James Robert Wilkes (born April 1, 1958) 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. 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 ...
, Wilkes was raised in Los Angeles, where he attended
Susan Miller Dorsey
Susan Miller Dorsey (February 16, 1857 – February 5, 1946)
was an American educator who served as the superintendent of the Los Angeles City Schools from 1920 to 1929.
Early life and education
Susan Almira Miller was born in Penn Yan ...
High School. In his senior year, he was named 1976 Los Angeles City Section 4A co-player of the year as he led Dorsey to the city championship.
Wlikes then attended
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
; as a 6'7"
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
*Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Smal ...
, he was regarded as a defensive specialist and was often assigned to guard the opponent's top scoring forward. In the third 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 selectin ...
, Wilkes was selected by the
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...
. He played three NBA seasons (1980–1983) with the Bulls and
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 ...
, scoring 547 total points.
Wilkes played for the
Detroit Spirits
The Savannah Spirits were a professional basketball team that played for two years in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 1986 to 1988, amassing a total regular season record of 42 wins and 60 losses for a total of 306.5 points. The ...
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 ...
(CBA) during the 1982–83 season and won the
CBA championship.
References
External links
Career statistics
1958 births
Living people
Basketball players from Nashville, Tennessee
Chicago Bulls draft picks
Chicago Bulls players
Detroit Pistons players
Detroit Spirits players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
Small forwards
UCLA Bruins men's basketball players
American men's basketball players
Susan Miller Dorsey High School alumni
20th-century American sportsmen
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