Wayne Vernon Estes (May 13, 1943 – February 8, 1965) was an American

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 was a 6'6" (1.98 m) All-American

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for the

Utah State Aggies The Utah State Aggies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Utah State University, located in Logan. The school fields 16 sports teams – seven men and nine women – and compete in the Mountain West Conference. Sports spon ...

from 1962 to 1965. Wayne is the fourth-leading scorer in Utah State history, with 2,001 points and the fourth-leading rebounder (893). He holds school records for career points per game (26.7),

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the Key (basketball), restricted ...

s made in a career (469), consecutive 10-point games (64), points in a season (821), points per game in a season (33.7), points in a game (52), and rebounds in a game (28). He was the second leading scorer in the nation in 1965, just behind

Rick Barry Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944) is an American retired professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the ...

High school

Estes earned all-state honors in three sports for the Anaconda Copperheads: football, basketball, and track. Estes earned three letters each in football and basketball (freshmen were unable to play varsity football and basketball at this time) and four letters in track. Estes was the Montana state class A champion discus and shot put thrower in his senior season. He still holds the Anaconda high school shot put record with a mark of 59' 4.5". During his high school basketball career, Estes scored 1,430 points. Only

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...

Center

Ed Kalafat Edward L. Kalafat (October 13, 1932 – October 7, 2019) was an American basketball player. A center, he played college basketball at the University of Minnesota and professionally, three seasons for the Minneapolis Lakers. Biography Kalafat was ...

, who racked up 1,561 points, outscored Estes while at Anaconda High School.

Accidental death

On the night of February 8, 1965, Wayne Estes played what would be the last game of his college career, against the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

in the Nelson Field House. Estes scored 48 points during this game, eclipsing the 2,000-point mark of his career.

Bounce pass to Estes. Puts the ball behind his back. Turns and looks out front to Hal Hale…(Estes) looks at his defense, pushes, and it's…in! Oh, great! Wayne Estes has now scored two-thousand points in a three-year career.
—Play-by-play announcer Reid Andreasen,
KVNU KVNU (610 AM) is a broadcast radio station in the United States. Licensed to Logan, Utah, KVNU is owned by the Cache Valley Media Group and has a news/talk format serving the Logan metropolitan area. The station first signed on in 1938 and was ...
Radio, Feb. 8, 1965

After the game, Estes and some friends stopped at the scene of a car accident near campus. While crossing the street, Estes brushed against a downed high power line and was fatally electrocuted. Estes would have likely been a high draft pick in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA) in 1965. 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 ...

had intended to draft him in the first round. Estes was posthumously given All-American honors by the

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and also earned a posthumous consensus Second Team All-American distinction. His number of #33 was posthumously retired by the Aggies. Wayne is buried in the Sunset Memorial cemetery near Fairmont, Montana just southeast of

Anaconda Anacondas or water boas are a group of large snakes of the genus ''Eunectes''. They are found in tropical South America. Four species are currently recognized. Description Although the name applies to a group of snakes, it is often used to re ...

NCAA career statistics

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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 ...

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Wayne Estes Center

In May 2013, Utah State University announced the construction of the $9.7 million Wayne Estes Center, which will serve as a practice facility for the Utah State University Aggies men's and women's basketball teams and house a competition venue women's volleyball team. In the foyer will be a visual tribute to Wayne Estes. The center was made possible by a $5.25 million gift from Jim and Carol Laub and a $1.3 million gift from Blake Kirby. Groundbreaking was held in June 2013 and completion was scheduled for April 2014.

References

External links