Hobart and William Smith Colleges Athletics

James P. "Sonny" Wilson '55 was a four-year letterwinner in basketball. While at Hobart he set the records for scoring in a season with 402 points, scoring in a single game with 43 points, and points in a career with 1,315. He averaged 20.2 points per game during his career and reestablished his own scoring record four consecutive seasons. Wilson was virtually unstoppable with the ball. The yearbook noted that the "opposition centered their defense on the idea of stopping Wilson." The University of Buffalo coach Mal Eiken called him "one of the finest dribblers in basketball." Hobart mentor Spike Garnish called him "the best all-around athlete I have ever coached." Following a tryout with the NBA's Syracuse Nets, Wilson returned to Geneva to teach high school math and coach basketball and golf.

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