Rick Wilson (basketball)


Richard "Rick" Wilson is a retired American basketball player. He played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association.

College career

Wilson graduated from Atherton High School in Louisville, Kentucky. He played collegiately for the University of Louisville from 1974 to 1978. As a freshman, Wilson was a reserve on the Cardinals' 1975 Final Four team. Wilson then entered the starting lineup for the rest of his Louisville career. As a sophomore, he averaged 14.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game and led the Cardinals to the 1976 National Invitation Tournament. As a junior, Wilson teamed with freshman backcourt mate Darrell Griffith and led the Cardinals back to the 1977 NCAA tournament, where they lost to UCLA.
In his senior year, the 1977–78 season, Wilson averaged 17.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists as he led the Cardinals to a Metro Conference championship and was named MVP of the 1978 Metro Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. Wilson was named Metro Conference player of the year that season.

Professional career

Following his senior season, Wilson was drafted in the second round of the 1978 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks. He played in 81 games as a rookie in 1978–79, averaging 3.0 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game in a reserve role. The next season, Wilson played in 5 games before being released by the Hawks. He finished the season with the Utica Olympics of the Continental Basketball Association. The next season, Wilson played with the Atlantic City Hi-Rollers.