Byron Neal Wilson (born September 1, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who also holds Argentinian nationality. A 6-foot-3 guard, he played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

for 3 years, sitting out his freshman year due to Proposition 48. He was selected by the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

in the second round of the

1993 NBA draft The 1993–94 NBA season, 1993 NBA draft took place on June 30, 1993, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The draft had some talented players at the top, but injuries and personal problems hurt many of them. Chris Webber, Pen ...

(54th overall), but he was cut before the beginning of the

1993–94 NBA season The 1993–94 NBA season was the 48th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Houston Rockets defeating the New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the 1994 NBA Finals, NBA Finals to win the franchise's first champ ...

and started his professional career in the CBA. He then moved to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and he began a long career there, playing 570 games in the

Liga Nacional de Básquet Liga (Spanish and Portuguese: ''League'') or LIGA may refer to: Sports Basketball * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, women's professional basketball league in Spain Football Latin Amer ...

, scoring 11,149 points, and winning 4 national championships, 3 Finals MVP titles, and one

Liga Sudamericana The Liga Sudamericana de Baloncesto (LSB), or FIBA Liga Sudamericana de Baloncesto ( Portuguese: ''Liga Sul-Americana de Basquete'', English: ''South American Basketball League''), also commonly known as FIBA South American League, is the secon ...

title. He retired in 2010 after a 17-year professional career.

High school career

Wilson was born and raised in

Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...

, where he attended

Lew Wallace High School Lew Wallace High School was a four-year (9-12) public high school of the Gary Community School Corporation in Gary, Indiana, United States. Staff The faculty included nearly 65 teachers. History In 1926 the 45th Avenue School of Gary, Indi ...

: he averaged 19 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game as a senior in high school, shooting 52% from the field. He also shot 80% from the free throw line in high school. At the end of his last year at Lew Wallace he was an All-City, All-Conference and All-State selection.

College career

Wilson was recruited by

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and

: he committed to Utah and signed on May 30, 1989, being one of the first recruits brought to the program by newly appointed head coach

Rick Majerus Richard Raymond Majerus (February 17, 1948 – December 1, 2012) was an American basketball coach and TV analyst. He coached at Marquette University (1983–1986), Ball State University (1987–1989), the University of Utah (1989–2004), and S ...

. However, Wilson was declared academically ineligible by the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

, following the recently introduced Proposition 48, and he had to sit out his first year of college basketball. He regained his eligibility in 1990, and after being suspended in the first game of his sophomore year for being late to practice he debuted with the Utes on November 27, 1990, against Seattle Pacific. Coach Majerus gave Wilson a starting spot on the team, and the guard ranked third in scoring behind Josh Grant and Walter Watts with 8.7 points per game over 32 appearances (30 starts). Wilson's junior season saw him lead the team in steals with 1.3 per game, and he was the second best scorer with 12.1 points per game behind Paul Afeaki: he also recorded a career-high of 25 points on February 19, 1991, against BYU. On January 30, 1992, Wilson scored a half-court

buzzer beater In timed sports, a buzzer beater is a successful shot made as the clock expires at the end of a period or at the end of the game, leaving zero seconds remaining. A buzzer sounds whenever a game clock expires, hence the name "buzzer beater." In b ...

against

UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the third oldest academic component of the University of Texas Syste ...

giving Utah a 57–54 win. On February 9, 1992, he shot 100% (5/5) on three-pointers against

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

, a new single-game record for the Utes, and he was named WAC Player of the Week on February 10, 1992.''2009–10 WAC Men's Basketball Media Guide'', 2009, p. 97. At the end of his junior season he recorded career-highs in all shooting categories, including a 39.6% from the 3-point line. Wilson played 31 games in his senior season, recording per game career-highs in rebounds (5.7), assists (2.8), steals (1.3) and points (12.5): he ranked third on the team in scoring, second in rebounding and third in assists. He also shot a career-best 47.4% from the field. He was named WAC player of the week on January 18, 1993, and at the end of the year he was a first-team All-WAC selection. Wilson ended his career at Utah with 1,087 points and 449 rebounds.

College statistics

''Source'' , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" ,

, 32 , , 30 , , 21.3 , , .429 , , .343 , , .663 , , 3.0 , , 1.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.5 , , 8.7 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" ,

, 35 , , 18 , , 24.6 , , .440 , , .396 , , .780 , , 5.1 , , 1.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 12.1 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

, 31 , , , , 30.1 , , .474 , , .362 , , .759 , , 5.7 , , 2.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 12.5 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 98 , , , , 25.3 , , .449 , , .370 , , .745 , , 4.6 , , 2.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.4 , , 11.1 , -

Professional career

After the end of his senior season, Wilson was automatically eligible for the

, during which he was selected by the

with the 27th and last pick in the second round (54th overall). He participated in the

Rocky Mountain Revue The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season basketball competition organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regula ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

with the Suns, but he was cut before the beginning of the

, being released on October 16, 1993. He then signed for the

Oklahoma City Cavalry The Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry was a professional basketball team based in Lawton, Oklahoma. They played in the Premier Basketball League (PBL) after having been in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). They have one PBL championship an ...

of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

and played 50 games (26 starts) averaging 13.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 24.3 minutes per game. Wilson was selected to the CBA All-Rookie Second Team. In 1994 he signed for

Sport Club Cañadense Sport Club Cañadense is an Argentina, Argentine sports club from Cañada de Gómez, Santa Fe Province. Although many sports are practised at the club, the institution is mostly known for both its association football, football and basketball tea ...

