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Walt Wesley
Walter Ivory Wesley (January 25, 1945 – March 28, 2024) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks.
Wesley grew up in Fort Myers, Florida, the son of Leroy and Josie Wesley. He attended Dunbar High School in Fort Myers.
The top university basketball programs weren't yet recruiting African-American players, but Wesley was recruited by programs in the Midwest. Wesley was quoted, "It's not that we weren't capable, or good enough academically. We just weren't recruited. There was a segregated system, and it was tough. Fortunately, I was recruited by several schools out of the midwest and that's where I chose to go."
The 6-foot-11-inch (211 cm) center chose to attend the University of Kansas and play for its storied program and became a two-time, unanimous selection, All-American.
In his first varsity season as a sophomore in 1963–64, Wesley averaged 10.5 points per game (ppg) and 5.9 rebounds per game (rpg). In his junior year, he became a dominant center, with a career-best 23.5 ppg and 8.8 rpg for the 17–8 Jayhawks.
In his senior season of 1965–66, Wesley averaged 20.7 ppg and a career-best 9.3 rpg as the Jayhawks won the Big 8 championship and were 23–4 overall. In the postseason, Wesley unwittingly found himself in a position that one day inspired the movie Glory Road. In the 1966 Midwest Regional Finals in Lubbock, Texas, the #4-ranked Jayhawks were in a tight game with #2-ranked Texas Western, now the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Wesley set a pick and Jo Jo White made a 30-foot (9.1 m) shot at the buzzer which seemingly sent the Jayhawks to the Final Four. But then a whistle blew, White was ruled as having stepped out of bounds, Texas Western won in double-overtime and would go on to win the title.
On December 18, 2004, his jersey was retired by the University of Kansas and hangs on a banner in Allen Fieldhouse. The banners display the player's surname over his/her number, but the numbers themselves are reused.
Wesley was chosen in the first round (sixth overall) of the 1966 NBA draft by the Cincinnati Royals.
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Walt Wesley
Walter Ivory Wesley (January 25, 1945 – March 28, 2024) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks.
Wesley grew up in Fort Myers, Florida, the son of Leroy and Josie Wesley. He attended Dunbar High School in Fort Myers.
The top university basketball programs weren't yet recruiting African-American players, but Wesley was recruited by programs in the Midwest. Wesley was quoted, "It's not that we weren't capable, or good enough academically. We just weren't recruited. There was a segregated system, and it was tough. Fortunately, I was recruited by several schools out of the midwest and that's where I chose to go."
The 6-foot-11-inch (211 cm) center chose to attend the University of Kansas and play for its storied program and became a two-time, unanimous selection, All-American.
In his first varsity season as a sophomore in 1963–64, Wesley averaged 10.5 points per game (ppg) and 5.9 rebounds per game (rpg). In his junior year, he became a dominant center, with a career-best 23.5 ppg and 8.8 rpg for the 17–8 Jayhawks.
In his senior season of 1965–66, Wesley averaged 20.7 ppg and a career-best 9.3 rpg as the Jayhawks won the Big 8 championship and were 23–4 overall. In the postseason, Wesley unwittingly found himself in a position that one day inspired the movie Glory Road. In the 1966 Midwest Regional Finals in Lubbock, Texas, the #4-ranked Jayhawks were in a tight game with #2-ranked Texas Western, now the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Wesley set a pick and Jo Jo White made a 30-foot (9.1 m) shot at the buzzer which seemingly sent the Jayhawks to the Final Four. But then a whistle blew, White was ruled as having stepped out of bounds, Texas Western won in double-overtime and would go on to win the title.
On December 18, 2004, his jersey was retired by the University of Kansas and hangs on a banner in Allen Fieldhouse. The banners display the player's surname over his/her number, but the numbers themselves are reused.
Wesley was chosen in the first round (sixth overall) of the 1966 NBA draft by the Cincinnati Royals.
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