No. 7: Haskell “Hack” Tison – center – Duke
Imagine, if you will, making your mark in the NCAA title game for one of the bluest of blue bloods, then being drafted by the winningest NBA team in history at the peak of their power in the midst of the decade they dominated the league the most, only to turn it all down for a job at I.B.M., because it paid better.
31-DEC-1963 UK beats Duke 81-79 in Sugar Bowl game in New Orleans on last second shot by Terry Mobley.https://t.co/7xdY6SJ3Zk
Game was held in Loyola (LA) Field House. Cotton Nash led all scorers with 30 points. Duke was led by Hack Tison's 27 & Jeff Mullins' 26. pic.twitter.com/kgew192XcR
— bigbluehistory (@bigbluehistory) December 31, 2018
That’s exactly what happened to Tison, a 6-foot-8 big man and former Blue Devil, as odd as it sounds today. He never played as a pro.