Nick Weatherspoon
Birthday: July 20, 1950
Birthplace: Greenwood, Miss.
High School: Canton McKinley, Ohio (1969)
College: University of Illinois (1973)
Year Inducted: 2014
Nick Weatherspoon, a slender 6-foot-7 forward, excelled both at Canton McKinley High School and the University of Illinois before enjoying seven years in the National Basketball Association.
At McKinley, Weatherspoon scored 1,431 points – a record that stood for 37 years until it was broken by Raymar Morgan in 2005-06. He led the Bulldogs to a 25-2 record in 1969 when they lost to Columbus East in the Class AA state championship game.
At Illinois he scored a record 1,481 points. His career averages of 20.9 points and 11.4 rebounds per game have stood as Illini records for 35 years. In 1973, when he was named first team All-Big Ten, he averaged 25 points and 12.3 rebounds.
Weatherspoon was named to the 20-man University of Illinois All-Century basketball team in 2005.
After graduation, he was the first round (13th overall) selection of the Capital Bullets of the NBA. He spent three years with the Bullets, one with the Seattle Supersonics, one with the Chicago Bulls and two with the San Diego Clippers. Nick Weatherspoon died in 2008.