, an Argentine club in

Cañada de Gómez Cañada de Gómez is a city in the . It is the head town of the Iriondo Department and is located about west of Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. ...

, and contributed to save the team from relegation. In 1995 he joined

Deportivo Roca The Club Social y Deportivo General Roca is an Argentine sports club, based on General Roca, in the Río Negro Province. The club, founded on 1 September 1974, is mostly known for its football and basketball teams. The football team currently ...

and in 1996 he signed for

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

, where he won the league title, being named the LNB Finals MVP; during the 1996–97 finals he scored a career-high 47 points on May 19, 1997, against

Independiente de Pico Independiente may refer to: *the Spanish word for independent Music *Independiente (record label), a record label formed in 1997 * ''Independiente'' (Dragon Ash album), 2007 * ''Independiente'' (Ricardo Arjona album), 2011 *''Independiente'', an a ...

in 48 minutes of play. In 1997 he moved back to Deportivo Roja and was named LNB Best Foreign Player for the 1997–98 season after averaging 28.3 points over 51 games of regular season play. In 1998 he signed for

Vaqueros de Bayamón The ''vaquero'' (; , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in what what is today Mexico (then New Spain) and Spanish Florida from a method brought to the Americ ...

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. T ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, averaging 18.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 11 games. In 1999 he went back to Argentina and signed for Quilmes de Mar del Plata, where he won the

Campeonato Panamericano de Clubes de Básquetbol The Campeonato Panamericano de Clubes de Básquetbol ( English: Pan American Basketball Club Championship) was an international professional basketball tournament that was contested from 1993 to 2000, with the exception of 1998, when it was sche ...

. In 2000 he joined

Estudiantes de Olavarría Club Atlético Estudiantes, usually called Estudiantes de Olavarría, is an Argentine sports club based in Olavarría, Buenos Aires Province. Club's nickname is ''Albinegro''. Estudiantes gained notoriety in late 1990s when the basketball team w ...

and he had the most successful season of his career: he won the league title, the Finals MVP award and the

2001 Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

. He averaged 20.8 points in 49 games of LNB play with Estudiantes and also scored 37 in a finals game against

Libertad de Sunchales Club Deportivo Libertad (usually called simply Libertad or Libertad de Sunchales) is a sports club from Argentina, with homebase in the Sunchales city of Santa Fe Province. The club is better known for both its association football and basketball ...

. In 2001 he had his only experience in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

: he transferred to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, signing with

CB Lucentum Alicante Club Baloncesto Lucentum Alicante is a professional basketball team based in Alicante, Valencian Community. Lucentum Alicante played in Liga ACB for the last time in 2012, after selling its place in the league to CB Canarias. In August 2015, due ...

: he played 30 regular season games in the LEB, averaging 13.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 30.3 minutes per game, and appeared in 8 playoff games with averages of 9.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 22 minutes of playing time. In 2002 he returned to Argentina and signed for

Atenas Atenas () is a district of the Atenas canton, in the Alajuela province of Costa Rica. Its urban area is referred as Atenas city. Toponymy Its name means Athens ''(Αθήνα)'', the capital of Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Repu ...

, where he won the league title for the third time in his career. In 2003 he went back to Boca Juniors, and played two more season, winning the 2004 LNB championship and being named Finals MVP. In his 3 seasons with Boca Juniors he scored a total of 2,873 points. In 2005–06 he spent another season with Quilmes, while in 2006–07 he was part of the roster of

Obras Sanitarias Club Atlético Obras Sanitarias de la Nación (mostly known simply as Obras Sanitarias or Obras) is an Argentina, Argentine professional sports club that is located in the district of Núñez, Buenos Aires. Although originally conceived as a rugb ...

. In 2007 he had a brief experience in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, playing for

Guaiqueríes de Margarita Guaiqueríes de Margarita is a professional basketball team based in La Asunción, Venezuela. The team currently plays in Venezuela's Liga Profesional de Baloncesto. The team has won the Venezuelan championships nine times. Current roster LPB t ...

, and then moved to Peñarol, where he averaged 14.9 minutes per game. In 2008 he was the first foreign player to reach 11,000 points in the history of LNB while playing for

Monte Hermoso Monte Hermoso is a town located on the Atlantic coast of Argentina, some east of the city of Bahía Blanca, in the south of the Buenos Aires Province, Province of Buenos Aires. It is the administrative seat of the Partidos of Buenos Aires, partid ...

. He spent the 2008–09 season with Ciclista Juninense and he retired after the 2009–10 season played for Asociación Italiana de Charata in the Torneo Nacional de Ascenso. He scored a total of 11,149 points in 570 games in the Liga Nacional de Básquet.

References

External links