Wayne Leroy Stevens (June 19, 1936 – January 23, 2021) was an American professional

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.

Biography

Stevens was born in

Chillicothe, Ohio Chillicothe ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Scioto River 45 miles (72 km) south of Columbus, Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio. It is the only city in Ross Count ...

, and attended

Chillicothe High School Chillicothe ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Scioto River 45 miles (72 km) south of Columbus, Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio. It is the only city in Ross Count ...

, where he was a three-time All-Central Ohio League selection in basketball. As a junior in 1952–53, he was named Class A (big-school) second-team all-state by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

(AP). As a senior in 1953–54, he was again named second-team all-state, along with future basketball hall-of-famer

Wayne Embry Wayne Richard Embry (born March 26, 1937) is a retired American basketball player and basketball executive. Embry's 11-year playing career as a center spanned from 1958 to 1969 playing for the Cincinnati Royals, Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Buck ...

and baseball hall-of-famer

Bill Mazeroski William Stanley Mazeroski (born September 5, 1936), nicknamed "Maz" and "The Glove", is an American former second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1956 to 1972. A 7-time All-S ...

. In track, he was also the state high-jump champion. Stevens played college basketball for coach George Smith at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

. As a sophomore starting forward in 1955–56, Stevens scored 10.3 points per game and grabbed a team-leading 13.9 rebounds per game for the 17-7 Bearcats. As a junior in 1956–57, Stevens averaged 13.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, both second on the team behind center

Connie Dierking Conrad William Dierking (October 2, 1936 – December 29, 2013) was an American professional basketball player from 1958 to 1971. Early life Connie Dierking was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up on Long Island, where he starred in basketbal ...

, for the 15-9 Bearcats. As a senior in 1957–58, third-year starter Stevens and Dierking served as co-captains and Stevens averaged 10.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. The Bearcats, who welcomed sophomore starters

Oscar Robertson Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson played ...

and Ralph Davis to the team, went 25-3 and won the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

(MVC) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, where, in the Midwest Regional, they fell to

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

in overtime before defeating

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. Stevens was selected in the seventh round (49th overall) of the

1958 NBA draft The 1958 NBA draft was the 12th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 22, 1958, before the 1958–59 season. In this draft, eight NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball play ...

by the

Cincinnati Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. He played in eight games for the Royals during the beginning of the

1959–60 NBA season The 1959–60 NBA season was the 14th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning their 2nd straight NBA title, beating the St. Louis Hawks 4 games to 3 in the 1960 NBA Finals, NBA Finals. Nota ...

, and averaging 1.6 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. Stevens died on January 23, 2021, in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Wayne 1936 births 2021 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Ohio Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball players Cincinnati Royals draft picks Cincinnati Royals players Small forwards Sportspeople from Chillicothe, Ohio