Cincinnati Basketball: The Top 50 Players In School History

Although Brian Williams was a solid scorer—12 points a game in each of his three seasons in a Cincinnati uniform—it was his defense that really stood out. Williams set a school record (later tied) with 66 steals in a season in 1976-77 (the year the stat became official). Williams (not to be confused with the Nuggets forward of that name who was later known as Bison Dele) went undrafted and never appeared in the NBA. Image from gobearcats.com

A versatile 6’4” swingman, Roland West led Cincinnati in assists in his first season of varsity ball. The next year, he averaged 9.4 rebounds a game to lead the team in that category West managed to get picked in the 20th round of the draft, back when there was such a thing, but played only four NBA games for the Baltimore Bullets (now the Wizards). Image from gobearcats.com

Typical for his era, 6’4” Phil Wheeler was an outstanding post player who averaged 10.4 rebounds a game for his Bearcats career. His bigger legacy, though, was his scoring, as he became the first Cincinnati player to average 20 points a game for a season. Although Wheeler was drafted by the Warriors in the fourth round, he never made an NBA roster. Image from gobearcats.com