Francois Wise (born May 15, 1958) is a retired American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He played four years for the varsity 49ers at

Long Beach State California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

in California. He was picked by the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

on the fourth round of the

1980 NBA Draft The 1980 NBA draft was the 34th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 10, 1980, at the Sheraton Centre Hotel & Towers, before the 1980–81 season. In this draft, 23 NBA teams took turns select ...

and was the 81st selection overall. Wise survived the Bullets rookie tryout and made the club's final 22-man roster. He was waived two weeks before the campaign started. Wise performed in several summer leagues prior to reporting at the Bullets tryouts camp. He was listed in the 13-man lineup of coach Nate Lewis in the eight team San Francisco summer pro basketball league competitions held at Potrero Recreational Center from June 23-August 14, 1980. Wise also played for the Lakers quintet in the Joe Weakley's Run, Shoot and Dunk recreational league that summer and performed in the league's all-star game, joining such stars as Larry Pounds, Kenny Tyler, Bulls rookie James Wilkes,

Reggie Theus Reginald Wayne Theus (born October 13, 1957) is an American basketball coach and former player. He played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a two-time NBA All-Star. He is currently the head men's basketball he ...

Freeman Williams Freeman Williams Jr. (May 15, 1956 – April 19, 2022) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Portland State Vikings, where he was a two-time All-Americ ...

and

Michael Cooper Michael Jerome Cooper (born April 15, 1956) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the boys varsity coach at Culver City High School. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winnin ...

. His elder brother is

Willie Wise Willie M. Wise (born March 3, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player. After a successful ABA tenure, which eventually resulted in him making the ABA All-Time Team, Wise’s NBA career was ended prematurely by a knee injury. C ...

, who played seven years in the defunct

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...

and two seasons in the NBA. He had overseas stints, mostly playing in the Philippines for the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

from 1981-1983, and again in 1985 and 1987. He also played in Mexico and also for the Detroit Spirits in 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 ...

. Wise joined the U/Tex Wranglers in 1981 upon the invitation of the team's coach Glenn McDonald. Wise later played for the Tanduay franchise and scored 74 points in a game on 10 August 1983. He also played for the Manila Beer and Hills Bros franchises. In a 118 game PBA career over five years, Wise averaged 36.7 points, 15.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists. After his playing years, Wise spent 33 years as a police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department before retiring in February 2020. His son, Eric, also played as a PBA import for Barako Bull in the 2014 season."Francois Wise recalls his epic PBA career" by Richard Dy
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References

External links

@basketball-reference.com
Wise makes 'em pay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, Francois 1958 births Living people Alaska Aces (PBA) players American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American men's basketball players Basketball players from San Francisco Detroit Spirits players Long Beach State Beach men's basketball players Manila Beer Brewmasters players Power forwards (basketball) Tanduay Rhum Masters players U/Tex Wranglers players Washington Bullets draft picks Philippine Basketball Association imports