Willie Vernon Murrell (September 13, 1941 – December 6, 2018) 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. Murrell was born in

Taft, Oklahoma Taft is a town in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 250 at the 2010 census, a decline of 28.4 percent from the figure of 349 recorded in 2000. The town began as an all-black town on land allotted to Creek Freedmen. It is ...

. A 6'6" forward, he played at Kansas State University from 1962 to 1964. He averaged 20.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game during his time at Kansas State and was a 1964 All-American AP Honorable Mention. In 1964, he led Kansas State to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. The team was eliminated by

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, despite a 29-point, 13-rebound effort from Murrell. In 2009, Murrell's No. 44 jersey was retired by Kansas State. After college, Murrell played three seasons in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

as a member of the

Denver Rockets Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

Miami Floridians The Miami Floridians, later in their history known simply as The Floridians, were a professional basketball franchise in the original, now-defunct American Basketball Association. The Miami Floridians played in the ABA from 1968 through 1970 when ...

, and

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...

. He averaged 13.1 points and 7.3 rebounds in 228 ABA games. Murrell died on December 6, 2018, at age 77 in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

References

1941 births 2018 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Oklahoma Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball players Denver Rockets players Kentucky Colonels players Miami Floridians players People from Muskogee County, Oklahoma Scranton Miners (basketball) players Small forwards St. Louis Hawks draft picks {{Louisville-stub