David Vaughn Jr. (born June 4, 1952) is an American former 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. At 6'11", he played the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

position. Born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, Vaughn starred at Nashville's Cameron High School, who won state championships in 1970 and 1971. Rated the second-best basketball prospect in the country, Vaughn committed to

Memphis State University The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

in 1971, but then decided to play for

Oral Roberts University Oral Roberts University (ORU) is a Private university, private Evangelicalism, evangelical university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1963, the university is named after its founder, Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian preacher Oral ...

after meeting with

Oral Roberts Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009) was an American Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christianity, Christian televangelist, who was one of the first to propagate Prosperity theology, Prosperity Gospel Theo ...

himself. Incidentally, Vaughn soon married Gail Finch, who was the sister of Memphis State star

Larry Finch Larry O. Finch (February 16, 1951 – April 2, 2011) was an American player and coach for the University of Memphis men's basketball team. He led the Memphis Tigers to the NCAA men's basketball championship game in 1973, where they lost to the ...

.Mal Elliott. "Broken dreams: world of college basketball promises nothing". ''

The Wichita Eagle ''The Wichita Eagle'' is a daily newspaper published in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Originating in the early 1870s, shortly after the city's founding, it is owned by The McClatchy Company and is the largest newspaper in Wichita and the surr ...

''. November 10, 1991. 7G. As a sophomore at ORU in 1973, Vaughn scored 34 points and grabbed 34

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

in a game against

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

, setting a still-standing school record for most rebounds in a game. He averaged 19.2 points and 14.3 rebounds that season and earned

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 ...

honors. Later that year, however, Vaughn fell into depression due to various personal problems. Vaughn left ORU for the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...

shortly afterwards, but he never played basketball at UNLV. Vaughn was selected in the 1973 ABA Special Circumstances Draft by the San Diego Conqusitadors and opted to sign a professional contract, ending up with the

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

in 1974. Vaughn played with the Squires from 1974 to 1976, averaging 10.7 points per game and 9.8 rebounds per game. When the Squires folded in 1976, Vaughn took his game to Europe, but his career ended a few years later when he broke both of his legs in an automobile accident. Vaughn and Gail Finch had two sons Nehemia Vaughn and

David Vaughn III David Vaughn III (born March 23, 1973) is an American retired professional basketball player. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Vaughn attended Whites Creek High School in Tennessee, and was a ''USA Today'' All-USA First-Team selection. He was later dra ...

, who later played at Memphis State University and in the NBA.George Diaz. "Vaughn arrives with experience". ''

The Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

''. June 30, 1995. D1.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughn, David Jr. 1952 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Nashville, Tennessee Centers (basketball) New York Knicks draft picks Oral Roberts Golden Eagles men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) San Diego Conquistadors draft picks Virginia Squires players

See also

References