[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 22 (Friday, February 11, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E215]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO BOB WILSON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 11, 2011

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
outstanding member of the Florence sporting community, Mr. Bob Wilson. 
For over 30 years, Mr. Wilson has been passionately involved in the 
sport of basketball in my district. In honor of his unwavering 
commitment, later this month Mr. Wilson, a former player and coach at 
Francis Marion University (FMU), will be inducted into the University's 
Athletic Hall of Fame.
  As a player, Mr. Wilson made an exceptional contribution to the 
University's basketball team. After transferring from Western Kentucky 
University in 1978, he played two seasons for the Patriots from 1978 to 
1980. Wilson appeared in 58 games, assisting the team to a combined 42-
19 win-loss record. He averaged an impressive 15.2 points and 5.0 
rebounds per game. At the end of his career, Mr. Wilson owned the 
Patriot men's record for free-throw accuracy. To this day, despite 
playing only two seasons, Mr. Wilson ranks 22nd on the career scoring 
list with 880 points.
  The 1979-80 season was a professional highlight in Mr. Wilson's 
basketball career. As co-captain, he scored a career-high 33 points in 
a win over Coastal Carolina in 1979. He also won the Francis Marion 
Coaches' Award and was voted the ``Best Shooter'' by the coaches in 
District Six of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics 
(NAIA). That season the Patriots also recorded a 24-7 mark, which was 
the best the school had achieved to that date.
  At the conclusion of his playing career, Mr. Wilson was named as part 
of the Francis Marion University All-Decade Team for the 1970s. He also 
graduated from FMU with a B.A. Degree in History in 1982 and later a 
Master's Degree in Education in 1991.
  Reflecting his love and passion for the game, Mr. Wilson returned to 
Francis Marion as an assistant coach for eight seasons. In his tenure 
as part of the coaching staff, Francis Marion achieved a 142-100 mark 
and the program's only appearance in the NAIA National Tournament in 
1991.
  Mr. Wilson has subsequently taught in Florence School District One 
and has taught and coached at both West Florence and Wilson high 
schools. In his four seasons coaching at Wilson he guided them to a 76-
31 mark and the 2007 AAA State Championship.
  Mr. Wilson will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in a ceremony that 
will take place during the Homecoming activities on Saturday the 26th 
of February in the Smith University Center gymnasium on campus. Another 
Florence resident, Ms. Kim Slawson Hawkins, will also be inducted at 
the ceremony. Mr. Hawkins and Ms. Wilson will join 35 other members in 
the Francis Marion University Athletic Hall of Fame, which has been in 
existence since 1991.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in recognizing 
the significant contributions that Mr. Bob Wilson has made as an 
athlete and coach for the past three decades. I applaud and thank him 
for his services to the youth of my district and to the broader South 
Carolina sporting community.

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