The Benji Wilson Story (Derrick Rose Connection)

[JellyBean]

Yeah that was a great story on Ben Wilson. Just growing up in the Midwest during the early 80s, you knew or heard about Ben Wilson. Sad story and the 30 for 30 on ESPN was great. Those series are well done.

[oarabbus]

Just watched this one. These tragic 30 for 30s hit pretty hard but they're damn good.

[Stringer Bell]

Sad story.

The ESPN 30 for 30 episode was pretty good.

Supposedly his killer turned his life around...the thing I didn't like was how he was talking about the killing and said something like "that day when I...did what what I did that got me sent to the penitentiary"....you KILLED him. Didn't like his choice of words.

Supposedly they were trying to rob Ben and one of them said "shoot this punk". The killer's story was way different. My guess is that it was somewhere in the middle.

The Hank Gathers and Len Bias stories were also rather depressing

[unknowns8]

He's a Chicago Legend, unfulfilled. Same way in a much larger sense that Derrick Rose is basically on his path to becoming with all his crippling injuries, as opposed to death.

Benji Wilson, Len Bias, Petrovic, and Reggie Lewis are tremendous "what if" stories. Cut down as young men in their prime, tragic. Beyond just being great athletes.

Probably would've ended up being an all-time great player. He was 6'8, had handle, could pass, play defense, they called him Magic but with a better jump shot. LeBron lite, without the body or athleticism basically.

He was the #1 ranked HS prospect. Totally outplayed all his contemporaries in various camps. Sonny Vaccaro, the man who saw the potential in Jordan before anyone else ... and the guy who was the first to spot: KG, Kobe, and LeBron gave him his stamp of approval.

He came up in a time of the greatest talent cluster from the Chicago era. Joining a long lineage of great players.

His girlfriend is a bitch, and basically the reason he was having such stress the days before on the eve of the start of his senior season. She was the source of anger for him lashing out on those youths on the street, his anger with her even made him hit a teacher a time before that. She declined to even be interviewed for a touching piece on her babys father's legacy. She's got mental issues. The power of puzzy is a powerful thing though to certain men.

Touching story, but it's sad that not much has changed since that faithful day. Chicago is still rampant with guns, weapons, senseless killings. Benji is the reason that every great player who goes through Simeon wears #25. His best friend and fellow local product Nick Anderson wore it for that reason as well.

Great 30 for 30 story. As many of them usually are ... highly reccomend everyone watch.

Sonny Vaccaro has been running an annual high school all-stars tournament since the 70's or thereabouts and so for him to be sayin that kind of thing about Benji is quite powerful stuff ... this is the guy who told Nike to back Michael Jordan with everything they had, so he has an eye for talent