Wilson Washington Jr. (born August 3, 1955) is an American former

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 and a former assistant coach at

Norfolk State University Norfolk State University (NSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnersh ...

. Washington was an

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 ...

player at

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...

and played for two seasons in the

National Basketball Association 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 ...

College career

From Norfolk, Virginia's Booker T. Washington High School, Washington first went to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

to play for coach

Lefty Driesell Charles Grice "Lefty" Driesell (December 25, 1931 – February 17, 2024) was an American college basketball coach. He was the first coach to win more than 100 games at four different NCAA Division I schools, Driesell led the programs of Davidson ...

. However, he left the school after only one game. He transferred to Division II Old Dominion, where he and the team found great success. As a sophomore in 1974–75, Washington averaged 13.7

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

and 12.6

rebounds per game '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 ...

and was named a third team

. The Monarchs went 25–6 and defeated

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

76–75 to win the 1975 NCAA Division II national championship. Washington was named the tournament MVP. As a junior, Washington averaged 17.9 points and 13.5 rebounds and led the Monarchs to a 19–12 record in a season where the Monarchs played many Division I teams in anticipation of moving up a level the next year. ODU again made the Division II Final Four, this time losing to

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

in the national semifinals. Washington was named a first team all-American at the close of the season. As a senior, Washington led the Monarchs to a respectable 25–4 record in their first Division I season. He averaged 18 points and 11.4 rebounds and was named ODU's first Division I All-American, earning AP honorable mention honors in 1977. For his three-year ODU career, Washington scored 1,366 points (16.9 per game), collected 1,011 rebounds (12.5 per game) and blocked 363 shots.

Professional career

After the close of his college career, Washington was selected in the second round (25th pick overall) of the

1977 NBA draft The 1977 NBA draft was the 31st annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 10, 1977, before the 1977–78 season. In this draft, 22 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball player ...

by the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

. He played sparingly for the Sixers, averaging 1.4 points and 1.0 rebounds in just 2.7 minutes per game. After 14 games, he was traded to the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

, where he enjoyed a larger role off the bench. He returned to the Nets for the 1978–79 season, averaging 8.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Following his time in the NBA, Washington played in Italy and the Netherlands.

Coaching career

After several years in business, Washington joined the coaching staff at Norfolk State as an assistant coach for the 2011–12 season. In his first season with the Spartans, they went 26–10 won their first NCAA tournament game against

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

in an upset.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

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Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 14 , , 0 , , 2.7 , , .421 , , .500 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , .1 , , .1 , , 1.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, 24 , , , , 21.8 , , .492 , , .553 , , 5.9 , , .4 , , .7 , , 1.5 , , 8.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 62 , , , , 18.4 , , .502 , , .635 , , 4.7 , , .8 , , .5 , , 1.1 , , 8.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 100 , , 0 , , 17.0 , , .497 , , .605 , , 4.5 , , .6 , , .5 , , 1.0 , , 7.3

References

External links

Norfolk State coaching bioItalian League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Wilson 1955 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in the Netherlands American men's basketball players Stella Azzurra Roma players Basketball players from Norfolk, Virginia BV Amstelveen players Centers (basketball) Maryland Terrapins men's basketball players New Jersey Nets players Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball coaches Old Dominion Monarchs men's basketball players Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Philadelphia 76ers players Power forwards Sportspeople from Norfolk, Virginia ZZ Leiden players