Murray Neal Wier (December 12, 1926 – April 6, 2016), nicknamed "Rampaging Redhead" and "Wizard Wier," was an American professional basketball player for the

Tri-Cities Blackhawks Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to: Populated places Americas Canada * Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of C ...

(now the present-day

Atlanta 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 (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

) and the

Waterloo Hawks The Waterloo Hawks were a National Basketball League and National Basketball Association team based in Waterloo, Iowa. The Hawks remain the only sports franchise ever based in Iowa from any of the current Big Four Leagues. They are not affili ...

. He is better known for his standout college career at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

, however, when in 1947–48 he was named a consensus first team

All-America 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 ...

n and was also the inaugural

National Collegiate Athletic Association 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. ...

(NCAA) Major College scoring leader at 21.0 points per game.

Early life

Wier was born in Grandview, Iowa. He attended Grandview High School from his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

through junior years before moving to

Muscatine, Iowa Muscatine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,797 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase from 22,697 in 2000 United States Census, 2000. It is loca ...

. He then spent his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

year in 1943–44 at

Muscatine High School Muscatine High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in Muscatine, Iowa. The school is part of the Muscatine Community School District. Located approximately one mile east of U.S. Highway 61 in Muscatine, Muscatine High School ...

, from which he graduated. He led Muscatine High School to a district championship with a 50–37 win over their archrival, Davenport High School, and was named a first team all-state selection by the ''

Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cab ...

'' and Iowa Daily Press Association. After his breakout senior season, University of Iowa head men's basketball coach Pops Harrison offered him a full scholarship to play for the Hawkeyes.

Career

College

Harrison made Wier a four-year starter at Iowa. In his freshman season of 1944–45, the Hawkeyes won 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 ...

season championship. Wier was a , 155 lb (70 kg)

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

but played more of a hybrid position, utilizing his dribbling and shooting guard abilities while technically lining up as a forward. The Hawkeyes were fairly successful over the rest of Wier's career and eventually finished second to the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

for the conference championship during his senior season in 1947–48. Wier led the Hawkeyes in scoring in both his junior and senior years at 15.1 and 21.0 points per game (ppg), respectively. Like he did in high school, he had a breakout senior year. His 21.0 ppg led the NCAA in scoring en route to Wier becoming the first officially recognized Major College division scoring leader. In the process, he set a then-Big Ten record of 272 points in conference play, was a first team all-conference selection and was also dubbed the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player. He capped his career off by being named a consensus first team All-American.

Professional

Wier was drafted 48th overall in the 1948 Basketball Association of America Draft by the

Fort Wayne 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 of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at ...

. Although he was drafted by the Pistons, he did not play for them. He began his career in 1948 with the

, who originally played in the National Basketball League (NBL). Before the 1949–50 season, the BAA and NBL merged to form the present-day

NBA 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 ...

. In 1949–50, Wier's second season with the Blackhawks, he played for

Red Auerbach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. As a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he led the Boston Celtics to an unprecedented champio ...

, who would later win 10 NBA titles as a head coach. After three years with the Blackhawks, Wier then spent one final season playing professional basketball when he joined the

of the National Professional Basketball League. When the league folded, his basketball career as a player ended.

Later life

After professional basketball, Wier became an assistant coach at

Waterloo East High School Waterloo East High School in Waterloo, Iowa, United States is a state school, public high school consisting of approximately 1000 students in grades 9–12. It is a part of the Waterloo Community School District. History The school was foun ...

for the boys' basketball team. He was the head coach for 24 years and compiled an overall record of 374 wins versus 140 losses, including winning the state championship in 1974. That same season he was named the Iowa State Coach of the Year. Weir was also the head men's tennis coach for 10 years before retiring in 1989. Aside from coaching, Wier also served as the high school's athletic director for 34 years. Wier lived in

Georgetown, Texas Georgetown is a city in Texas and the county seat of Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 67,176 at the 2020 census, and according to 2024 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 101,344. It is no ...

in a retirement community called

Sun City Texas Sun City Texas is a age-restricted community located in Georgetown, Texas, a city 35 miles north of Austin, Texas, Austin off Interstate 35 in Texas, Interstate 35. It is part of the chain of Sun City communities started by Del Webb. Del Webb, a ...

. He was a member of the NBA Retired Players Association. Wier died on April 6, 2016.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

Playoffs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wier, Murray 1926 births 2016 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Iowa Basketball players from Iowa Fort Wayne Pistons draft picks Guards (basketball) High school basketball coaches in Iowa Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball players Muscatine High School alumni People from Louisa County, Iowa Sportspeople from Georgetown, Texas Basketball players from Williamson County, Texas Tri-Cities Blackhawks players Waterloo Hawks players