Wayne Leroy Stevens (June 19, 1936 – January 23, 2021) was an American professional basketball player.[1]
Stevens was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, and attended Chillicothe High School, where he was a three-time All-Central Ohio League selection in basketball.[2] As a junior in 1952–53, he was named Class A (big-school) second-team all-state by the Associated Press (AP). As a senior in 1953–54, he was again named second-team all-state, along with future basketball hall-of-famer Wayne Embry and baseball hall-of-famer Bill Mazeroski.[3] In track, he was also the state high-jump champion.[4]
Stevens played college basketball for coach George Smith at the University of Cincinnati. As a sophomore starting forward in 1955–56, Stevens scored 10.3 points per game and grabbed a team-leading 13.9 rebounds[5] per game for the 17-7 Bearcats.[6]
As a junior in 1956–57, Stevens averaged 13.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, both second on the team behind center Connie Dierking, for the 15-9 Bearcats.[6]
As a senior in 1957–58, third-year starter Stevens and Dierking served as co-captains and Stevens averaged 10.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. The Bearcats, who welcomed sophomore starters Oscar Robertson and Ralph Davis to the team, went 25-3 and won the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, where, in the Midwest Regional, they fell to Kansas State in overtime before defeating Arkansas.[citation needed]
Stevens was selected in the seventh round (49th overall) of the 1958 NBA draft by the Cincinnati Royals.[1] He played in eight games for the Royals during the beginning of the 1959–60 NBA season, and averaging 1.6 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.[1]
