Ronald Morgan Cornelius (born December 11, 1958) 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 (appr ...

player. He played professionally in Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom and played college basketball for the

Pacific Tigers The Pacific Tigers represent the University of the Pacific (United States), University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, in intercollegiate athletics. The Tigers compete in NCAA Division I, and are currently in their second stint as members ...

. A

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

native, Morrison starred at Valley High School where, in his senior season, he averaged 22 points per game, 15 rebounds per game and shot 63% from the field. At the close of the season, he was named the

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

prep player of the year. Following his high school career, he committed to coach Stan Morrison at the University of the Pacific of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA, now known as the

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

), selecting the Tigers over schools such as

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, USC and

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

. Despite weighing only 183 pounds (at 6 feet, 8 inches tall) upon enrollment, Cornelius proved to be an immediate impact player for the Tigers. He became a starter from his first game and finished the season averaging 12.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. In his second season, Cornelius raised his averages to 15.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, leading the Tigers to both the PCAA regular season and tournament championships. At the close of his sophomore season, Cornelius was named the PCAA Player of the Year and first-team all-conference. In the 1979 PCAA tournament, Cornelius recorded 21 points and 10 rebounds in the tournament final win over

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

. He was named tournament most outstanding player, and secured the Tigers' first NCAA tournament berth since 1971. Following his sophomore season, coach Morrison left Pacific to take the head coaching job at USC and was replaced by

Dick Fichtner Richard Allen Fichtner (September 16, 1939 – April 17, 2018) was an American college basketball coach. Fichtner came from Batesville, Indiana, and played four varsity sports at West Hills College Coalinga, then finished his college career playi ...

. The Tigers' team performance slipped, but Cornelius continued to be highly productive, ultimately finishing with career averages of 18.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Cornelius finished his career as the leading scorer in school and conference history (2,065 points), as well as the PCAA all-time leader in rebounds with 973 (conference records since eclipsed). After the close of his college career, Cornelius was drafted by the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

in the third round (65th pick overall) of the 1981 NBA draft. After not making the team, he spent the rest of his career playing in various leagues in Europe for about ten years. He then moved into the business world as an IT consultant and coached high school basketball on the side.

References

External links

College stats @ sports-reference.comSpanish League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius, Ron 1958 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in the United Kingdom American men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Gijón Baloncesto players High school basketball coaches in Arizona Le Mans Sarthe Basket players Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Pacific Tigers men's basketball players Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Santa Ana, California Basketball players from Orange County, California