Norfolk native and local basketball star Wilson Washington returns for his second season with the Norfolk State men’s basketball staff in 2012-13 as an assistant coach. He works with the post players and helps in scouting opponents.
In just his first season with the Spartan program, Washington helped turn NSU into one of the best programs in the MEAC, capped off by NSU’s first-ever MEAC title. The Spartans finished 26-10 overall, their best season since moving to Division I in 1997, and followed up their MEAC title with a historic 86-84 upset of No. 2 seed Missouri in the NCAA tournament.
A big part of that success was the development of Spartan center Kyle O’Quinn. Washington, a former star player in his own right during his collegiate years, worked closely with O’Quinn along with assistant coach Larry Vickers to develop the 6-10 O’Quinn into the conference’s Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
O’Quinn earned AP All-America Honorable Mention accolades and was named the Lou Henson Award winner as the top mid-major player in the nation. After his 26-point, 14-rebound performance against Missouri put him on the map, O’Quinn’s Portsmouth Invitational MVP performance attracted the attention of numerous NBA scouts.
O’Quinn worked out for close to 20 teams in the pre-draft process and then became the first Spartan since 1988 to hear his named called in the NBA Draft. The Orlando Magic selected O’Quinn with the 49th overall pick to cap a whirlwind season.
Washington, who worked previously in the private business sector, was a three-time All-American in the 1970s while playing for Old Dominion. Washington was a third-team Division II All-American and NCAA Tournament MVP in 1975, when he helped the Monarchs win the D-II national title.
He was a first-team D-II All-American in 1976 and followed that up by becoming the school's first D-I All-American in 1977, ODU's first year in D-I. That season, ODU went 25-4 and won the ECAC South title.
Washington scored 1,366 career points, grabbed 1,011 career rebounds and blocked 363 shots. His No. 52 jersey was later retired by the school.
Washington, 56, was selected in the second round of the 1977 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He played two seasons in the NBA. Washington was inducted into the Hampton Roads African American Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
