Win Wilfong

Position:
F
Ht./Wt.:
6-2 / 185
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Puxico, Mo.

Wilfong, 29th on the Memphis all-time scoring list with 1,203 points, played basketball for the Tigers from 1955 through 1957 and led his teams to a combined 44-13 record.

The Puxico, Missouri, native played for former head coaches Eugene Lambert and Bob Vanatta and was considered one of the top players in school history. A versatile player, Wilfong could do everything from score to rebound, from pass the ball to defend. He still remains ranked in multiple top ten statistical categories.

He averaged 21.5 points scored per game and 12.3 rebounds per contest during his two-year career. In the 1955-56 season against Union University, Wilfong poured in 40 points. Eleven times during his career he scored more than 30 points in a game. In the 1956-57 season, Wilfong led the Tigers to their first-ever bid to the National Invitation Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York when it was considered more prestigious than the NCAA tournament.

In the 1957 NIT, the Tigers opened with a 77-75 win over Utah in the U of M’s first nationally televised game. After wins over Manhattan and St. Bonaventure, the Tigers found themselves in the championship game against Bradley. Wilfong scored 31 points and was named the MVP of the NIT despite Memphis losing to Bradley, 84-83.

Wilfong became the school’s first basketball All-American in 1957 when he was named to the Converse, United Press International and Associated All-American squads.