George Wilson obit

UC Hall of Famer George Wilson dies at age 81

 He was not on the list.

A member of the University of Cincinnati's last national title team in men's basketball died at the age of 81 Saturday, July 29.

Former Bearcat forward Myron Hughes, who played in the early 1980s, posted this on the University of Cincinnati Basketball Alumni Facebook page:

It's with great sadness that I share with you that Hall of Famer and true UC Legend, George Wilson, passed today. I was fortunate enough to be able to visit with him and his daughter at the hospital an hour before he was called home.

UC released a statement from current coach Wes Miller:

"I am saddened to hear the news of George Wilson's passing,"head coach Miller said. "He is a legend in the game of basketball: a national champion, Olympic gold medalist, NBA player, proud Bearcat and a trailblazer in his era. I was fortunate to spend time with him on multiple occasions over the last two years. Our entire Cincinnati program sends its regards to George's family, loved ones and those he impacted over his lifetime."George Wilson, who became a starter for Coach Ed Jucker midway through 1961-62 helped the Bearcats to their second straight NCAA championship that season averaging 9.2 points per game. In UC's second straight win over Ohio State, he scored six points and hauled down 11 rebounds in the 71-59 victory at Louisville's Freedom Hall. Some of his teammates on that team included Ron Bonham, Tony Yates, ad Tom Tacker.

The 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward then was almost part of a historic third title which was spoiled by an overtime loss to Loyola-Chicago in 1963.

In that junior year, Wilson averaged 15 points per game and 11.2 rebounds. His senior year he was co-captain with Ron Bonham in Jucker's final year of coach that ended with a 17-9 record. Wilson hit for 16.1 points per game and 12.5 rebounds. Later that year, he made the 1964 United States basketball team that won gold in the Olympics in Tokyo. Wilson spoke of his gold medal accomplishment just two months ago.

"You're talking '64, that wasn't 20 years after the bombing (Hiroshima, Nagasaki)," Wilson said. "At that particular time, people didn't read about it because we were way over there in Tokyo. By the time they got the word back here, it was two days!"

Wilson was a two-time NCAA All-Tournament team honoree, first in 1962 and again in 1963 as the Bearcats reached the title game for the third-straight season. He was a Second-Team All-American in 1963 by Converse and The Sporting News.

He was drafted in the NBA in 1964 and played seven seasons for the Royals, Bulls, Sonics, Suns, 76ers and expansion Buffalo Braves. Cincinnati's Royals then had a territorial draft and Wilson was once on a squad at The Gardens that featured Tom Thacker, Jack Twyman and Oscar Robertson from UC; Jerry Lucas from Ohio State; Adrian Smith from Kentucky and Wayne Embry from Miami University.

Wilson enjoyed meeting the young players at UC and often wondered aloud why more numbers weren't retired. Currently, there's Robertson's No. 12, Twyman's No. 27 and Kenyon Martin's No. 4. Robertson and Twyman are both Naismith Basketball Hall of Famers and Martin was the consensus National Player of the Year as well as the top overall pick in the NBA Draft.

Still, some didn't know his history. "I was in the JTM booth one night and one guy looks at me and says, 'You're tall, did you play basketball?'" Wilson said this past May. "I just took his program and gave it to him and said turn to page 28. He turned and said, 'What? NCAA? Olympic gold medal? NBA?' Here I was all this time."

Post-basketball, he was involved in the Senior Olympics and was a frequent participant in local golf outings. He also has been part of a group that regularly has gathered for breakfast on Wednesday mornings and spoke to The Enquirer this spring.

 Corie Blount tweeted out - Just found out we lost one of the corner stones of our Bearcats Basketball program this morning… Rest in Heaven “Big George Wilson” His life would of made a hell of a documentary! He was one of the best������������������������������������ Praying for strength for his family.

For his career at UC, he was voted into the Bearcat Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. He scored 1,124 points in three seasons as freshmen weren't eligible for varsity competition in the 1960s. He also added 888 rebounds. He's also one of three UC Olympic gold medal winners. "The Big O" won gold in 1960 in Rome, Wilson in '64 in Tokyo and Mary Wineberg took gold in the 4x400 relay in 2008 in Beijing.

From Illinois, he won two state championships in high school and was a three-time high school All-American. He briefly committed to Illinois, then flipped to Cincinnati where George Smith had Oscar Robertson who had led the Bearcats to three straight Final Fours.

By his freshman year, Smith became athletic director and Jucker was promoted to head coach.

"Juck was like a father for everybody," he told The Enquirer in 2020. "He always had you first and he always thought about you. He was consistent all the time I knew him. He never switched. And that's all you ask people to do: Just be straight up with me."

As of Saturday evening, July 29 final arrangements had not been released.

 

Career information

High school            John Marshall (Chicago, Illinois)

College            Cincinnati (1961–1964)

NBA draft            1964: territorial pick

Selected by the Cincinnati Royals

Playing career            1964–1971

Position            Center

Number            17, 15, 21, 16, 33

Career history

1964–1966            Cincinnati Royals

1966–1967            Chicago Bulls

1967–1968            Seattle SuperSonics

1968–1969            Phoenix Suns

1969–1970            Philadelphia 76ers

1970–1971            Buffalo Braves

Career highlights and awards

NCAA champion (1962)

2× First-team All-MVC (1963, 1964)

First-team Parade All-American (1960)

Third-team Parade All-American (1959)