William Archie Dees (February 22, 1936 – April 4, 2016) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. Dees was the second-overall pick in the 1958 NBA draft from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Basketball career

A 6'8" forward/ center born in Ethel, Mississippi, Dees started his basketball career at Mount Carmel High School in

Mount Carmel, Illinois Mount Carmel is a city in and the county seat of Wabash County, Illinois, United States. At the time of the 2020 census, the population was 7,015, and it is the largest city in the county. The next largest town in Wabash County is Allendale, ...

. He was later named an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

his senior year, scoring a record 2,337 points. Afterward, he attended

, where he received the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

Most Valuable Player award twice, in 1957 and 1958. Dees is one of three people (the others being

Jerry Lucas Jerry Ray Lucas (born March 30, 1940) is an American former basketball player. He was a nationally awarded high school player, national college star at Ohio State University, and 1960 Olympic medal, gold medal Olympian and international player be ...

and Scott May) to have received multiple Big Ten MVP honors. When he graduated in 1958, Dees was drafted as the second-overall pick by the Cincinnati Royals of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. He went on to play four seasons in the league with the Royals,

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, Chicago Packers, and

St. Louis Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at S ...

Honors and personal life

Dees was inducted into the Indiana University Hall of Fame in 1983. In 2001, he was named to the Indiana University All-Century Team. Dees died April 4, 2016, in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

1936 births 2016 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American Basketball League (1961–62) players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Mississippi Centers (basketball) Chicago Packers expansion draft picks Chicago Packers players Cincinnati Royals draft picks Cincinnati Royals players Cleveland Pipers players Detroit Pistons players Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players People from Attala County, Mississippi St. Louis Hawks players 20th-century American sportsmen {{1930s-US-basketball-bio-stub