Benji Wilson: The Tragic Story Of A Chicago Basketball Player With A Promising Future

There have been a few basketball players who have had incredible talent and a
bright future to match. The unfortunate problem was these players never got the
chance to thrive in the NBA.

There famously was Len Bias, who tragically passed away two days after being
drafted by the Boston Celtics in the 1986 Draft from a cocaine overdose. Bias was
only 22 years old.
Reggie Lewis is another player that comes to mind. Lewis passed away from
hypertrophic cardiomyopathy at the age of 27.

These two players are well known in the basketball world, but if I said the name Ben
“Benji” Wilson, would you know who I am speaking of? In this article, we will be
telling the sad story of Benji Wilson, a basketball player from the streets of Chicago
whose promising future was tragically cut short.

Benji Grows Up In A Tough Neighborhood

The Chatham neighborhood on the south side of Chicago is not the safest area to
grow up in. Drugs and violence overrun the city, and it’s almost impossible for young
people to make it out of the city as a success story.

Now, almost impossible means there are a few people who did make it out and
become a success. A perfect example is the famous hip-hop artist Chance the
Rapper. So, chances are slim, but it does happen.

When it comes to sports stars, Chatham has seen Ernie Banks become a
professional baseball star, as he went on to play for the Chicago Cubs for 19 years.
But what about a basketball star? Chicago itself has seen plenty of professional NBA
players, but Chatham has not.

Ben “Benji” Wilson was Chatham’s best hope for becoming a professional basketball
player. Wilson was a once-in-a-lifetime talent that could’ve rivaled Chicago Bulls star
Michael Jordan as the potentially greatest player ever to play the game of basketball.

“Benji was Magic Johnson, but with a jump shot,” former NBA player Nick Anderson
said about Wilson. “He had all the moves. We played one-on-one a lot. Benji usually
won. I see him sometimes in my mind’s eye, playing in the NBA, which he could
have done after only two years in college.”

Nick Anderson, who played 13 years in the NBA, was friends with Wilson as he and
Wilson each attended Neal F. Simeon Vocational High School. Wilson was a year
older than Anderson, but the two bonded on the basketball court.

Anderson was a great player, even in high school, but his talents paled in
comparison to that of Wilson. George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel wrote in
a 2016 article that Wilson’s game was comparable to that of Kevin Durant. Wilson
was athletic, skinny, skillful, and 6’8” as a 17-year-old. So, the comparison is not far-fetched.

Benji Becomes A High School Star

The year was 1981, and Ben “Benji” Wilson entered Neal F. Simeon Vocational High
School as a freshman. People in the community already knew Wilson could play
since they’ve seen him hoop in summer league games.

In the 1982-83 season, Wilson became the only sophomore to play on the school’s
varsity team. While Wilson’s game kept improving on the court, the crack epidemic
was running rampant in Wilson’s neighborhood. This led to an increasing rate of
violence around the city.

Wilson didn’t bother with drugs, as basketball was what stayed on his mind. This was
his ticket out, and he didn’t want to mess it up. As a junior, Wilson helped Neal F. Simeon Vocational High School, which is known
simply as Simeon in Chicago, win the Public League Championship. This victory led
Simeon to the state tournament.

Simeon’s head coach, Bob Hambric, was in awe of Wilson’s game like everyone else
who witnessed Benji play. Hambric went on to say this about Wilson’s game: 

“He possessed the same skills as Magic, but he had a better outside shot. He did all
of it. He had the ability to change the complexion of any game. If he decided he was
going to rebound and block shots, that’s what he did. If he decided he was going to
go down low and score, he was able to do that. He was able to do anything.”

Wilson started the tournament playing great basketball, as he was known to play. In
the quarterfinal game, Wilson scored 16 points, of which all 16 came in the first half,
to lead Simeon to a 48-44 victory over Rock Island.

Wilson would up his play in the semifinals against Aurora West, as he collected a
stat line of 21 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists in Simeon’s 67-58 victory. This set
up a championship match for Simeon against top-ranked Evanston Township High
School.

Wilson did not have a great game in the championship, as he only scored 4 points
while collecting 5 rebounds. Despite Wilson’s poor play, Simeon won their first state
championship with their 53-47 victory over Evanston.

Wilson was now a high school basketball champion, and he was ranked as the top
high school basketball prospect in the country. Colleges were already keeping tabs
on Wilson, as they knew he’d be perfect for their teams. Unfortunately, Wilson
wouldn’t get to play a single game during his senior year in high school.

Tragedy Strikes The Chicago Basketball Community

November 21, 1984, Ben “Benji” Wilson had his sights on playing basketball in the
Boylan Tournament. He was looking forward to defending his school’s state
championship from the previous year, and their first game in the Boylan Tournament
would be against Evanston.

The day before the Boylan Tournament, Wilson decided not to eat lunch at school
and headed out to grab some food. Wilson and his girlfriend, Jetun Rush, walked to
a convenience store down the block.

While walking, three teenagers walked past Wilson, and apparently, Wilson bumped
into one of the teenagers. It was reported in the Chicago Tribune from an eyewitness
that Wilson said, “excuse me”, while the teenager he bumped into responded by
saying, “There ain’t gonna be no excuses”.

The teenager pulled out a gun and shot Wilson twice, once in the chest and once in
the groin. Wilson would be rushed to St. Bernard Hospital in Englewood, Chicago.

The next day, on the day his team was supposed to play in the Boylan Tournament,
Wilson passed away at the young age of 17.
The entire Chicago community was shocked, saddened, and outraged by the
violence their city continued to witness every single day. Wilson was supposed to
make it out of Chatham; he was supposed to go on to have a successful college
career. 

After college, Wilson was supposed to go on and have an incredible
professional career, but all of that ended in a blink of an eye, by two bullets pulled by
a teenager who was mad he got “bumped” into.

Simeon decided the best thing to do was to play their scheduled basketball game on
that day because that’s what Wilson would’ve wanted. Wilson’s teammates, though
hurt, wanted to honor their fallen teammate by getting the victory. They did, in grand
fashion, by defeating Evanston 71-50.

A memorial service was held in the gym at Neal F. Simeon Vocational High School,
and an estimated 10,000 people showed up to give their respects. William Moore
was the teenager who shot Wilson. Moore and another teenager at the scene, Omar
Dixon, were charged with murder. Moore and Dixon were both 16 years old.

The police released a statement sometime after the murder and claimed that after
Wilson bumped into one of the teenagers, Dixon grabbed Wilson’s jacket pockets
and tried to rob him. This story was backed by Wilson’s girlfriend.

Wilson then pushed Dixon off of him, and that’s when Dixon said, “This guy pushed
me. Pop him”, to Moore. This led to Moore pulling the trigger and murdering Wilson.

Both Moore and Dixon were convicted of Wilson’s murder, and Moore received 40
years, and Dixon received 30 years.
Basketball players from Chicago would go on to honor Wilson by wearing his number
25 at some point during their basketball journey. This includes Nick Anderson,
Juwan Howard, Derrick Rose, and NBA and Chicago Bulls rookie Dalen Terry.

Wilson’s legacy has lived on in the basketball community. He was even honored with
his own Nike commercial back in 1997.

Wilson’s death was not only a tragedy for the community in Chicago, but it was even
more tragic since the fact Wilson had an infant son. Sadly, gun violence still runs
rampant in the city of Chicago.

Hopefully, one day, these senseless killings will stop, and we won’t have another
tragic story like that of Ben “Benji” Wilson.

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