Byron Neal Wilson (born September 1, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who also holds Argentinian nationality. A 6-foot-3 guard, he played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

for 3 years, sitting out his freshman year due to Proposition 48. He was selected by the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

in the second round of the

1993 NBA draft The 1993 NBA draft took place on June 30, 1993, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The draft had some talented players at the top, but injuries and personal problems hurt many of them. Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Allan Ho ...

(54th overall), but he was cut before the beginning of the

1993–94 NBA season The 1993–94 NBA season was the 48th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Houston Rockets defeating the New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals to win the franchise's first championship. Notable occurre ...

and started his professional career in the CBA. He then moved to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and he began a long career there, playing 570 games in the

Liga Nacional de Básquet The Liga Nacional de Básquet (abbreviated LNB, and literally in English, "National Basketball League"), also commonly referred to as "La Liga de Básquet" ("The Basketball League"), is the top-tier level of the Argentine basketball league system ...

, scoring 11,149 points, and winning 4 national championships, 3 Finals MVP titles, and one

Liga Sudamericana Liga or LIGA may refer to: People * Līga (name), a Latvian female given name * Luciano Ligabue, more commonly known as Ligabue or ''Liga'', Italian rock singer-songwriter Sports * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga ...

title. He retired in 2010 after a 17-year professional career.

High school career

Wilson was born and raised in

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...

, where he attended

Lew Wallace High School Lew Wallace High School was a four-year (9-12) public high school of the Gary Community School Corporation in Gary, Indiana, United States. Staff The faculty included nearly 65 teachers. History In 1926 the 45th Avenue School of Gary, Indi ...

: he averaged 19 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game as a senior in high school, shooting 52% from the field. He also shot 80% from the free throw line in high school. At the end of his last year at Lew Wallace he was an All-City, All-Conference and All-State selection.

College career

Wilson was recruited by

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and

: he committed to Utah and signed on May 30, 1989, being one of the first recruits brought to the program by newly appointed head coach

Rick Majerus Richard Raymond Majerus (February 17, 1948 – December 1, 2012) was an American basketball coach and TV analyst. He coached at Marquette University (1983–1986), Ball State University (1987–1989), the University of Utah (1989–2004), and S ...

. However, Wilson was declared academically ineligible by the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

, following the recently introduced Proposition 48, and he had to sit out his first year of college basketball. He regained his eligibility in 1990, and after being suspended in the first game of his sophomore year for being late to practice he debuted with the Utes on November 27, 1990, against Seattle Pacific. Coach Majerus gave Wilson a starting spot on the team, and the guard ranked third in scoring behind

Josh Grant Joshua David Grant (born August 7, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. The 6'9" (2.06 m), 223 pound (101 kg) power forward graduated from East High School in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1986 and attended the University ...

and Walter Watts with 8.7 points per game over 32 appearances (30 starts). Wilson's junior season saw him lead the team in steals with 1.3 per game, and he was the second best scorer with 12.1 points per game behind

Paul Afeaki Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

: he also recorded a career-high of 25 points on February 19, 1991, against

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

. On January 30, 1992, Wilson scored a half-court

buzzer beater In basketball and other such timed sports, a buzzer beater is a shot that is taken before the game clock of a quarter, a half (if the half is the second one, then, a game), or an overtime period expires but does not go in the basket until after t ...

against

UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stude ...

giving Utah a 57–54 win. On February 9, 1992, he shot 100% (5/5) on three-pointers against

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

, a new single-game record for the Utes, and he was named WAC Player of the Week on February 10, 1992.''2009–10 WAC Men's Basketball Media Guide'', 2009, p. 97. At the end of his junior season he recorded career-highs in all shooting categories, including a 39.6% from the 3-point line. Wilson played 31 games in his senior season, recording per game career-highs in rebounds (5.7), assists (2.8), steals (1.3) and points (12.5): he ranked third on the team in scoring, second in rebounding and third in assists. He also shot a career-best 47.4% from the field. He was named WAC player of the week on January 18, 1993, and at the end of the year he was a first-team All-WAC selection. Wilson ended his career at Utah with 1,087 points and 449 rebounds.

College statistics

''Source'' , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" ,

, 32 , , 30 , , 21.3 , , .429 , , .343 , , .663 , , 3.0 , , 1.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.5 , , 8.7 , - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" ,

, 35 , , 18 , , 24.6 , , .440 , , .396 , , .780 , , 5.1 , , 1.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 12.1 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

, 31 , , , , 30.1 , , .474 , , .362 , , .759 , , 5.7 , , 2.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.3 , , 12.5 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 98 , , , , 25.3 , , .449 , , .370 , , .745 , , 4.6 , , 2.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.4 , , 11.1 , -

Professional career

After the end of his senior season, Wilson was automatically eligible for the

, during which he was selected by the

with the 27th and last pick in the second round (54th overall). He participated in the

Rocky Mountain Revue The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

with the Suns, but he was cut before the beginning of the

, being released on October 16, 1993. He then signed for the

Oklahoma City Cavalry The Lawton-Fort Sill Cavalry was a professional basketball team based in Lawton, Oklahoma. They played in the Premier Basketball League after having been in the Continental Basketball Association. They have one PBL championship and also were ...

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 ...

and played 50 games (26 starts) averaging 13.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 24.3 minutes per game. In 1994 he signed for Sport Club Cañadense, an Argentine club in

Cañada de Gómez Cañada de Gómez is a city in the . It is the head town of the Iriondo Department and is located about west of Rosario and from the provincial capital, on National Route 9 (Argentina), National Route 9. It has a population of about 29,000 inhabi ...

