Wilson Washington Jr. (born August 3, 1955) 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 and a former assistant coach at

Norfolk State University Norfolk State University (NSU) is a public historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnership. History The institution was founded on September 18, 1935 a ...

. Washington was an All-American player at

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...

and played for two seasons 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 ...

College career

From Norfolk, Virginia's Booker T. Washington High School, Washington first went to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

to play for coach

Lefty Driesell Charles Grice "Lefty" Driesell (born December 25, 1931) is a retired American college basketball coach. He was the first coach to win more than 100 games at four different NCAA Division I schools, Driesell led the programs of Davidson College, t ...

. However, he left the school after only one game. He transferred to Division II

Old Dominion Old Dominion most commonly refers to: *The Old Dominion, a nickname for the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia ** Colony of Virginia *Old Dominion University, a public university in Norfolk, Virginia **Old Dominion Monarchs, the athletic teams represe ...

, where he and the team found great success. As a sophomore in 1974–75, Washington averaged 13.7

points Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

and 12.6

rebounds per game 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

and was named a third team All-American. The Monarchs went 25-6 and defeated

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

76–75 to win the 1975 NCAA Division II national championship. Washington was named the tournament MVP. As a junior, Washington averaged 17.9 points and 13.5 rebounds and led the Monarchs to a 19–12 record in a season where the Monarchs played many Division I teams in anticipation of moving up a level the next year. ODU again made the Division II Final Four, this time losing to

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

in the national semifinals. Washington was named a first team all-American at the close of the season. As a senior, Washington led the Monarchs to a respectable 25–4 record in their first Division I season. He averaged 18 points and 11.4 rebounds and was named ODU's first Division I All-American, earning AP honorable mention honors in 1977. For his three-year ODU career, Washington scored 1,366 points (16.9 per game), collected 1,011 rebounds (12.5 per game) and blocked 363 shots.

Professional career

After the close of his college career, Washington was selected in the second round (25th pick overall) of the

1977 NBA Draft The 1977 NBA draft was the 31st annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 10, 1977, before the 1977–78 season. In this draft, 22 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players ...

by the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

. He played sparingly for the Sixers, averaging 1.4 points and 1.0 rebounds in just 2.7 minutes per game. After 14 games, he was traded to the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, where he enjoyed a larger role off the bench. He returned to the Nets for the 1978–79 season, averaging 8.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Following his time in the NBA, Washington played in Italy and the Netherlands.

Coaching career

After several years in business, Washington joined the coaching staff at

Norfolk State Norfolk State University (NSU) is a public historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnership. History The institution was founded on September 18, 1935 ...

as an assistant coach for the 2011–12 season. In his first season with the Spartans, they went 26-10 won their first NCAA tournament game against

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

in an upset.

References

External links

Norfolk State coaching bioItalian League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Wilson 1955 births Living people 21st-century African-American people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in the Netherlands American men's basketball players Basketball players from Norfolk, Virginia B.S. Leiden players Centers (basketball) Maryland Terrapins men's basketball players New Jersey Nets players Norfolk State Spartans men's basketball coaches Old Dominion Monarchs men's basketball players Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Philadelphia 76ers players Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from Norfolk, Virginia 20th-century African-American sportspeople BV Amstelveen players A.S. Stella Azzurra players