 May 1970, page 7". Newspapers.com. May 12, 1970. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  19. ^ "George Wilson quitting NBA". The Cincinnati Post. October 19, 1971. Retrieved July 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Springer, Scott (July 29, 2023). "UC Hall of Famer George Wilson dies at age 81". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
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