, and contributed to save the team from relegation. In 1995 he joined

Deportivo Roca The Club Social y Deportivo General Roca is an Argentine sports club, based on General Roca, in the Río Negro Province. The club, founded on September 1, 1974, is mostly known for its football and basketball teams. The football team currently ...

and in 1996 he signed for

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

, where he won the league title, being named the LNB Finals MVP; during the 1996–97 finals he scored a career-high 47 points on May 19, 1997, against

Independiente de Pico Independiente may refer to: *the Spanish word for wikt:independent, independent Music *Independiente (record label), a record label formed in 1997 *Independiente (Dragon Ash album), ''Independiente'' (Dragon Ash album), 2007 *Independiente (Ricard ...

in 48 minutes of play. In 1997 he moved back to Deportivo Roja and was named LNB Best Foreign Player for the 1997–98 season after averaging 28.3 points over 51 games of regular season play. In 1998 he signed for

Vaqueros de Bayamón The Vaqueros de Bayamón are a Puerto Rican basketball team of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The Vaqueros play their home games at Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum, a venue shared with the Liga de Voleibol Superior F ...

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. T ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, averaging 18.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 11 games. In 1999 he went back to Argentina and signed for Quilmes de Mar del Plata, where he won the

Campeonato Panamericano de Clubes de Básquetbol The Campeonato Panamericano de Clubes de Básquetbol (English: Pan American Basketball Club Championship) was an international professional basketball tournament that was contested from 1993 to 2000, with the exception of 1998, when it was sched ...

. In 2000 he joined

Estudiantes de Olavarría Club Atlético Estudiantes, usually called Estudiantes de Olavarría, is an Argentine sports club based in Olavarría, Buenos Aires Province. Club's nickname is ''Albinegro''. Estudiantes gained notoriety in late 1990s when the basketball team ...

and he had the most successful season of his career: he won the league title, the Finals MVP award and the

2001 Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol The 2001 Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol, or 2001 FIBA South American League, was the sixth edition of the top-tier tournament for basketball teams from South America. The tournament began on 12 February 2001 and finished on 13 April 2001. Argen ...

. He averaged 20.8 points in 49 games of LNB play with Estudiantes and also scored 37 in a finals game against

Libertad de Sunchales Club Deportivo Libertad (usually called simply Libertad or Libertad de Sunchales) is a sports club from Argentina, with homebase in the Sunchales city of Santa Fe Province. The club is better known for both its association football and basketba ...

. In 2001 he had his only experience in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

: he transferred to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, signing with

CB Lucentum Alicante Club Baloncesto Lucentum Alicante is a professional basketball team based in Alicante, Valencian Community. Lucentum Alicante played in Liga ACB for the last time in 2012, after selling its place in the league to CB Canarias. In August 2015, due ...

: he played 30 regular season games in the LEB, averaging 13.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 30.3 minutes per game, and appeared in 8 playoff games with averages of 9.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 22 minutes of playing time. In 2002 he returned to Argentina and signed for

Atenas Atenas () is a district of the Atenas canton, in the Alajuela province of Costa Rica. Its urban area is referred as Atenas city. Toponymy Its name means Athens ''(Αθήνα)'', the capital of Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', offici ...

, where he won the league title for the third time in his career. In 2003 he went back to Boca Juniors, and played two more season, winning the 2004 LNB championship and being named Finals MVP. In his 3 seasons with Boca Juniors he scored a total of 2,873 points. In 2005–06 he spent another season with Quilmes, while in 2006–07 he was part of the roster of

Obras Sanitarias Club Atlético Obras Sanitarias de la Nación (mostly known simply as Obras Sanitarias or Obras) is an Argentina, Argentine professional sports club that is located in the district of Núñez, Buenos Aires. Although originally conceived as a rugb ...

. In 2007 he had a brief experience in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, playing for

Guaiqueríes de Margarita Guaiqueríes de Margarita is a professional basketball team based in La Asunción, Venezuela. The team currently plays in Venezuela's Liga Profesional de Baloncesto. The team has won the Venezuelan championships nine times. Current rosters LPB ...

, and then moved to Peñarol, where he averaged 14.9 minutes per game. In 2008 he was the first foreign player to reach 11,000 points in the history of LNB while playing for

Monte Hermoso Monte Hermoso is a town located on the Atlantic coast of Argentina, some east of the city of Bahía Blanca, in the south of the Province of Buenos Aires. It is the administrative seat of the partido of Monte Hermoso. Founded at the beginning ...

. He spent the 2008–09 season with

Ciclista Juninense Club Ciclista Juninense is an Argentine sports club based in Junín, Buenos Aires. It was founded as a cycling club, but basketball has become the main sport of the club. The squad plays in the La Liga Argentina de Básquet The La Liga Argentina ...

and he retired after the 2009–10 season played for Asociación Italiana de Charata in the Torneo Nacional de Ascenso. He scored a total of 11,149 points in 570 games in the Liga Nacional de Básquet.

References

External links

Profile at RealGM.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Byron 1971 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Argentina American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American men's basketball players Atenas basketball players Baloncesto Superior Nacional players Basketball players from Gary, Indiana Boca Juniors basketball players CB Lucentum Alicante players Ciclista Juninense basketball players Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca basketball players Estudiantes de Olavarría basketball players Guaiqueríes de Margarita players Obras Sanitarias basketball players Oklahoma City Cavalry players Peñarol de Mar del Plata basketball players Phoenix Suns draft picks Quilmes de Mar del Plata basketball players Shooting guards Utah Utes men's basketball players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople